Etsy Melange June Challenge: Grow

This matchbox collage is created as a response to Etsy Melange June Challenge. To complete this piece I used several of the materials I received from the Melange swap. To know about the swap read here and here.

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Carving a Stamp: Auspicious

What do you do when it is chilly and raining outside and you are cooped up inside? Try a new skill perhaps? That was what I did yesterday. I tried my hand at rubber stamp carving.   This being my first attempt  I wanted to create a stamp with the OM symbol (which I do not find in the craft stores). A few days ago I had purchased a Speed ball lino cutter and a carving block. I watched two videos online (both were only slightly helpful for what I wanted to do).  After three attempts I got something that was moderately satisfactory. It might have been easier if I had started with a large image like a leaf instead of a symbol in high relief. But then, it would not have been an "auspicious" way to learn something new. Next project: a stamp with Om in Tamil script.

Zentangle Challenge #25: Zendala Magic

This week's challenge at I am the Diva is hosted by Genevieve Crabe and is called Zendala Magic. It is a fusion of mandalas and zentangles. It is a challenge right up my alley since I tend to incorporate many manadala designs (also known as kolam or rangoli in India) in my tangle art. So, I enjoyed doing the challenge especially since I was kind of feeling blue and needed something to lift the spirits up. And it did. Thank you.

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Melange Swap: LizAnna's Stash

Recently, I had the pleasure of participating in the materials swap organized by Etsy Melange member Pat Whyte. You cannot imagine the fun you have in opening up the packet and rummage through all the goodies that other artists had chosen to share with you. What the artists share with you give you a window into what they collect, what interests them and what they seek for inspiration.

My fellow melanger LizAnna is a quintessential nature girl who can take anything from nature and turn it into art. Her package to me came loaded with handmade papers made out of natural materials, pressed flowers and many many more mouth-watering goodies. Yesterday when I my husband left an empty matchbox on my craft table, I knew exactly what to do with it. LizAnna's flowers, tiny branches and a vintage paper came together on top of the matchbox which now holds my watercolor blank tags.

Visit LizAnna's blog and enjoy many of her tutorials on candle making, paper making and more.

Challenge #23: String Theory

This week's challenge at I am the Diva is titled String Theory. The challenge is to create a tile from a string created by Laura. That is, everybody is working off the same string. I created mine on the plane flying from Toronto to Newark. If you look closely, you will be able to spot the string. I am pleased with my effort.

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I Love Geography

I am not usually inclined to use French themed objects in my work. But I love geography. As a child, I took great pride in being able to identify the states and the countries on the map and knowing the names of all the capital cities. So, when I saw this fabulous vintage Paris map on the Graphics Fairy, I had to use it and what better surface than that of a box? Of course, Paris and Eiffel Tower (Graphics Fairy) go hand in hand. Just by looking at it I am transported to Paris of the old. It is shabby chic at its most elegant.

Available at my Etsy shop.

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P.S. I created this box almost two weeks ago. I just found out that the person who provided the Eiffel tower image to Graphics Fairy passed away recently. Your generosity lives in multiple forms. Thanks.

No Sew No Glue Sari Journal

It was my favorite sari. Handwoven from the finest softest silk cotton, it was one of the best specimens of the Oriya hand loom weaving style. I brought it with me to the US thirty years ago. When the number of suitcases I could bring with me was limited to two, I gave away several of my saris to my sister, but not this one. But quickly it became obvious that the very same qualities that made it so lovely in India made it an impractical garment in the US. It slowly sank to the bottom of the pile and languished there for thirty years. I could not bear to throw it away. Then one day,  as I was making my rice bag journals it came to me that I could make cloth journals out of it. I cut the six yards into three parts, washed and starched each one individually. I tore them into roughly equal sized pieces and using the slot and tab technique created the journal you see above . I used the pieces as they were which led to some interesting variations among the pages. The top page above , for example, comes from the end piece of the sari and has fringes while the two below come from the border and the body sections.

I was very pleased with the way it come out. I decorated, wrote on it, painted---oh, the possibilities were endless. On one of the pages I wrote a little message "Bloom where you are planted" which is what this old sari  and I have done.

Last summer, I submitted this journal for publication. It can now be found in the Winter 2014 edition of Cloth Paper Scissors Pages issue. This sari has reinvented and replaced itself in such creative ways. I wonder where and what it will be next, I wonder.