I've been into Arts & Crafts from as long as I can remember...As a kid, my sphere of creativity included making toys out of clay, arranging my 'Doll house' and heck even stitching clothes for my barbies! ( yeah , I had 11 of those. And a normal childhood, thank God )
SUPW, lovingly nicknamed 'Suppu', used to be my favourite 'subject' in school & I think I was that eager-beaver ( read: annoying) kid who'd proudly preen around with my creation on the day of submissions, that ranged from matchbox sofasets, velvet christmas trees, origami, etc, made with generous help of my father who himself was an Art connoisseur & quite creative himself. ( Maybe it's a recessive gene or maybe it's just a Maadu thing ;) )
Over the years my level of participation in arts has fluctuated and the sophistication level in my creativity may have grown (Yeah, i dont do matchbox sofasets anymore ;) but i dont shy away from getting those scissors, glue & my big box of random odds & ends to get my hands dirty to create a card for an occasion or resurrecting an old or discarded item, not quite willing to be trashed yet or just going shopping to purchase arty stuff! And since I spend almost 12 hours a day sitting on the internet, the itch to do something creative has culminated into a new-found interest in Making Memes, apart from the usual ( attempted) funny tweet or a status or two. Though for the purpose of this post, let's just stick to real physical world arts :) Though I'm not not quite the Peering over an intense meaningful painting at an Art Gallery kinda arty yet
I remember I was only about 3 days old in a new city that I moved to for work and my first purchase was a ceramic vase from the local handicrafts market "Shilparamam" a few metres away from office, while I was still in the guesthouse ! I've been to Shilparamam about 50 times by now and even now it's one of the most therapeutic things to walk through those lanes dotted with stalls of colourful, eclectic artifacts knick-knacks and other functionals and the fact they're all handmade, I don't like bargaining at Shilparaman or for any other art really. To me, drastically negotiating the price of a handmade product is negotiating an artists' craft. No amount of marketing & MNC level bulk-production can match an artist's time in creating a unique product with his/her own hands.
At the same time, I believe that anything can be turned into art; it doesn't have to be expensive or store-bought, if you have the eye to see the potential, the patience to sit through many trials & errors, and the right level of creativity. Art & functionality shouldn't be mutually exclusive either! So if say, a big pillar of some sculpture is just sitting pretty there, demanding a lot of space, and serves no other purpose, it's not the best Art, in my book. Art is what is created on every day things, that can be used and made to good as well.
Luckily I now have a flatmate, who just like me, is into all things creative and believes in recycling things..so we do indulge in what they call 'Dumpster Diving' & putting things together , and that for us is creative bonding :)
But now is also when I have reached that 'No creative satisfaction' phase from my 'dull corporate job' ..So I've taken to appreciating/indulging in/creating Art once again, and this time I plan to be more actively involved and contribute something to the artists community the world over...To this end, I've recently created a page on facebook showcasing some of the stuff I've made over the years ( at least the ones that I managed to get pictures of!) with the idea, others who do similar stuff would also share and showcase theirs and other artistically-inclined people can get some ideas and who knows tomorrow I & they even may have market for our art...After all, we cant live forever, but can certainly create things that will.
If you like arts yourself and want to appreciate and/or be appreciated, do your bit by liking this page .
And on that note, I shall sign off... My paint brushes & the old crate, are calling out to me, 'cause home is where the art is....
SUPW, lovingly nicknamed 'Suppu', used to be my favourite 'subject' in school & I think I was that eager-beaver ( read: annoying) kid who'd proudly preen around with my creation on the day of submissions, that ranged from matchbox sofasets, velvet christmas trees, origami, etc, made with generous help of my father who himself was an Art connoisseur & quite creative himself. ( Maybe it's a recessive gene or maybe it's just a Maadu thing ;) )
Over the years my level of participation in arts has fluctuated and the sophistication level in my creativity may have grown (Yeah, i dont do matchbox sofasets anymore ;) but i dont shy away from getting those scissors, glue & my big box of random odds & ends to get my hands dirty to create a card for an occasion or resurrecting an old or discarded item, not quite willing to be trashed yet or just going shopping to purchase arty stuff! And since I spend almost 12 hours a day sitting on the internet, the itch to do something creative has culminated into a new-found interest in Making Memes, apart from the usual ( attempted) funny tweet or a status or two. Though for the purpose of this post, let's just stick to real physical world arts :) Though I'm not not quite the Peering over an intense meaningful painting at an Art Gallery kinda arty yet
I remember I was only about 3 days old in a new city that I moved to for work and my first purchase was a ceramic vase from the local handicrafts market "Shilparamam" a few metres away from office, while I was still in the guesthouse ! I've been to Shilparamam about 50 times by now and even now it's one of the most therapeutic things to walk through those lanes dotted with stalls of colourful, eclectic artifacts knick-knacks and other functionals and the fact they're all handmade, I don't like bargaining at Shilparaman or for any other art really. To me, drastically negotiating the price of a handmade product is negotiating an artists' craft. No amount of marketing & MNC level bulk-production can match an artist's time in creating a unique product with his/her own hands.
At the same time, I believe that anything can be turned into art; it doesn't have to be expensive or store-bought, if you have the eye to see the potential, the patience to sit through many trials & errors, and the right level of creativity. Art & functionality shouldn't be mutually exclusive either! So if say, a big pillar of some sculpture is just sitting pretty there, demanding a lot of space, and serves no other purpose, it's not the best Art, in my book. Art is what is created on every day things, that can be used and made to good as well.
I've changed 3 houses ever since I've started living on my own, but one thing that's remained constant through all three was selecting a place for what ' it could' be rather than what it was....So here i am living in a smallish penthouse, in a rather old construction building without your usual frills like false ceilings, large halls or modern fittings but the day I saw this flat, I knew this was a blank canvas waiting for me to get busy on! I've been in my current house for about 7 months now and I wouldnt be exaggerating to say that today it's nowhere close to what I'd taken it as. I got the walls painted myself & with the help of a few friends, did some effects on my bedroom wall, created a theme for my room and the living room, bought a whole lot of knick-knacks to tie into that theme, apart from making a few things myself to pimp it. Some people say I've invested too much time, effort & money on a place that's not mine forever. But let's just say I love coming back home to it. To live in a space totally created livable & lovable by you cannot match any other dwelling, however modern or posh.
Luckily I now have a flatmate, who just like me, is into all things creative and believes in recycling things..so we do indulge in what they call 'Dumpster Diving' & putting things together , and that for us is creative bonding :)
But now is also when I have reached that 'No creative satisfaction' phase from my 'dull corporate job' ..So I've taken to appreciating/indulging in/creating Art once again, and this time I plan to be more actively involved and contribute something to the artists community the world over...To this end, I've recently created a page on facebook showcasing some of the stuff I've made over the years ( at least the ones that I managed to get pictures of!) with the idea, others who do similar stuff would also share and showcase theirs and other artistically-inclined people can get some ideas and who knows tomorrow I & they even may have market for our art...After all, we cant live forever, but can certainly create things that will.
If you like arts yourself and want to appreciate and/or be appreciated, do your bit by liking this page .
And on that note, I shall sign off... My paint brushes & the old crate, are calling out to me, 'cause home is where the art is....
2 comments:
Wow.. All the best for your future endeavor.
Its Shilparamam. Not Shilparaman. :|
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