Tatting Doodles

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Tatting for Holi 

It’s Holi time – a festival of colours, of advent of  Spring, of start of lunar New Year (for some Hindu communities), a washing away of the past & starting afresh, ….

A while back when I searched for tatting related to Holi, I couldn’t find anything; so decided to try something myself. 

This doodle composition, which makes a nice greeting card, too, gradually took shape as well as symbolic meaning. 

I visualized 2 pichkaris (pronounced as pitch-kaa-ree), the quintessential image of Holi with water curlicues in Spectrum colours. I have deliberately not used the term ‘water pistols’ or ‘water guns’…. Later I added a 3^rd pichkari doodle. 

Made with Bliss variegated threads, perhaps a size 3 or 7. Main body of each measures approx 1½” x ½”

Floating Chain, Block tatting

Floating Chain, Block tatting.
The longer piston has picots for attachment

Lock Chain piston, Twisted picot handle,
Lock Chain Block tatting 

Techniques used & Tutorials referred 

(click on each for link to page)

Block tatting -easy way 

Lock Chain BlockTatting  (although I did it a bit differently, using 2 shuttles & switching at each row)

Floating Chains / SSSCh video tutorial 

Twisted Picot for handle bar of 3^rd pichkari doodle

Each pichkari spouts a different colour of water, one each of the 3 basic colours, red, blue, yellow. 

I used fine Rayon &/or silk threads & worked almost blind (stitches based mainly on experience & tactile decisions). 

Floating chains (SSSCh) for water

The tiny ring in some chains
is a water droplet

Yellow thread kept breaking ;-(

In a later post, I will detail out the process & stitchcounts (wherever possible). It was a continuous process of learning & tweaking & adapting. Not happy with the Lock Chain Block Tatting in this instance, but persisted because I wanted to add to my ‘new technique learned’ list.

A little cheating here. Simply tied a secure knot & snipped.

A greeting card for Holi, 

using tatted doodles & symbolism 

So, what do you think this composition, and it’s elements, signifies ?

Happy Tatting :-)

Motif # 15 / II for 25 Motif Challenge

Handmade Cards I

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Happy Holidays !

Season's Greetings 

& 

A Very Happy & Peaceful New Year 2015

saying it with an assortment of my handmade cards

(string art on paper, abstract collage, watercolours)

 

String Art / Embroidery on Paper

  

Watercolours

 

Collage Symbolism / Abstract

New Year Card :

The collage candles, my original artwork, has a symbolic message/wish conveyed through the size of candles, their relative placement, & their colours, as well as the intensity of the flames. If the past was black & the present bleak, the future will be very bright. The past is forgotten, the present is waning away, the future is looking brightly ahead. Or the past & present are/will become shining or treasured memories that will remain alive in us (as reflected by the flames). Shadows have not been added, because the black & grey candles (past & present) themselves act as a shadow to our life ahead.
I've used some sort of glossy paper for the candles & thin glossy magazine paper for flames [recycled]. In order to give it depth/3-dimension, the molten wax has not been glued down completely, & the candles themselves are glued over a thicker layer of paper. The telltale shadowy lines indicate the raised candles.

The string art on paper patterns have been taken from a book, the title of which I do not have. If somebody knows, I would appreciate you sharing the info so that due credit can be given ... These were made back in the late 80's, so the book predates that. It was a hardbound coffee-table kind of book with loads of lovely patterns, kindly lent by a friend.

Art : Diwali

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Original Artwork

Looking for some quick & easy designs for Diwali greetings ?

Want to add a dash of festivity to simple earthernware diyas?

Do you enjoy the satisfaction of a handmade creation?

I

 t has been a long time since I posted anything on art ... anything other than tatting in fact ;-P

With Diwali just a few days away, I slipped down memory lane & pulled out the very few remnants of past work that have been “captured”. Unfortunately, no photographs of rangoli. No good photographs even of these cards, that look much better & color-rich in reality :-(

Nevertheless, this was part of my life journey too .... Sharing pics/scans of my original artwork.

M

 y favorite Deepavali theme/motif remains the diya ! I am always drawn to this traditional form of lighting with it’s mesmerizing & majestic flame. Probably the reason why I tend to let the flame dominate ?! And the humble earthenware red mud diya is a perfect receptacle – unassuming yet nurturing .

This humble diya is soon vanishing due to the glut of artificial fairy lights. Well, yes, they are undoubtedly cheaper and more practical ;-)

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Painted Diwali Diyas

   

I enjoyed painting diyas … Here I’ve used only poster colors & quickly free-handed the very simple design using broad brush strokes. I added some silver poster paint along the upper rim.

If you look closely, you will notice that these diyas have already been used (the dark soot at the top left rim of upper diya), yet the paint has stayed fresh !

TIP : Always soak diyas in water for a few hours. Remove from water & let them dry completely. Only then use watercolors or any other decoration over them. Soaking & drying is a must before oil is poured in otherwise the diya will soak in humungous amounts of oil !

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Freehand  Watercolor  Diwali  Greeting 

Another freehand watercolor , with a dash of glitter !

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 Mixed-media  Diwali  Greeting

 

This is a multimedia design. After drawing the diya, I cut the cardstock to create a cutwork/lattice effect. Since a scan did not show the lattice, I have inserted a white sheet under it in the adjoining picture. White is where the black card paper is missing.

The outlines have been done in white 3D paint (it might’ve been fabric paint …. I forget) with a brown watercolor wash over the white once it had dried.

I then rummaged through my stash of glossy magazine paper to find graphics where the color scheme matched that of fire. This sheet was then scissor-cut into a collage & glued, to create the flame.

TIP : Ads in glossy magazines make for great collage scraps ! One can find myriad colors, shades, & patterns & no 2 collages will ever be the same !!

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Stenciled Watercolor Diwali Greeting

This last card is the very same design as in the multimedia card, which was used as a Stencil for the diya ! Water colors were used, along with some markers probably, for the flame, resulting in the yellows & oranges not gelling together ;-( …

                                                     
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Wishing Everyone A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali 

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