It has been four years since I wrote a post on colourful rangoli inspired necklaces for Pongal. However, the idea of wearing something colourful for a harvest festival never fades. Therefore, here I am, once again with two of my most recent and most colourful leather bib necklaces to celebrate the harvest festival.
In India, while there may be harvests throughout the year depending on the crops, harvest in the month of January is most celebrated. This is the celebration of Uttarāyaṇa where the sun moves north from Sagittarius to Capricorn in the zodiac. While the actual movement starts after the winter solstice, the celebration occurs on January 14th or 15th each year. People in different parts of India celebrate it differently and refer to the festival by different names. It is referred to as Makara Sankrathi, Lohri, Bihu, Poush or Pongal. Regardless of the name, it is a day of celebration with new clothes, sweets and prayers to the sun God. While it is a primarily a Hindu festival, many non-Hindus celebrate it too as a means of offering thanks to nature and being with their families.
Rangoli
One of the marks of the festival in Tamil Nadu is colourful rangoli – sand painting done on the ground in front of houses. Unlike a kolam with is grid based, a rangoli can be a any colourful drawing. People depict various animal life forms in rangoli for Pongal along with floral and foliate motifs.
Colourful leather bib necklaces
Inspired by the colourful rangoli that people draw in India during festivals, I am launching two leather bib necklaces for sale. Both are hand drawn and painted in water resistant inks in Tholu bommalata (leather puppetry) style. Apart from Rangoli, another big inspiration for the floral and scroll forms in these necklaces are the decorative patterns that would be painted on ceilings of Hindu temples in Southern India; particularly the center of each necklace.
First is the peacocks and elephants necklace and the second is the parrots necklace. Both are painted on stiff paper-like goat leather using water resistant inks. The backs are coloured solid to seal the leather. The designs are asymmetrical and in polychrome with a rich array of colours. They will add panache to the most basic of clothes and give your look an eclectic touch. Both these colourful leather bib necklaces are for sale. Contact me to buy.
Both these colourful leather bib necklaces were drawn and painted by Mr. Sinde Sriramulu of Karthik Lampsheds. He is the same artist that I collaborated with for my Jewelry in Narratives exhibition. Don’t miss seeing the virtual exhibition if you have not seen it already. I added the black background to both the bibs to make the colours pop. I added cotton cord and brass beads for an adjustable tie-up. The combed out tassels make the colourful leather bib necklaces look pretty from the back as well.
I must admit that this is the first time I have worked with so much rich bright colours in a piece and I was a bit intimidated to begin with. But it was fun. Have you ever made such bright and colourful pieces? Do let me know in the comments.
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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