Celebrating the birth of Krishna

 The birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated in India as 

Gokul asthami or Janmasthami.

Various rituals and worship is conducted as the

 Lord gets pampered by his devotees.

         The lord is depicted in various art forms,and here it is depicted through a particular painting form called the Tanjore or the Thanjavur paintings.

During my stay in Chennai(Southern India)when I was expecting

my kid I had attended the tanjore painting classes and  had completed my 1st  painting of the li'l  Krishna shown above. 

Tanjore paintings are beautiful art forms created  with lot of love and hard work.It involves intricate detailing and are adorned with gold foils and jewel toned stones which are embedded in them.

Even professional artisans takes months to complete one portrait. 

  This is the present painting which I am working on.

The tutorial for it is here: 

                                                                                       

Materials:

Plywood(water proof)

Longcloth/popline

Fevicol

Yellow oxide

Bombay chalk and french chalk

Arabic gum

Gold foil

Stones

Poster colour Paint

Round brush-0,00,000,1,3,6

Flat brush-2

Yellow carbon

METHOD:

Preparing the board The first and most important step in starting the Tanjore painting is the preparation of the board. This forms the base of the project and if not done right will lead to improper results.  Take a wooden board that is at least 1 inch wider than the drawing you would like to create. Extra space is needed to help in proper framing. Remove starch from the cloth ( soaking it in water for 1 hr and then dry the cloth).

Take 60 ml(approximately)Fevicol and mix it with 1/2 cup water well (to get milk consistency)

Dip the cloth in this fevicol paste and squeeze it.Repeat this process 5 to 6 times(so that the cloth absorbs and gets coated with fevicol well)

Squeeze the cloth slightly and stick it on the plywood board.

[To stick:- First stick cloth one one side of the board well and then pull the cloth on the opposite side well and stick the cloth well. Use palm to remove the air bubbles and wrinkles by pressing the cloth from center to the edges.]

Now stick the third side and fourth side in the same procedure.

 Pour the remaining fevicol-water mixture(if left out) on this board and spread out evenly. 

Make sure that there are no bumps on the surface due to excess paste or any lump in the ingredients of the paste.

 Apply another layer of muslin cloth on the board and repeat  the steps.

 Now add some water and chalk powder in the remaining paste in the container and mix it well till it becomes liquid enough to apply using a paintbrush.

 Apply another coat of the paint to the board. Now let the board dry for a whole day.

 Once the board is totally dry, take a small wooden Trowel and rub the board using hand from one end to the other, with uniform pressure. This is done so that the board becomes smooth and uniform. At the end of the exercise, if you have done the job right, the board should have a slight shine.

 Preparing the board is a time consuming process. If not properly done, it might lead to cracking of the base wile the painting is in advanced stages.
The picture is now chosen from any Indian gods or goddesses which then  needs to be traced out with the use of the carbon paper, first put a tape around the picture to be traced leaving some margin from the border.

Layers of paste made from arabic gum and limestone are moulded and applied on the canvas to create a three-dimensional effect in embellishing and ornamentating a theme.The chalk powder paste needs to put in a piping bag and like a cake decoration one needs to outline the picture drawn on the board with it and leave it  to dry.

Selected gems of varies hues, are inlaid onto this layer of paste with the gum. Gold leaves are affixed on selected areas. The shine and glean on the gold leaves used by the tanjore style paintings, will last forever.

Then starts the process of painting the background and shading for the faces and the bodies to suggest a fuller, more lifelike representation, standing out clearly from the composition and bringing out three dimensional effect.

While each of the steps appears to be easy and simple, a lot of care is needed at every step to ensure that the final product is flawless..

No two paintings can be alike and no two artists can give the same effects on the work. Each will have to exercise his/ her creativeness to arrive at a good finish.

Hope this helps you to get started.

Happy festivities ahead.

Hugs

Auro 

 
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The Indya Kaleidoscope

Let me take you today to "Chokhi Dhani" an unique village resort which literally means a "fine hamlet". An ideal rustic Indian village experience with quaint mud huts and thatched roofs, tree houses(machaans)are built offering the right blend of traditions in an  ethnocultural setting.
 

As one enters the resort, one is struck by these beautiful vibrant Phad paintings done on the walls with so much of detailing even in the frames and outlines too! 

         

and while you admire this painting, do notice the stone flour grinder called the chakki kept below for display.The maize grains are pounded and grinded here to a fine powdery flour by the villagers for their daily consumption. 

 A festive celebration within a village atmosphere is created in the form of village fairs, simple forms of entertainment, folk dances, magic shows, tarrot card reading, puppet shows and to end it with sumptuous Rajasthani food.

 Experience the rustic flavour of the folklores and the Indian puppet shows.

The exposure that the local artistes have received has revived many of the arts and crafts that were almost on the verge of being forgotten in these modern times.

Don't miss the bull's eye,while admiring the beautiful wall art.The dash board for the arrow is in the centre! Try out your hand in the age old art of archery. 

     The colourful, embroidered shoes called the mojaris made out of camel hides, pick your colour before they vanish !                                      

                                          Ah must be wondering where is this?

           Its a traditional Indian village kitchen.Oh how I love these mud shelves with the built in niches and  the brass utensils displayed on them!

                                                   A traditional bullock cart on display.

The dancers here are performing folk dances,they are the Indian gypsies who get themselves tattooed in traditional designs and are dressed up in colourful costumes richly embroidered with small glasses and silver threads.The famous Rajasthani folk dances like the Ghoomer and Kalbelia are performed,where there is a balancing act done by dancing on two steel glasses with an array of pots balancing over their heads .... hmmmmph!

After one has seeped in the atmosphere, its time to settle down and indulge one's taste buds with the  mouthwatering Rajasthani food served on dried leaf plates or big foil thalis .

        The menu comprises delicacies like Dal bati churma,Gatte ki sabzi and many more that will leave one's taste buds tingling for a long time.Served in a dining hall,where low stools called pidhi are laid in a row and people need to sit down and eat their food.

The tree of life with lanterns hung on it,what a splendid installation it makes. 

    Hope you liked this kaleidoscopic journey of Incredible India,

captured through my lenses. Do write in what you liked the most,

would really to love to hear about it folks . 

 Hugs Auro

Linking up with : Ivy and Elephants

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Happy Independence Day

                                   Wishing all a very Happy Independence day
                                 Visit here to experience the myriad colors of India.
                                                          Jai Hind
        

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Imaginations on the drift ...

"Mamma,we need to do a project on Saving the Earth by 

using natural things to decorate a vase"  

Well that was my son telling me about his

 next school's project which we unfold today.

How the  bare naturals - of the earth, by the earth, for the earth 

can be brought to the forefront to understand the beauty 

of God's each and every creation.   

 Yes, of course my mind started reeling on what can I create for the kiddo which is easy for him to  make too. My eyes fell on the ground and these dried leaves, twigs and drift woods caught my attention .....

 and then this is what we created  from a fibre glass, golden and burlap twines golden rimmed tapes,some sand and a candle..

 I just had to assemble these and put them all in his craft box and send him to school, as the rest needs to be completed there without any further parental help.

  Thankfully my boy could arrange the leaves and twigs around the glass, and simply tie a twine first around the glass to hold them, then the golden net ribbon was tied around the glass. I avoided the use of glue as it gets really very messy for them.

The candle of course was lighted once he brought it back home and I am really glad he did it just the way I wanted it to be..... the teacher said ' well now that is really smart and oh so very very different!"


  will be  waiting to hear it  from you guys!
    Hugs Auro

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