Arts and Crafts Collection

Madhubani  (painting) art form originated from ancient Indian city Mithila.
This was originated as wall art, means paintings were drawn by the women of Mithila to decorate walls of the houses. Nowadays these are practised on silk, cotton and handmade papers. Colors are natural colors.This is painted with fingers, twine brush, nib pen, match sticks etc.
The motifs normally used in Madhubani paintings are mythological figures, Rama, Sita, Krishna, Radha etc. The motifs are also influenced by nature, so include Lotus, flowers, fish ,snakes etc.
I would love to visit Mithila once to meet the artists there. Recently I could meet a Madhubani artist in a art exhibition. Captured the images of the paintings, to share with you.
Some are here:
This one has painting of Rama , Sita and Laxmana  in forest. So the motifs of peacock , Sun and Deer can be seen there.

 The Sun:


-Ranjana 

Bidri work is a unique metal craft which is found in Bidar of Karnataka (India).

I wish to visit Bidar once and meet some of the craftmen who do Bidri work. One day I will.  Fortunately, I could meet one of the Bidri craftsmen in a craft fest. When I asked him about the process of making Bidriware , he explained it very enthusiastically.

In Bidri work 2 metals are used- Zinc and Silver, which makes beautiful combination of Black and White.
Different items like flower vase, boxes, jeweleries are made with copper and zinc mixture. Then the different designs and motifs are engraved on the surface of the items. On these engraved designs , thin Silver wire is inlaid. You can read  more about Bidri work in this link.

The craftsman also showed me the method of inlaying the Silver wire on the surface of the item.I captured it through my camera to share with you ,

A small statue with design engraved

The craftsman inlaying the Silver wire

These are some of the items I've in my collection:

Kumkuma Bharani with Bidri work on the lid

A small elephant

Bangles with Bidri work

Bidri work displays the beauty of  blend of two opposites- Black and White!

Now Navaratri has started, I've lot to share with you about Gombe Habba , in the coming posts.

Until then,

I had planned to post about Bidri work. In between visited a craft fest , held at Chitrakala Parishat.
I saw replica of the  famous Hampi Stone Chariot there. Could not wait sharing with you.

Have a look :
In the next post definitely share about Bidri work.