Jens Risom : An Icon Speaks...:)

How much I admire his designs :). I feel like a starry eyed fan right now.

Artist Showcase ~ Bhavana Vijay

One of the blessings of being a blogger- you get to meet talented and very creative men and women who never cease to amaze you. Bhavana is one such wonderful person. An amazingly talented artist, a very busy mom of two and a sweet, down to earth lady. Another reason for my excitement - She is a hyderabadi too!! :P..pl excuse my excitement!!

To many, her work needs no introduction. This post is more of a documentation of my admiration for this very creative lady.  A Mudra Institute of Communications Graduate, Bhavana began her career in advertising only to realize she was cut out for spending time in her studio with her brushes and easel. 

Starting the showcase with this sketch of my favorite god - Ganesha

Vintage Love ~ Pascoe Plywood and Iron Side Chairs

I have spoken about my love for using wood and metal in furniture design. But then use of metal has to be in simple and clean lines for me. When I saw these on another blog I follow, I had to share it :-) 

 (circamidcentury blogspot com)

This chair were designed in late 1951by Clifford Pascoe for Modernmasters Inc, and was included in the 1952 Museum of Modern Art Good Design show. This chair has a bent/sculptural molded plywood backrest, black metal frame, and a vinyl upholstered seat. Pascoe chairs are considered a cheaper reproductions of Paul Mccobb's chair, the #1535 side chair of the Planner Group. 

Another reproduction of Paul McCobb was out in 1960: A design by Reilly-Wolfe 

source

vs

Pascoe (year: 1952/53)

A huge thank you to Jonathan of http://paulmccobb.blogspot.com), Here is what he has to say on identifying the original Paul McCobb vs equally good looking Pascoe's chairs :)\

How do you tell them apart? Here's a list of the major differences:

1. Paul McCobb chair has a metal stretcher across the bottom between the front and rear legs, the Pascoe chair does not have this.
2. Clifford Pascoe chair incorporates an upholstered foam rubber seat, the Paul McCobb chair a carved wooden seat.
3. Where the Pascoe chair uses bolts through the back of the backrest to attach it to the iron uprights, the McCobb backrest is connected invisibly at the bottom of the backrest.
4. The McCobb backrest is more sculptural and less angular than the Pascoe backrest     

  (source:  paulmccobb blogspot)

Found a pair of Pascoe plywood and iron chairs on D.C. craigslist :) (sigh) 

These chairs would look so good in a sunroom, breakfast nook or a balcony..I am sure whoever buys it will be pretty happy :). These pieces work well in small spaces, as they are stack-able and contrary to their looks are pretty comfortable. What I love about clean line furniture, is the airy and well ventilated affect they bring to any decor :)..But then, as I always say, they have to be done right!!

Artist Showcase ~ Aarti Verma

I love to feature wonderfully creative people who are passionate about Art in any form. This time around, I am glad to be writing about Aarti Verma, the very talented lady behind the Mumbai based independent fashion label 'Art meets fashion' 


Art meets Fashion, an 8 month old label, deals exclusively with hand painted and handcrafted stuff, particularly fashion accessories. Aarti Verma has an art teacher diploma from Sir jj school of Arts and also a crash course in fashion designing. After working as an Art and craft teacher for a year, Aarti pursued her passion and combined her love for Art and Fashion, and thats how Art meets Fashion came into existence. 

Aarti describes AmF as "a very quirky and Artsy label, every piece is handpainted and handcrafted with love..." This very creative lady makes Handpainted tote bags, Hand painted cushions, Hand painted tunics/kurtis and very pretty jewelery.  

I ll let the pictures do the talking, and you will know what I mean :)

Handmade totes

madhubani inspired

 

Beautiful Pillows

Hand painted Kurti

Hand made Jewelery

Want to see more...just hop over to her blog and see all the handmade beauties she has for sale...Wishing Aarti the very best with her venture - Art meets Fashion.

Artist Showcase ~ Abhilasha Jain of Mish Mash Design

I have been meeting amazingly creative designers and artists on my blog journey. Abhilasha of Mish Mash Designs is among the most inspiring artists who turned their dreams into reality. I really liked her work and couldn't wait to feature her work on the Design enthusiast.

She is the creator and designer at MISH MASH DESIGN...Mish Mash Design is a venture into hand Painted products. I love the finesse on her work, which includes cushion covers, Pillows and tote bags and fabric. All these are made of cotton silk and Organic Cotton. Here is how she describes herself - :)

I,Abhilasha am a dreamer,an art lover, a painter,a photographer and Jewellery designer and merchandiser by profession, who  have small set up where i make jewelery for my clients Design ideas come to me at anytime!!! ( be walking on the beach or be Dreaming!!!) some of which work out well and the others I guess were just a part of the experimentation.I don’t remember a time when I have not drawn or painted or infact been involved with anything creative.Though my work comes from no particular school of art, every piece of art is handmade,unique and done by single hand.

Her Designs are diverse and range from ethnic Indian, Tribal, Fun, Dreamer to some that simply can't be labeled. She is someone who loves what she does and it definitely reflects on her work

A Sneek Peek into her collection and description (in her own words)

Royal Collection- the entire collection is based n inspired by ethnic india. This collection includes Jodha -Akbar, Mumtaz -Shah jahan, Rajput princess and Prince

Tribal Collection - This collection is based on my own art work which is inspired by tribal theme. Tribal Man,Shy 

Woman,man & woman in love, Radha & Krishna

Dreamer Collection      : My Dream Girl in deep thoughts

Power of love               : Tribal mask inspiration

Mish Mash Potpourri    

Ethnic Golden Elephants & Lotus sutra, Indian puppets playing Didge, Ganesha & many baby Elephants, My blue Elephant 

To see more of her work, check out her blog. I am sure you will love her work and her blog as much as I do.

(here is the link folks...):   Mishmashdesign-abhilasha; and do not forget to follow her on the facebook page as well: facebook

Wishing Abhilasha all the best and many more creative projects in the years to come. :)

Saffron & Silk's Giveaway

Kamini of Saffron and Silk has announced a giveaway . This event ends on 15th January 2011. Good news is that, she has two different pieces up for grabs.

one for the US audience

and another for the Indian entrants...

Rules for entering are very simple, so i recommend this chance to win an original artwork...Wishing you all good luck!

Pics courtesy: Kamini (Saffron and Silk)

Aarohi - An Artist and her Exhibition in Bengaluru

I have been following Aarohi and her art blog for a while now. You can read more about her wonderful art work and about herself on her website and blog- Art by Aarohi. Gagan's blog - of Peacocks and Paisleys did a wonderful profile on Aarohi >>here and also check out Aarohi's guest post on The Key Bunch. 

Her website and blog

And now, good news for Bengalurians (aka bangloreans)....Aarohi's latest work is on exhibition. Cool isnt it!!...I recommend the exhibit to every art lover. So do take time out and visit with friends and family...there is something for everyone to appreciate!!...Here is a sneek peek into her work

And now more about the exhibition...

When:

25 - 28 Nov, 2010

Where:

PageTurners Bookstore 

#89 Kannan Building, MG Road, Bangalore

Timing: 11am - 8pm

Take a look at her lovely poster!!

All pictures and screenshots: courtesy Art by Aarohi

PS: A detailed artist profile coming soon on The Design Enthusiast...:)

Friday Finds - Propeller table & An Artist Showcased

I came across Damon's work via flickr. It was great to find a very talented sculptor and artist who loves to turn scrap metal and found objects into pieces of art. One such creation is his Propeller table. I am glad he agreed to be featured on The Design Enthusiast.

This Propeller table is what triggered my interest to feature his work under Friday Finds.

About the table..
Damon says - "The table is made from salvaged junk from my local scrapyard. The base is made from a spun stainless steel half sphere..I found two of them but have no clue what they were from. The section on top of the base is ceramic originally was used at a power station. it is also from the scrap yard, and the propeller fan blade, plus there are some auto transmission parts and a few other scrap yard parts. The glass is a new addition from the smaller one seen in the first pics, it was found at a salvage store"


Details...

The table in use :-)..doenst it look like a great Atomic / Sputnik kind of piece.

He has a Sculpture company called Atomic Junk Show and is passionate about turning scrap and salvaged parts into art forms! (yes, even the furniture pieces are art forms in every sense).

About Damon:

Damon started welding back in the 80's and owns a sculpture studio is in Akron Ohio. He seems to find some amazing junk/scrap locally, which inspire him to create more amazing things!

To see what I mean, here is a peek into his world>> Flickr 

He says

"My studio is filled top to bottom with ton's of cast off scrap, that can be transformed into what you see in my picture's...there is nothing better than taking something no one want's and transforming it into something people are willing to pay good money to own it." I find his style is very industrial and sci-fi (I cannot help it, its the stainless steel love in me talking)....:-)

He is all set to open a store called The "Bomb Shelter" in Arkon, Ohio. He plans to showcase his work and fill the 10,000 square foot store with cool vintage, antique, retro, industrial and new pieces.He is a regular at local scrap yards and drags all kinds of stuff home to create found object sculptures...

Damon says - "it's truly unbelievable what people scrap! I love the vintage scifi movie's and just about anything that relates to old science fiction, so a lot of my work is influenced from that. "

I loved his work. Isn't it is nice to see people find beauty in everything around them. Such people are really inspiring and I secretly envy their creative skills..:-)

All pictures courtesy :Damon

Artist Showcase- Nithya

I have been waiting to publish this post about a very talented Artist.

Nithya a.k.a Lakshmi Kalyani is an Artist with oodles of talent and abundance of inherent creativity. She has a Fine Arts Degree from Andhra University with a major in Painting. What could be better than to start the showcase with a very colourful depiction of Sree Ganesha

Gajanana - Acrylic on canvas

Her talent was recognized very early when she won laurels in various state and national level painting and art competitions while in school. A few of her achievements include, 3 gold medals in 3 consecutive years at National level painting competition and a 4th place at National level held by Vijay Information, Hyderabad. Constant encouragement from the family fueled her desire to do well as an artist, while still in middle school.

She says, “I am lucky to have been born in a very loving and encouraging family. Being surrounded by Art lovers and patrons who believe in me, has fueled a desire to do well in a less treaded career path.”

One look at her work will convince you of her passion and seriousness towards her career.


Title: A long way to go -Acrylic on Canvas

Nithya says- “I honed my skills in drawing sketches and in water color with the help of my Drawing Teacher.Regular participation in art competition fetched me few laurels. Moreover my painting on ‘World Peace’ got selected at district level Competition held by Lions Club.My painting was adjudged winner in the Amul Butter girl contest. I went on to represent the State of Andhra Pradesh, India, at the National level competition held at Anand, Gujarat in January 2000. These milestones and all the support from people in my life, encouraged me to pursue a career in the same field of interest.”

Title: Blossoming Childhood - Acrylic on Canvas

What drew my attention to her work was her choice of subjects showcasing burning social issues. Given that she is in her early twenties, I couldn’t help admiring her sensitivity towards these issues.
Title: Prized Catch - Priceless childhood! - Acrylic on Canvas

Nithya adds,” Through out the Bachelor’s course, my pet theme was always a social cause.My painting projects depicted children and their cause ie, Child education, Child Labour, Child Abuse and female foeticide/infanticide etc. My work has been received well and appreciated by all.”

Title: Burning Midnight Oil - Charcoal on Textured sheet

She is an expert in using vairous media and her quality of work reflects in even her pencil sketches.


Pencil on Chart 

Water colour on chart 

Title: Nestling Ideas take flight -Oil on canvas

She says, “The scene of neglected childhood on my way to college moved me a lot and that reflected on my canvas.Paint and Brush are my aides to express my feelings for these issues. “

Title: Street children -Charcoal on Chart

I loved every minute I spent chatting with her and getting to know this amazingly talented girl. I loved the way she ended her conversation with me –“ Thus I stand an artist in making.” Her expertise includes Portraits and her ability to replicate a picture as is...I am awestruck!! She accepts orders for portraits. All you need to do is to send her a nice picture. :)

Charcoal and Water Colour on Textured paper

It is encouraging and heart warming to see the family she was born in and the family she has married into, to have immense faith in her. I wish her all the best with her career as a full time artist and wish her many more accomplishments in the field of Arts. I hope you liked her work and would surely mention it via your comments.

A call to all Art patrons - Nithya's work is for sale. She would be glad to work on any medium or theme. Do leave your comments and queries in the comments section. Nithya will respond to all of your questions.


Copyrights:All pictures and paintings are Nithya's original work. No form of misuse please!! Images are scanned copies of her work. Please respect an artist's creativity and right to appreciation. Image resolution has been kept low for copyright purposes. Please ask for higher resolution pictures, if interested.

Artist Showcase - Sunayana Sarangi

I feel proud to be the first blogger to be writing about Sunayana, a software engineer by profession and a budding artist, and an excellent classical dancer by choice.

I was introduced to her pencil sketches and 2x2 Oil canvases around three years ago, and I just loved them. I grew to become a fan of her work and her dedication to art.This post has been long overdue. I had mentioned my intentions to showcase her work (in a previous post) - I wrote about her work on store bought Terracota pieces. This post finally happened once I could lay my hands on the pictures of her work. A very shy artist that she is, I had to send in constant reminders (and threats) for a set of clicks. I am honoured to be providing a sneak peek into her world. Her work reflects her passion and dedication towards art. She enjoys spending hours on her projects (and forgets to eat at times). I hope I am able to do justice in showcasing a wonderful artist. I wish I could share all of her work here...but had to make do with a few that I chose at random. I hope you too would enjoy her work and encourage a budding artist who deserves to make it big!

A wall mural she painted in her spare bedroom. Mowgli and friends..(loved this.)

A beautiful mixed media on 6'x4' canvas. Women's embossed jewellery in this canvas needs a special mention (though not visible in this picture).

 

Women find a special place in her work. A Rajasthani woman (4'X3')

A vibrant Ganesha- oil on canvas (3'X2')

 

She is great with abstract and modern subjects as well. Charcoal (3'x2')

Her contemporary Krishna - (2'x4') oil on canvas

Her interpretation of women.(4'x1') (oil on canvas)

Loved her 3D murals in mixed media.

Another pair of 2'x1' murals complimenting each other, and looking so wonderful together

 

One of her Thanjavoor paintings - The show stopper!!

This is what she has to say about her work....

"my work/painting queue is overloaded.... the moment I finish 1, 2 more gets into the queue...More I work, the more exciting it is getting to work on new media and subjects... I am currently finishing a buddha ( oil ) on a charcoal background....thats something my mom had asked me to do for her... work is in progress.... the next in queue is a Thanjavoor Ganesha (2 ft X 1.6 ft) - I intend to work on it once the buddha is all done and framed. My house now looks more like an art exhibition :D....I am striving to create my own style.... And that needs me to be persistent with my work..its practice that I need all the way!"

Do let me know what you think about her work and Sunayana will respond to your queries and questions in the comments section....I wish her all the very best. 


Art patrons can now buy her work!! Sunayana is all set to open her online catalog and a Studio blog. I 'll provide updates in a later post.

PS: Oh! did I forget to mention....she is my SIL!! :) and I can actually demand personalized artwork for myself! lucky me. 


Copyrights: All featured mural and paintings are Sunayana's original work. No form of misuse please!! Images are pictures of her work. Please respect an artist's creativity and right to appreciation. Image resolution has been kept low for copyright purposes. Please ask for higher resolution pictures, if interested.


UPDATE:
Sunayana Sarangi has started blogging over at : http://skartstudio.blogspot.in/. Do stop by her blog for the latest from her studio :)