With Independence Day round the corner, we realized that Indian cultural history scales were completely titled towards our oppressors in regards to furniture, specially for homes. From the Persian and European travellers’ journals one comes to know of just a rich and beautiful Vijayanagar state in fourteenth-century, Southern India, having carpenters on their payroll, long…
Category: decorate
‘Woven Threads’ from Nagaland
I have been following Woven Threads since a while now on social media and exhibitions. Also conversed with its creative head Kevisedenuo Margaret Zinyu who is from Kohima, Nagaland at Dastkar, Delhi on a few occasions. But each time our conversations steered towards… why we Indians are not wanting to shell out anything more than the price of…
Their mosaic projects
Truly happy to hear that today India stands united with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Thankfully craft never had any such boundaries to fight over. One such example being Mosaic – starting in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. Pebble mosaics were made in Tiryns in Mycenean Greece while the ones with patterns and pictures became widespread during classical times in Ancient…
Evoking desire in a sublime or refined fashion
Tere Ishq nachaiyaan kar key thaiyaa thaiyaa Your love has made me dance like mad Tere Ishq ne dera mere andar keeta Bhar ke zeher payala main taan aape peeta, Jhabde wahudi tabiba nahin te main mar gaiyaan Tere Ishq nachaiyaan kar key thaiyaa thaiyaa Falling in love with you Was like taking a sip…
Iconic Japanese folds made functional
To begin with, I read up on various Origami styles e.g. the Golden Venture Folding or the three dimensional one, Modular made into smaller units with cut pieces of paper, the Action model is interactable, Wet Folding is for a softer and delicate look, Kirigami involves both folding and cutting paper, while the one seen…
A realist, and dark artist’s tryst with embroidery
I avoid horror films or anything dark but this embroidery art drew my cynosure because of its brightly coloured beads and threadwork. Using colours and embellishment his artworks lighten heady realism of unrest and extremism today. Presently, working on his next exhibit is the artist – Theegulla Venkanna, at Kalhath Institute, Lucknow. Founded by Lucknow Design…
Make this eco-friendly ceramic tableware your festive gift this season
The first Indian Ceramics Triennale: Breaking Ground is on at the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur (in collaboration with the Contemporary Clay Foundation) till 18th November 2018. This and few other exhibitions in the recent past have been slowly and steadily bringing to fore ceramics in India. On the surface it seems like a sudden burst…
The sublime P A P I E R
After a long haitus, I’m back talking about a brilliant show currently being exhibited – PAPIER at Gallery Art Positive featuring nine outstanding artists from the Indian Subcontinent. Aisha A Hussain, Chetnaa, Ganesh Selvaraj, Gopika Chowfla, Jignesh Panchal, Sachin Tekade, Sachin George Sebastian, Sudipta Das and Shormii Chowdhury magically exalt one’s mind with just paper. Invented by the Chinese in…
Artist feels oppressed by the pin which keeps her safety intact
“We were sensitized in NID before going out to do projects with the craft clusters. As a student one had to stay in their environment to understand their rudimentary means. It was basically about learning their skillset while humbly playing the role of an intermediary, not god or master” quips the Hyderabad based artist –…
The Art of Textiles
I remember visiting quite a while ago a small store in New Delhi’s tony Khan Market, on the first floor. Along with its amazing line of home furnishings which revived old school Indian needlework with global inspirations (i.e. French, Moroccan, Portuguese) were the wooden plank shelves which caught my fancy. On inquiring one came to…
