Sunday, April 18, 2010

Artsy Craftsy - April

Edited to add:
Shruti asked me to share my clay recipe and here it is:

For the clay -

The recipe said
1. tear paper into strips and soak overnight
2. Grind it into a pulp using a blender
3. Add glue and knead into dough
4. Make whatever you want

and you could add some colours while grinding if you want some interesting combination and patterns...

But what I found while trying to make this:

1. Soaking for couple of days makes it softer to grind and the lower the quality of paper the better - eg TOI is better than Hindu in this context :D
2. Blender doesn't do a great job - the paper gets lumpy and clog up. I had to mash it a bit with hands and then use the blender - better still, the grinder. Also, you need some water for it to grind. I tried using some soaked methi and it works because it adds a bit of sliminess which helps the blending
3. Since I couldn't avoid water while grinding, I squeezed the water out before adding glue
4. My glue:pulp ratio was something like 1:3. I used fevicol.
5. Then I made all of these... I used some bowls for the form - I should remember to use Shruti's tips next time. And for some of the bowls I applied a very thin layer of pulp which became thinner when it dried. The thicker ones are more sturdy.
6. And for the lady, I made a skeleton with an iron wire - I wanted to make one who would be able to stand on her two feet but my pulp collapsed.
7. My sheep, mushrooms, fish, tortoise and Ganesha were nice and fat when I made them but they shriveled up on drying and the sheep got a sprain in the neck as he also couldn't stand on his fours and hence had to make him lie down. I think my pulp/ clay wasn't thick enough.

Then after drying and after the struggle to separate the bowls from the form, I used acrylic, undiluted to paint them all. The insides of the bowls were easier to pain since the surface was smoother...

On the whole - 2 days to soak paper, 4 hours to grind and make all the stuff, 2 days for drying (3 days of struggle to get them apart) 2 hours to paint them all and 1 night for paint to dry.


Here goes...

All but one of the bowls were made from paper mache clay...

Art on a Platter - Group Photo



A Gopika and a tribal woman - same piece painted differently on either side. Two shallow bowls, Fish - again the same fish painted differently on either side, two withered mushrooms, a sheep with a sprain in the neck and a Tortoise...


See some flowers that the tribal woman is picking?? A Ganesha who hasn't had his quota of kozhukattais and the bowls ...



The bowls up close - kitschy, drippy, sprinkly and all...


A peek into the making...




Phew!!!

32 comments:

Shankari said...

Wow! You have some enthu madam! Hats off to you and Pattu!

Unknown said...

WOW!!!!
These are awesome. can u send me individual pics pls?? each deserves its own pic.. and also a brief on how u made the clay..

A journey called Life said...

awesome!! very well done Uma..

Artnavy said...

Mindblowing Uma

We began yesterday and found it too tedious

can only say we had messy fun

unlikely to make it in time

H said...

Pattu and you have done an amazing job!

Jayashree said...

Wow!!! Looks like you and Pattu had lots of fun.

Lavanya Sriram said...

woooooowwwww!!!
Amazing !!!!

you have lots of patience ma'am!

My piece is still pending painting but nothing this colorful and fancy!

well done ! greaaat job !

Swati said...

WOW..what art ! Hats off ..we know the winner now :)

Monika said...

Great job Uma........really!! those tribal women look gorgeous. :)

Unknown said...

copyright info plssssssss :)

Momo's Ma said...

am speechless. really superb effort. and patience n they look so good. lovely colours used. keep it up! :)

Uma said...

Shankari - I've been thinking of trying paper mache for so long and Shruti gave me a reason to start. Btw, Pattu joined only the messy part...she wasn't interested in the rest :)

Mindful - Thanks to you ma'am *GRIN* All sent, and clay recipe also shared...

AJCL - Thanks :)

Art - Thanks :) I'm sure you had your hands full what with the moving and all... this does take a bit of time and planning

H - Thank you ma'am

Jayashree - Oh yes we did - and so did all and sundry at my expense :D

Lavanya - Patience ...err... I'm not really known for it... Use acrylic and make it as colorful as you want.. go for it!

Swati - Thanks :) ... I'm not sure if it's fair to enter this for a prize since Pattu didn't do much. There are a few kids who have done very well...

Monika - Thanks :) The li'l one looks adorable... do post some pics of ansh as well

Mindful - done ma'am :) Thanks for pointing out...

Uma said...

Momo's ma - Thanks :) .. they all are a bit photogenic, honestly...

Priya said...

Hey.. came over from Mindful
Awesome pieces of art! Good luck!!

Hema said...

Wow...You do have lots of patience! I only 'thought' and could n't proceed further:)The gopika and tribal woman doll is very innovative.

Uma said...

Priya - Welcome here! Thanks :)

Hema - I should show these comments to my mom & hubby and make them count the word, 'Patience' :D
Thanks :)

The Print Lover said...

Whoa!! This is superb.

Did you do freehand drawing inside the bowls (that paisley design) and on the girls? Those are really really good.

My fave is the girl in thaavani. She is so pretty :)

Trish said...

Wowww!!Uma!Amazing!!
Thanks for sharing the clay recipe..I will definitely try it..
I love all the entries!

lostworld said...

WOW!!! I have to just outsource all steps here :-) Lovely.. I'm completely overwhelmed with your craft-work. Good Luck to you for artsy-craftsy. I am astounded imagining the amount of hard work. Superb.

Aryan-Arjun said...

That is a super duper receipe..thanks for sharing...

Asha said...

Great pieces of art. You could start a summer camp and call some neighbour hood kids, If you have the interest that is. Truly beautiful.
My daughter will love making this.I will show her this post.

Anonymous said...

Too much Uma! Kalakitta po :) I totally love the bowls and fishies. Do NOT badmouth the sheep. He is MINE!!! I will come up with a name, just give me some time :) I would have said I like the women too, but featureless faces freak me out (how alliterative of me!) Want to design the mehendi invite?
KP

Uma said...

TPL- Thank you ma'am :)
Yes, all are free hand drawings except the bowls with drip design..
I wanted to add features to the faces but was too scared of messing it up :)

Trish - Do try and give it a shot without the glue...and of course, please share the experience and the work :)

Lostworld - C'mon! You slog for months and create such beautiful art and you call this hard work! Thanks for dropping by and for the nice words :)

Asha - Pattu is a handful, especially with the vacations now... I won't survive a summer camp! Do try it with your daughter...it would be fun...

KP - Thankoo :D. So typical of you to defend the sheep fellow - he looks kind of sad...About the face - I know what you mean :)... Mehendi invite? me? :D

Swati said...

awarded!
http://myamusingmind.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/awards-gift-and-a-bit-more/

Swaram said...

Woww! U make clay @ home ... thatz nice. Thanks a lot for sharing :)
I luved ur entry. Gud luck :)

Uma said...

Swati - Thank you! :)

Swaram - It is paper mache clay. Yes I made it, thanks to the Shruti's Artsy Craftsy Challenge :)

Vidya said...

The Gopika and fish colored differently on both the sides is a great idea! Very nice!

Uma said...

Vidya - Thanks :)
Repeatability was the issue ;) hence gave it another look...

Pooh! said...

What a spread! You have some great patience!My favorite are the bowls! Great work

Uma said...

Pooh - Thanks :)
I'm gonna try your jewelry...will update

shalini chandak said...

Thanks Uma for dropping by on my blog.
Your bowls and ladies are very nice. I was trying to make something using this technique. But does not have so much patience. You have inspired me to go ahead. Lets see when it materializes.

Uma said...

Shalini - Welcome here! I discovered you thanks to Shruti.
Do try this...it is lot more flexible and fun. Do share what you do...