Decorating your home with things lying around the house instead of spending a fortune on artifacts can be highly satisfying, writes Aruna Chandaraju
Whether to customise their home, save on costs, or for the sheer thrill of crafting their own decor objects and giving expression to their imagination, many women are going the do-it-yourself way when it comes to doing up their home. There are many ways--both costly and economical--to go about it.
Some of them create artistic objects with items lying around their home like plastic and glass bottles, cardboard boxes, embroidery rings, leftover wool and fabric, marbles, packing material, old CDs, discarded electronic items, leftover pieces of wood (after a carpentry job at home) and broken ceramic objects. Add to this a few purchases from the market and tools and accessories like glue, paint, ribbons, threads, scissors, etc, and they are ready to create their 'designer showpiece'. They create new objects not only out of raw material but also recycle old objects to make something unique and beautiful.
Most women learn these tricks from their mothers and aunts while a few are self-taught.
But there are some who actually go to the trouble of attending classes that teach them these skills. Since the Internet provides ample information and tips on decor, most women bank on it for ideas. Since there are detailed instructions and photographs on the web, women attribute their learning to the Internet.
Joy of giving
Among those who have been making these things long before the Internet was even born is Bangalore's Indira Gopalaswamy. She makes carpets in wool and silk, dolls, embroidered wall-hangings, tapestries in wool and silk, and paintings of all kinds. She uses fabric, threads, discarded decor objects and even ice-cream spoons. An octogenarian, this 82-year-old woman's creativity is getting richer everyday. For Indira, these creations are not only used to accessorise her home but also as gifts for friends and relatives.
"There is joy in giving things that you make to somebody as a gift. The recipient also values it all the more for that reason," says Indira. She explains that she had a fondness for craft ever since her childhood. Every time she dusts or cleans the house, there is a surge of pride and happiness that she feels looking at the object she has created, she says.
A homemaker from Hyderabad, Sita Devi Rachapudi also manages to create things of beauty from the most unlikely objects. For example, she used drainage pipes left over from the construction of her house to make pretty vases. She has also used electrical tape, plastic bags, cane-baskets, old pots, wires, etc, to create home-decor objects and also utility and gift items. Sita Devi says, "I enjoy the process of making these objects and the opportunity to express my creativity. Also, once it is finished and on display at home, it makes me feel good every time I pass by and look at it." She also brings home from the market anything that catches her eye, and gives it a new twist by tweaking its design here and there. "I might use that object as inspiration to create something similar but with the variations I want to see."
Sreenidhi Govind who lives in Delhi says she was rather clumsy at first and made lots of stuff which wasn't really worth putting up for display. "It was disheartening at first and I almost gave up thinking I don't have it in me." However, after a couple of years, her creations began to show more finesse and became eye-catchers wherever they were displayed in her house. Sreenidhi says she loves fashioning lamps and wall-hangings.
Bangalore-based Aanandi Basappa and Kolkata-based Neelima Murthy who are sisters have homes that look plush, aesthetic and unique. Most of the stuff you see in their showcase or in the corners of their rooms and in little niches along the staircase or near the wall are crafted by them. Neelima says, "Our mother is our teacher and inspiration.
She learnt to do this out of necessity. She could not afford to buy any decor items since my father had a limited income as a college teacher. She would use leftover wool (after knitting sweaters), our old ribbons, old plastic boxes, broken toys, and almost anything."
The sisters say that though today they can afford expensive artifacts, the fun and thrill of making one's own stuff is always a motivation.
Some women are enthused by the feedback that they receive and wish to begin their work on a commercial scale.
"I will start small and move slowly. I will begin by using my garage as workshop and a few women as craftspersons. I just want to utilise my talent, make decent profits, and create employment for a few underprivileged women," says Sreenidhi.
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Art from trash
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