It has been 23 days since I posted on this blog and several more since I wrote a full post. As some of you know, my family was affected with covid 19 in July and we had a hard time just dealing with life. Truth be told, I am still having a hard time. Caring for one super paranoid elderly parent at home, when another was in the hospital; cooking, cleaning the house, dealing with bothersome neighbours/relatives, strict health workers, being an online jury member for my students’ graduation project, a training programme while being sick myself was too much to deal with all by myself. With the front door sealed for quarantine, it felt as thought I was being jailed.
I would get several calls, messages telling me to step up and take care of my parents. They did not consider me human or asked about my well being. Ironically, many of these people had left their sick elderly parents in India to live abroad. I was filled with so much self pity that I hated myself. It made me angry, loathsome. Thankfully, it kept me from being scared. The PD training and jury really helped to keep me sane. I felt so very grateful as my parents recovered.
Around Covid
As I regained my sense of taste and my sight (smell is still nowhere to be found) I started writing a post about my experiences. However, I couldn’t bring myself to complete it and publish it. I did not want to talk that time or even think about it. I choked and my throat still remains swollen.
As a consequence, I stopped writing. I lost my will to both write and make jewellery. “Why make more jewellery, when you cannot sell what you have,” I reasoned. Then came a new semester of online teaching of six subjects. 21 hours per week filled with last moment preparation, power cuts and network issues. I still cough my way (badly) through my classes everyday awaiting magical recovery. On the plus side, I opened up to students, my teachers and some colleagues and received so much love.
While empathy surges, mental faculties take quite a heavy hit after covid (this no news channel reports). Knowing that art has always helped me deal with illness or depression, I turned to online challenges. ABS and Art elements challenges helped once again, to push myself to create.
Art Elements: Theme – Mandala
Inspired by Art elements mandala prompt, I made two necklaces and a mandala drawing. Here they are. If you are a new to mandalas, particularly the link between the religious mandalas and contemporary drawings, please look up this one post of mine on Mandalas. If you would like a short summary then, a mandala is a meditative space, one that is a visual representation of the macrocoosm and microcosm. It is usually drawn (on the floor) so that a person, or a deity placed in the centre can draw power from the higher energies.
Mandala art
Above is the mandala art titled “In the champaka grove.” I have been drawing mandala art as doodles in my school notebooks and textbooks ever since I was a child but I have never once considered them as art to be posted anywhere. Since I created this one particularly for the challenge, I wanted to focus on a theme and not on the symmetry. Some of you may argue that a mandala by definition is symmetrical. Yes, it should be but mine is not. As I was drawing this mandala I visualised a grove of flowers, birds and insects. A Champaka or champa is a fragrant flower used to make perfume. I was debating with myself whether to colour it or not. Eventually, black and white won.
Mandala jewellery
In Hindu homes, the mandala drawings don’t have to be a circular. They can be a kolam, a rangoli or alpana – transient drawings on the floor which have the same purpose. In this necklace, I have made a round pendant with a pulli kolam ( continuous knot pattern) inside and strung it with glass beads. You can see some of my older work with Kolam jewellery here.
Vermilion kolam necklace
Vermilion is an auspicious colour in India and is used for most festive occasions. I participated in a group giveaway recently (on Instagram) and the winner of my contribution (a pink necklace) requested that I make a classic kolam based necklace for her. She wanted smaller beads and a short necklace that she could wear with her cotton sarees. So I hit two mangoes with one stone by making this piece for both the challenge reveal as well. Since she is a doctor, I hope and wish that the kolam mandala jewellery attracts and disperses positive energy in her practice.
Coconut Shell necklace
While doodlers make intricate and ornate mandalas, they are typically geometric with clean lines in reality. This domed coconut shell is such a classic example of a mandala that depicts energy flow. When I bought gold foil flakes for my Thamara Earrings (shown here) I ordered some ditsy looking copper foil as well. I had bought this carved coconut shell pendant from a craftsman 2 years ago and in a freak experiment discoloured it. Thus when I saw the foil I knew that the shell was the perfect base to test it out. The shell is visible in the back but sealed as well to protect the foil at the rim. While the foil colour changed slightly as I sealed it, I quite love it. It is bright and bold in colours of the coconut tree. I hope that it finds its home soon with someone who loves it as much as I do. For sale!
Art Journey #6 : Mod Spatial Composition
It’s time now to move from Mandala jewellery to mod jewellery, particularly one that champions primary colours. Inspired by the sculptures of Ms. Katarzyna Kobro, a Polish constructivist sculptor, I made this necklace for Art Journey 6 of the Art bead Scene studio. Katarzyna’s sculptures combined flat planes of colour with curves that brought about movement. She worked with adjacent spaces in a way that enabled the negative space to penetrate her sculptures in a dynamic manner.
Red, blue and yellow necklace
The necklace uses the same red beads as in the kolam necklace along with glass teardrops in deep red, vermilion and white. The focal is an enamelled artisan component. I tried to incorporate all five principles of design (primarily rhythm) while working with organic shapes. This Necklace is for sale as well.
While mod sculptures and mandalas seem to be two completely different topics, both are related. They both allows us to analyse and understand space – both physical and spiritual in ways we have contemplated before. I hope you enjoyed looking at my red, blue and yellow necklace as well as my mandala jewellery. Do share your comments – it has been a while since I heard from you. I promise to try and find my voice and write more often.
PS: If you are someone who has been or is sick now, know that you are not alone. If you cannot think independently like before, be creative, recollect facts and articulate ideas, don’t be scared. It will get better – it better!
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