“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
― Vincent van Gogh
This defines my hobby, my world! I cannot imagine a world without colors…Engaging in one’s hobby is out of personal interest and for enjoyment rather than financial rewards. My hobbies take me into a different world all together. What spurs me to embrace this hobby so enthusiastically is that it’s not only a stress buster, a fun filled activity but also a joy of giving and sharing.
Living in a city like Mumbai, that never sleeps, amongst the hustle and bustle, people have very little time to enjoy their space. Running a rat race, behind the monetary success, achievements, fame and goals, one barely gets the time to enjoy the small treasures of happiness. Of course, one has to work hard to survive, but a splash of color in our daily lives, a moment of carefree, heartfelt laughter or a deserving pat of appreciation, that is how happiness comes, in its simplest, purest and truest form. At the crossroads of the busy lives we lead, its good at times to pause and reflect and spend some time on what brings joy and happiness to you. Let me introduce you to my world of colors, craft and creativity.
“Painting is just another way of
keeping a diary.”
― Pablo
Picasso
Art is becoming increasingly experimental as artists try out new ideas. Painting can be enjoyed in many ways: for the cleverness of their design, the quality of light or the beauty of the colors. Art in its any form is characterized in terms of expression or communication of emotion or other values. India is blessed in terms of the diversity and culture from where a varied forms of art originates. Indian paintings reflect opulent culture and heritage of the country. There are several forms of Indian paintings like mural paintings, miniature painting, madhubani painting, pichwai painting, patachitra painting, marble painting, silk painting, kalamkari, warli painting. Each form of Indian paintings differs not only in terms of material used, and style but also the mode of expression.
For me, my paintings include a variety of painting techniques like the Tanjore and Mysore painting, oil paintings, gem stone painting, nib painting etc. I could spend hours at a museum just enjoying different art work or spend days working on a canvas to draw down my thoughts. My hobby takes me to attend different workshops and enhance my skills. I love to learn different techniques of paintings. Here are a few of my paintings –
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| Tanjore Painting - Ladoo Gopal! |
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| Mysore painting - Balaji! |
Before the Industrial Revolution, crafts people made furniture for home
and tools for workplace. Today, these items are mass produced in factories. So
hand crafted objects are valued for their individuality and because they often
come from a tradition that is centuries old. There are several types of crafts –
Basketwork, Bead work, stone work, stone and wood carving, embroidery, pottery
and ceramics, weaving etc. Some people like me take up craft as a hobby. One
such example of craft is punch craft. It’s a technique of using simple paper to
create a variety of beautiful artwork. Do gently browse through my handmade
cards and other products.
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| frames |
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| trousseau decoration |
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| gift baskets |
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| gift tags |
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| cards |
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| envelopes |
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| gift bags |
I would love to share with all of you my experience at a NGO – “Sunbeam”
where I volunteered to teach art and craft to the kids with the age group of
5-6 years.
My journey with sunbeam began 2
years back. I taught art and craft on every Saturday to the kids. I still
remember, it was the first time for the kids to have a drawing teacher. They
were so excited to have received colors and drawing book from the class. I was
told that the attendance is full as the kids are looking forward for the art
class. This gave me immense pleasure and motivation to teach them every time
something creative and fun filled.
I started off by teaching the
kids basic shapes and things related to the shapes like box resembles a square,
ball resembles a circle/round, mountain resembles a triangle etc. Then, I slowly started teaching them recognition
of colors. Eventually, I realized that they are enjoying coloring a lot and
still it is difficult for these toddlers to draw on their own so I then made
them color pre-designed drawings. I had taken up different topics to teach them
different concepts and themes along with coloring. I had included drawings of
fruits, vegetables, flowers, animals, and vehicles etc for the kids to color.
Also as and when festivals come across, I make them do some art and craft based
on that particular festival. This helps the kids enhance their knowledge about
that particular festival and it also gives them a lot of fun to enjoy the same
at home. For Diwali, the kids painted divas. While painting the divas the kids
were thoroughly enjoying as they were excited to take the divas back home and
also they were happy to play with the vibrant colors and glitter. It was such a
satisfying experience. Similarly, for Christmas we made Santa Claus mask from
paper plates. The kids were excited to color the Christmas tree, bells and make
the Santa face. This experience of making things and coloring on your own gives
the kids a lot of confidence. It gives them a sense of belonging when they take
back the stuff that they have made by themselves. This works as a personality
building activity too.
I am happy that with art and
craft, the kids are able to relate to a lot more things than just mere coloring.
It’s fun as well as learning for them. In all I would like to say that the kids
have given me so much love and respect. I am glad that my hobby has given me
the opportunity to teach these under privileged kids and more so gain bundles
of joy by sharing my knowledge. I wish that we can keep bringing smile on each
face and add color to each one’s lives.
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