Dastkar 2010

Dastkar 2010 started yesterday and of course I had to be there asap. With DH travelling, Sara and I decided to go and have some fun! Sharing some glimpses of the wonderful Dastkar Mela! Its the perfect time for an open air thingie at Delhi, so all of you who stay in and around Delhi and love to see creative stuff, do take out some time to go there! Its on at the IGNCA Lawns, Janpath (Right opposite the National Archives, at the Rajpath - Janpath intersection) from the 12th to 21st of February.

And for those of you who can't make it to the fair, here are some glimpses!

The venue has lots of colorful elephants & cute little monkeys

Check out this wall art!

My absolute fav and seemed like the crowd's fav too!

Sondha, the Garden Shop run by Vinita Nath.

Though not a big fan of dry/ artificial foliage, I thought this looked pretty

I lost my heart to these wooden lanterns and bells

Aren't these kantha mosaics perfect for any child's room? Check out the detailing.

One of my all time favs, jugaad!

Cane baskets...ummm...no lamps!

Whimsical cushion covers & art on fabric by sumearth

Will these fishes fly!

Gorgeous! Isn't it?

Check out these colorful wallets & key rings

Beads, Beads and some more beads!

Images : Personal Album

Pottery wheel blues

I am really annoyed today. My potters’ electric wheel was to come in last week and there is no sign of it even this week. And the guy who is to deliver the same just laughs and tell me..he he he..madam abhi bhi nahi aaya hai. Since I can’t create my own pottery at home I will just sit and ogle at some blue pottery from Jaipur and continue with my series of posts on crafts from Rajasthan.

Image : From indiasite

It is called blue pottery, because of the Persian blue green dye that is used to color the clay, which is glazed and then fired at a low temperature. The blue color stems from the use of cobalt oxide and the green is from copper oxide. There is a very fascinating tale on how it actually entered Rajasthan. The city of Jaipur was found in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh I and he encouraged craftsmen from all over the country to come and practice their craft in Jaipur. As a result of this by the beginning of the 19th century the city was established as a crafts centre. In keeping with the traditions of his forefathers, Sawai Ram Singh II (1835-1880) set up a school of art and continued to invite artists and craftsmen. While attending a kite flying session one day he saw his kite masters lose every game to these two brothers from Achnera (Near Agra).He decided to ask them the secret of their skills and discovered that the brothers were actually potters and had coated their kite strings with very same Blue green glaze that they glazed their pots with. Sawai Ram Singh was so impressed that he invited them to stay back in Jaipur and teach their craft at his new school.

Jaipur blue pottery traditionally uses animal, bird & flower motifs.There is lot that one can create with the readymade pieces of blue pottery bought from the market. These days other than the regular urns, flower pots, plates, etc potters are making ash trays, animals and birds, door knobs and many other objects.

Ash trays & Animal figures

• Ash trays can easily be filled with wax, just dip a wick in and you have your very own blue pottery candle ready.
• Smaller and flatter animal pieces like the tortoise and door knobs can be used to make beautiful art pieces. Put a few of them together and get it framed or better still fix a mirror on a piece of plywood (ply to be slightly bigger than the mirror). Paint the plywood in colors that compliment Blue & Green and stick the animals/door knobs on it. You could also add tiny mirrors in various shapes around. Get your carpenter to drill holes in the ply to hang the mirror and it’s done!
  
  

Leaving you with some pieces that I had thrown on the wheel some months back, (not blue pottery though)

I hope I get my wheel soon :)

Overcome your creative block

When it comes to traditional forms of art and craft, India is indeed like a treasure chest you really don’t know what you will find in it. Each of our states has such diverse forms of crafts that one can spend a lifetime getting inspired and each of us can pick up a completely different aspect of the same. So starting this month, I will devote some posts in a month to "crafts from the Indian states". December reminds me of Rajasthan, because last year around this time we were holidaying there. Rajasthan has something special about it, the colors are so enchanting. Everywhere you look there is some design, pattern or skill that you can take back home with you. Be it the blue pottery, tie and dye, puppet making, the art of tattoo making or tying a turban. There is something for everyone. Block printing is another craft which is extremely popular at Rajasthan. Whenever I have gone to Jaipur I have always come back with lovely blocks in all shapes and sizes. Though you can get the same at Delhi too (Karol Bagh, Dilli Haat and almost all craft shops keep them), I still like picking them from Jaipur because of the range they offer. Though there are other states in India where block printing is done (Gujarat & Bengal) but the sizes of the patterns are bigger there and I am quite the “miniature and intricate” loyalist. For those who are not into crafts and don’t know what I am talking about, in Hand Block printing the artist uses wooden blocks which have designs carved on them. These are dipped in color and then pressed on fabrics to get the impression. The colors used are usually vegetable dyes and they use remarkable combinations like shocking pink and orange, turquoise and parrot green. Lots of floral patterns, traditional symbols like the ambi (paisley), elephant, etc are used. Now, the actual art is quite labour intensive requiring a certain degree of expertise and not all of us are brave enough to try it out. My purpose here is to see how we can adapt the art to suit us and create our own art pieces, quickly. Here are some ideas that we call all use :

• Simple poster paint impressions of the block in any color look lovely on letterheads, envelopes and wrapping sheets. These days there are lots of contemporary designs being made too. So take your pick.
• Metallic fabric color impressions and some sequins (Use fabric glue) can definitely add drama to your table napkins, runners, curtains, etc
• To give a rustic look to your balcony wall. Paint one wall with terracotta snowcem and use white enamel paint to do block imprints across the wall. Cheap and creative way to give your outdoors a completely new look.
• Simple black prints with poster color on white handmade paper and framed with saffron or maroon background will look marvelous on your wall.
• Another awesome thing for those of you who are feeling very crafty is to try and make your own tiles with clay and use blocks to create different patterns. Traditional motifs look lovely when pressed in clay and fired.

Leaving you with some of my creations.

Some blocks that i possess, bookmarks & envelopes and the light blue tile that i tried out..