Rangoli-31

Lotus Rangoli-3

Here is one more design on Lotus

This is how a single Lotus is drawn using 3,2,1 dots. You can use this single lotus where there is lack of space or time.

This is a very simple design. using the single Lotus motif. I am working on more designs. Will post soon.

Closer look.

I will post more designs shortly. Keep a watch on my blog......

Bangles-New additions to my Jewellery

These are some new additions to my Jewellery-Bangles. I love stone bangles because they don't loose their shine for a long time and they are never out of fashion. With matching stone ear rings and other accessories, they will look good with any dress or sari.

These are light blue stones. I have some saris and dresses in this colour.

These are multi coloured stones. these days Multi coloured stones are a rage and go well with any coloured dress. I have  some ear rings and necklaces to match these.

This one I loved the moment I saw it. I love earthy tones of browns and terracotta. Have a sari in dark brown colour. I am working on it. Will soon post. Any way this matches that.

A set of four bangles in multi coloured stones-can be combined with glass bangles to match the dress.

Now here are the bangles made with beads on metal. There some beautiful colours like white, green-Light and dark, Blue-light and dark, red, orange etc. I picked up few colours. They can be combined to match the colour of the dresses or saris.

Green and cream

Orange with cream.This will match this sari.

The cream coloured sari with orange border.

All the three colours together. These match Silk saris with rich Pallus. So I bought them.These can also be combines with glass bangles.

I have this habit of window shopping and when ever I come across something to match my requirement, I buy it. That way I have been building up my collections.

Rangoli-30

Lotus Rangoli-2

Here is one more Rangoli on Lotus

No of dots: 15 to 1 placed like this;

Will post some more shortly..Working on some unique ones and borders too. Keep a watch on my blog...

MEENAKARI WORK

The arts and crafts of India are as varied as its culture, languages and regions. Here I bring you one of the metal crafts known as Meenakari.

Meenakari is the Indian art of decorating metal with enamel. It is delicate, intricate and quite colourful. It is a most difficult and intricate process of decorating the surfaces of the metals like gold, silver copper etc, by attaching, or fusing pieces made of coloured glass powders. Various mineral oxides are used for obtaining different colours. Various precious and semi precious stones are also powdered and used for colouring. Enamel can be transparent, opaque or translucent.

It is believed that this art form originated in Persia. The Mughal rulers of Persia, who invaded India, introduced this technique in India. The credit of introducing this art in Rajasthan goes to Raja Man Singh of Amber. He is stated to have brought skilled artisans from Lahore and established them in Jaipur. Since then Jaipur has become the main center for this type of work and today, the Meenakari work done by the artisans of Jaipur is known for its intricate designs, beauty and creativity. In India enameling of gold is done in Jaipur, Delhi and Banaras, silver enameling in Nathdwara, Bikaner and Udaipur and glass enameling in Pratapgharh.

Meenakari is done on various articles like jewelry-bangles, necklaces, pendants, rings, bracelets, anklets, brooches, furniture like chairs, small cupboards, jewelry boxes, key chains, trays, dinner sets, photo frames and other items.

It is said that, before introduction of the claw settings for holding the gems and other stones, stones were set in ornaments using Kundan work-that is embedding stones in lac and covering with highly refined gold and gold foil. Meenakari was often used to cover the back side of such pieces. So both sides looked beautiful.

The base metals used for Meenakari work are gold, silver and copper. These days white metal is also used as it is cheaper and quite affordable. Gold is the most preferred one since any colour can be applied easily on it. But only few colours like blue yellow and green can be applied on silver.

The Process:

This art form requires high degrees of skill, creativity and lots of patience. The artists who do this work are known as “Meenakars”. The metal article or the ornamental piece to be enameled is fixed on a lac stick. The designs are drawn on it by the artisans known as “Chiteriaas”. Motifs may include, flowers, leaves, vines, birds, animals like elephants, fishes etc.

The engravers known as “Gharias” engrave the outlines of the design. This creates grooves or pits for holding the colours, in which enamel is applied. The depth of the grooves when filled with different colours, determines the play of light. This also enhances the beauty of the colours by the play of light and shade of the light rays touching the enamelled surface. Then it is thoroughly cleaned and enamel dust of required colour is applied, and fired at high temperatures. The heat of the furnace melts the colour which spreads evenly. Each colour is fixed in this manner till the entire article I filled with colours. The colour which is most heat resistant is filled first and so on as the piece is fired a number of times. White or pink colour  is supposed to be the most resistant and hence applied first and red the least so filled in first and last. The ornament is placed on mica plate to avoid direct contact with fire.

After cooling it, it is polished with "Sohan” or Corundum or agate and again fired. It is then treated with acid derived from tamarind or lemon. The entire piece can be covered in enamel or just in parts. Gems can also be set in the jewelry as required and the setter is known as Kundansaaz " or "Jadiya".

Some Types of Meenakari:

• ·         Ek Rang khula Meena- Single transparent colour is used for covering the entire engraved area, exposing gold outlines.
• ·         Panch Rangi Meena-Multi coloured enameling, where five colours white, light blue, dark blue, green and red are used.

There are so many other types. My knowledge is very limited.

Black, white, blue-dark and light, green-light dark, red and yellow are some of the most used colours. They can be transparent or opaque. 

Here are some pictures of the Meenakari

This is a Meenakari Bangle done on ordinary metal with white and black colours. 

These are the danglers in white and black done on silver. I bought them to match my bangles above. But I could not get on gold coloured material. I am searching for a matching neck piece or even pendent so I can create my own neck piece with beads.

This is a brooch-multi coloured peacock. with stones.

This is a tray, made of white metal which is now popular as it is cheap and looks like silver.

See the way the meenakari work has been done.

See the beautiful colours.

Blue, green, red and yellow

This is the work done on the handles of the tray.

On the edge of the tray in the picture below.

See the way the small design has been done in multicolours.

Yellow red and green-flower, leaves and the vine design.

Combination of blue, red and green.

See the intricate design with blue, red yellow and green.

This is the Pooja thali, used for offerings to God. See the peacock design.


There are many more articles which are created by the Meenakari artisans. These make good gift items suiting every pocket. So next time you want to gift someone you can try these trays, trinket boxes jewellery boxes, pooja thalis, pens or key chains, pencil holders etc. 


Hope you have liked this.

Rangoli-29

Candies N Toffees

Rangoli is an expression of Indian women's creativity. We express our creativity through our Rangolis, creating new designs to suit the occasions like festivals, seasons, celebrations, moods, emotions etc. So the subject for Rangoli can be anything. It depends on the skill and creativity of the person for creating Rangolis on many topics or themes. These days we are creating new designs based on various modern themes too. I will try to post such ones when ever I can. Some of them, I have created and mostly what I have come across and kept a record of, which every Indian women who is interested in Rangolis does.

Here is one such Rangoli. You can see the candies or toffees wrapped in their wrappers.

This is 13 to 7 dots placed in between like this....

So how do you like it????

Rangoli-28

Lotus Rangoli-I

In India Lotus has a special significance for the Hindus. Since ancient times we Indians have attached special significance to Lotus. For us it is a divine symbol. It denotes purity, detachment from wordy things etc.. This is because though the roots of a lotus plant are firmly planted in the slushy mud at the bottom of the ponds or lakes, its leaves and flowers raise above water, it (Lotus) is unstained and beautiful, remains pure. Similarly there is a saying "Like a droplet on the Lotus leaves"- as the leaves are not wetted by water, the water simply rolls it off. So also a person should be detached from the wordly pleasures and pains but attached to God.

In Sanskrit and Telugu and perhaps many Indian languages the word Padma means Lotus. It has many synonyms like, Ambuja, Neeraja, Pankaja, Jalaja, Saroja, Kamala etc.

Padma or Lotus is divine, auspicious and symbolises Goddess Laksmi-Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. She is shown either standing or seated in a pink Lotus and also holding Lotus in her hands. Lord Vishnu is known as Padmanabha-a lotus born from his naval  with Lord Bramha on it. Goddess Saraswathi-Goddess of Knowledge and wisdom, is shown as seated in a white lotus.

So we use this a lot in our Rangolis for depicting auspiciousness or happiness, wealth prosperity etc. Its is drawn in different forms and also in combination with other things like conch shells etc. A petal is known as Dala. So we haves sasta dala or six petalled, ashta dala or eight petalled lotus, sahasra dala or thousand (many) petalled  and so on. I am going to post some of the Rangolis on Lotus some at a time.


Lotuses are drawn in different ways in our Rangolis. Here they are....

By using lines

Six petalled lotus

Eight petalled

Many petalled....

Using dots...

Eight petalled

See the angular lines

Here the petals are rounded not sharp as above. I feel this is more beautiful then those above. I have posted many designs in my previous posts, having the lotuses as shown above.

Here it is freely drawn not with help of any lines or dots...So many beautiful designs are drawn this way...I will try to post some of them..But one requires a very steady hand...:)
Here is a lotus Rangoli I am posting....

13 to 1 straight dots...placed like this..

Keep an eye on my blog for more....

Bags N Purses-1

I am fascinated by the various shapes and sizes of Bags and Purses available in India. Various materials, like leather, cloth-cotton silk, synthetic materials, jute, plastic,wood, bamboo, grasses, weeds, threads or cords, beads, are used for making them.

Similarly adornments or embellishments with coloured stones, sea shells, mirror work, coin work, kundans, laces, brocades, Zari thread, painted, embroidery, patch work, applique' work, bead work, crocheted, knitted.......phew the list is endless. I collect for myself or for my mom and my sis. My little niece like me is passionate about these things at such an early age.They also make lovely and useful gifts for our friends and relatives. We women do love accessories that go with our dresses.

The patterns, shapes and sizes too vary. One can have Bags N Purses of ones choice for every need. The colours in which they are available remind me of rainbows.

So here I am going to them with you all that I have collected or come across ...

This is a cotton printed purse. The cloth is thick like that of a canvas. I loved the white colour with red and blue print. The white ribbon was another attraction. We can change the ribbon with other colours -red or blue if we can scour a little and find some of that width. Or we can use satin ribbons, or make our own from strips of fabrics. Just a little creativity. will go a long way.

The cut of the purse is very simple and has no compartments-only a small pocket inside for holding coins. 

This I picked up quite recently. The handles are also made of the same fabric. Its a shoulder length purse. The size is medium and will hold quite a few things we carry. The only disadvantage I feel is it does not have any partitions inside. So we have to dump every thing inside.

There were other colours too-white and black, red and blue and other prints. But I loved this floral one that too at quite a cheap price.

Keep watching for more to come.........

Another Sari with Applique

I had this little confusion between whether to call this an Appliqué or a Patch Work. Appliqué is stitching a piece of fabric on another fabric in desired shapes, where as Patch work is joining together of various pieces of fabric to make a bigger one.  Any way here in India the word Patch Work is being used for Applique by the rural artisans who dothe work. Thats how I used the word Patch Work for one of my Saris which I posted earlier here...

http://summersofindia.blogspot.com/2009/11/patch-work.html

So I stand corrected that it was Applique actually.

Any way today I am sharing one more sari with Applique work. I have bought this. This is a Chanderi type Sari (I dont know the exact name of the material), pink in colour with printed plaisley, which are white in colour. It has a beautiful pallu. But the border at the base and on the top for the entire sari was just plain cream white. So a matching pink printed material (of the same type) was cut into strips and machine stitched as a border at the top and bottom ends of the Sari and also on the pallu. Its not possible to get the same print material so a different print has been used. 

It has a cream coloured blouse with same borders on its hands. I have not got it stitched. I prefer to wear a plain pink one. Here are the pictures...

This is the border at the base-beneath the printed border, but covering the plain border on the base and also at the top. The strip of cloth has been stitched on. It has a geometric print.

 A closer look.

This is the design on the pallu. Here also the edges on the three sides have been stitched with border.

The colour was unique and so was the design. I loved this sari the moment my eyes fell on it. It is elegant yet not flashy, very simple but beautiful.....Hope you liked this.

Travelling by Train

I am travelling once again, but hopefully on a very short trip. It was quite hectic for me for the past one week preparing for this trip and organising every thing in my home so that it runs smoothly during my absence.

I enjoy travelling by trains. Its some how romantic. As a child I always was fascinated by trains and still am. India has one of the largest network of routes connected by trains. There are coaches with AC and those without AC. It is so difficult to travel in the hot summer months without the AC. But many people do so who cannot afford it, or who could not get the tickets booked in time or those who have to travel on any emergencies.

There are the general or unreserved coaches, where the people just buy the tickets an hour or two before the train leaves and travel. Such unreserved coaches are packed tightly, many squeezing in on the seats, many standing, or squatting on the floor of the train or sitting near the doorway, mothers with little children or the senior citizens and travelling for long distances. One has to fight and struggle to find place for standing on at least one feet. Yes it sounds so horrifying. Its difficult even to imagine such a travel, let alone endure one that too in hot summer. But sadly, most who cannot afford travel that way.

In summer months,  most students across India have two months holidays. So families go out for sightseeing or visiting near and dear ones. This is an auspicious time for marriages and other ceremonies. So families travel foe these ceremonies. This is also the right time for visiting many temples and shrines in northern India especially situated in Himalayas which reels under cold waves and snow falls in winter months and severe rains and landslides in rainy season. So many embark on these pilgrimages. One can see huge groups of senior citizens on pilgrimages conducted by Tours N Travels.

So it is interesting to meet people from various backgrounds and traveling for various reasons. Each coach is a mini India carrying people from different cultures and regions, talking different languages. I love to interact with them and every time I do so, I am further educated. I learn a lot about their life styles, their way of living, their culture and so on. Sometimes we become friends and keep in touch. Its exciting and fascinating. It is also fun to watch the villages and towns, people going about their daily lives, the changing landscapes and the scenic beauty. So I don't miss an opportunity to travel in trains.

I want to share with you some of those moments when ever I can....

Feel so tired...

I feel so tired these days, with the season so hot. Moreover the activity of making pickles and all other such items involves lot of time and hard work. Once this hot summer days are gone and monsoon sets in, we cannot do all these preserving of fruits and vegetables.

So, by the end of the day I feel tired and don't feel like doing any thing at all. I have so many projects in various stages. Daily when I get up in the morning I think, today I will do this and I will do that. But by the end of the day I do so many things but not the ones I thought of doing.

I am lagging behind in TAST 2010 too...Will give it a try till this week end as I have to leave yet on another trip during the week end...

I have bought a new sewing machine. But am yet to get my hands on it properly. I can stitch 50 or something stitches on it. Need lots of practise on it.

And I have a quite some interesting projects lined up. I think I will finish at least two or three and post them for you... perhaps even do tutorials...

So keep an eye on my blog dears... You may be surprised...Till then...

Rangoli 27

Here are two more designs using 13 to 7 dots...

So how do you like them? I think they are easy. Please let me know......

Rangoli-26

It has been a while I posted some Rangoli designs. The problem is I have so many from my Mom and Grans' notes, but they are all in tatters and I have to understand them and draw afresh. While doing so I also get flashes of creativity to create my own designs. All this takes time. Then I have to photograph them. Cutting and editing them again  is rather time taking. Any ways.... Here are some.

These two designs have been drawn using 13 to 7 dots. You can see the black dots in the designs.

Hope you like them. I have still loads n loads to share. But I want to group them now like say Lotuses, conch shells, birds, swans, fishes, elephants, kites etc. So its taking time...Bear with me please....

This, That and Typhoon LAILA

I sometimes feel I am jinxed..? :) :)... First I don't have much time to blog. Then when I create some time, I have some emergencies or the other to attend to at my home front or my system crashes. Hmmmm..This time when I have taken a break to take a breather, I thought I could post on various techniques of Indian embroideries. I have done only two or three posts on them and I have much more to share with you all but could not as I have been away touring extensively and had no time at all till now.

Something happened to my internet connection and I had to run from pillar to post to get the problem rectified. This took me almost a week and I could not keep any thing for over a week. Boy I was so frustrated. I was fearing the fixing up would take much longer. Thank God.

Any way I used the time for making Mango pickles, as the season was fast ending and we had the warning for a storm. The deadly LAILA was supposed to be  much more devastating Typhoon in the past 30 years or so. But Thank God! it weakened considerably and then crossed the shore of our State of Andhra. Even then the devastation it might cause was to be feared.

We spent a sleepless night yesterday and entire day today worrying about our friends and relatives living in its path. It is raining incessantly with strong winds since past 24 hours in the coastal areas. Many places are waterlogged. Uprooting of trees, power and communication breakdowns and stopping of transport systems are being reported in the news. 

We do not know the extent of damage it is causing. But due to the much early warnings, the timely action by our Government and other agencies, the loss might be minimum. At least till now there is not much human loss. There will be loss of property and other things which cannot be avoided. Losses of  the fruit, vegetable and fish farms and other crops are feared. But then who can with stand the fury of the Nature.

We all are pooling all our available resources, to help them as the people out there might certainly need it. The first concern would be food water and shelter. Then the other necessities such as loss of their homes and daily lively hood will have to be taken care of. But it is still raining. So we are waiting to hear from them.....We are all praying for the safety of all our brothers and sisters there....

As I am typing this I heard my brother shouting out to me that LAILA is again entering the Sea..OH NOOOOO! If it happens then it will again gain strength and will hit back. But when and where is a million dollar question.Please pray for the safety of all those people there. They need it now.....