Shrirampura cotton market-Heaven for cotton and textile lovers

We, craft lovers and designers, keep on searching for  materials for craft and designing . In this age of competition always the quality and reasonable price are the factors make the product to win. But searching for quality material for reasonable price is really difficult task. In search of materials for reasonable price, I have ended up spending more money :). Positive side is , I have found many places where we get quality products with reasonable price.

One such search is Chindi Bazar of Shrirampura Bangalore(you can search in maps for the exact location). Once you enter Chindi bazar, you can see lots of small and big shops on both the sides of the road. Earlier here sellers used to sell only cut pieces(Chindi in Kannada), so the name "Chindi Bazar". But now there are nearly 400 to 500 shops selling different kinds of cloths.

Small and big shops on the sides of the roads

I feel its really a heaven for cloth lovers. Everywhere you can see cloths and materials required for sewing and stitching like buttons, needles, threads etc. Here we get many varieties of cloths except pure silk. The varieties include cotton, artificial raw silk, satin, velvet,Georgette and many more.

Various kinds of cloths available

The best part is price. Some sellers , price cloths per kilograms and they sell according to requirement of buyer. Buyer can opt for half kg, 250 grams etc. And some seller sell meter-wise. When I inquired a seller about the source of materials, he told  they source it from all parts of India, - Tamilnadu, Baroda, Mumbai etc. So many designs like block print , kalamkari , embroidered materials , batik are also available here.
 

Block printed and batik materials

Cotton, artificial silk etc

Not only cloths, the sewing materials like needles, threads, buttons, laces are also sold depending on weight.

Loads of threads

Laces

 Another feature is you get plenty of options, in colors or designs.

Lots of options in color

There are many shops selling curtains, mats, home decorating cloths:

Some shops selling curtails, mats etc

This market may not satisfy all your requirements for designing purpose. But the materials here are pocket friendly.This serves many purposes like learning stitching and sewing , learning fashion designing , making quilts, or for the clients who demand good design for less price. I have got many times good materials here. 

The sellers claim that clothes are not available this cheap anywhere in Bangalore. :-)

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Warli design on a wooden box

Warli painting  is simple tribal mural painting  by tribes of Maharashtra and Gujarath. Many designers are using Warli designs. It has its on identity in the world of designs.
I have recycled an old clock using warli design . Warli looks nice as mural painting. Nowadays wall stickers are available and it is easy to stick them on the wall.

Warli painting on wooden box

I have many wooden boxes to keep my craft items. In the process of decorating my craft room , I'm decorating each box with different paintings and designs. A small box I have decorated using decoupage with napkin. The one I have now is quite a big box, thought of showing my painting skills on that. I have very basic knowledge about warli painting. With that limited knowledge painted the wooden box. I always like Warli on mud color background. So used mud color for the box.

Here is the outcome:

Wooden box with Warli design

Warli designs can be painted on any surfaces to decorate- on the walls, bottles, containers in the kitchen , any panel or on fabric. On fabric, the fabric painting techniques are used. On containers or wood first the surface is painted with primer.

Here is the wooden box I chose to paint:

Applied primer on the box. I chose mud color as background and applied mud color on it. Then traced the design:

After application of primer and color.

 Painted the top surface of the box:

Warli design on top of the box

And then  on sides of the box:

Warli design on sides of the box

The box is ready!

To design with Warli, if you are a beginner , start with a simple design. Even simple design of Warli looks very beautiful. 

Planning to design a saree with Warli design. Soon will share about that.

Until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Interview with an artist- Mural artist Shri Chandra Rawal

Sculpturing is the art which requires lots of practise and patience. I always longed to learn sculpturing , but due to time constraint my wish is not fulfilled  :(, though I tried to learn some forms of sculpturing like siporex mural making. My learning experience of siporex mural making, I have already shared in one of the posts. It was like dream come true experience for me as I learnt it from very talented and  Shri. Chandra Rawal. I was following him on social media , and was very eager to learn from him. When he conducted workshop in Bangalore, I was part of the workshop as learner. I got an opportunity to talk to him and he shared about his passion and his journey in the world of arts. Sharing his works, experiences  with all the arts enthusiasts.

Please share about yourself with our readers(Background, education, family etc)

Basically I'm from Thane, Maharashtra. I'm professional Mural artist and majorly work with siporex mural carving, though I work with other forms of mural art like metal relief  and mixed media relief mural.
I have a beautiful and loving wife and blessed with a daiughter and a son.

Shri Chandra Rawal

Now tell us how did you make an entry into world of arts? Have you undergone any formal training in arts?

Neither I have any formal qualification in arts nor I have any background of arts . I wanted to become a singer. To fulfill that wish, I wanted to earn money. So I started working as an assistant with a mural artist.   Six years I worked as his assistant. And once I got confidence, I started working independently, in the year 2007. I can say my experience is my teacher. Though I don’t have any qualification in arts, I have guided many students of prestigious school of arts, J.J School of Arts , Mumbai.

Beautiful mural of Goddess Saraswati made under Guidance of Shri Chandra Rawal 

 How and when did you start conducting workshop and teaching mural art?
I started sharing my works through social media like FB and google+. Some people started inquiring about the art and also showed interest towards learning the siporex mural art. So I decided to teach the making of siporex mural to the people who wanted to learn. My first workshop on siporex carving was conducted in Dec 2014 at Mumbai. I have conducted more than 20 workshops in the span of one and half years.

What  are the sources for the mural you make?

 I make the mural according to the client's requirement.

Buddha made by Shri Chandra Rawal for a client

Another Buddha mural made according to order

Apart from siporex blocks , have you tried making mural in other mediums?

I have worked with other mediums like metal foil , wood, soapstone and mixed media. 

Metal mural work

Once you start carving, have you ever come across artists’ block? If so how do you overcome that?

Never, in early days of my journey of art I used to feel the blockage. Now with continuous practice and experience I have overcome that.

Among the murals you have made which is/are your favorites(s)? and the also share the reason for that.

I like all the murals I made. Because each one has given me unique experience.Few of the murals I liked the most are here:

Please share some advice to the aspiring artists.

 My advice to artists is that learn from a teacher /expert.Otherwise you might be misled by mistakes. And have patience and practice until you become perfect.

  

Apart from mural carving what are your other hobbies?

 Singing , sketching and practising spirituality. I don't get time to persue my other hobbies, but somehow make time for those. While carving I sing, which makes me happy. Whatever idea I have I try to sketch , so that it will be useful to make murals.

 

A sketch by Shri Chandra Rawal 

What are your future plans in the journey of arts? 

This journey of teaching will continue. My only plan regarding my profession is to teach as many art aspirants as possible. I have worked for clients and been successful commercially. I want to make an artifact which gives satisfaction. Want to exhibit the artifacts made by me in art galleries.

Please share your contact details( FB/twitter/website/ contact number) where my interested readers can reach you.

People can reach my by visiting my fb profile :

https://www.facebook.com/chandra.rawal.773  or can reach through email :chandra@artreflections.in or mobile : 9820153133
Also I share all my works on page : Artreflections

 Thank you Shri Chndra Rawal, for sharing about your passion with us.I'm fortunate  to learn making murals  from you. All the best for your future.

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana