For Art Therapy’s sake – 24th Feb. 2012

Coming back from a lovely, short break is always the hardest part and most part of Friday saw me doing more art work, starting with the A6 sized three-series (below)…

The 3-set artwork. ©

I decided that I wanted to upscale to a huge painting, which is unfinished, but one that may need more attention to detail over the next few weeks.

This is a huge pastel artwork in comparison to the teeny weeny A6 papers that I've been restricting myself to. ©

And then in the evenings, the juices were on, and more blending in of colour – again the use of the left hand helps in a shift in ideas. (Learn more about why a right handed artist is using her left hand for art therapy work).

Disturbing artwork, but I enjoyed working in details. ©

A baby reptile! Close up. ©

For Art Therapy’s sake – 23rd Feb. 2012

A two-set series. ©

I am so blessed. I had a ten day break, away from the UAE. It was well deserved. Spending time with family and amongst the greenery, I kept sketching and crocheting more wire sculptural pendants.

When I got back on Thursday, back in the sandpit, I needed colours, so (and by now you know how the story goes), I started my self-initiated art therapy. (If you would like to know why art therapy related posts are sitting on this jewelry blog, you need to read this blog post dated 8th Feb. 2012).

This time, it was just a two-set series. As you can see, the first painting took a lot more time, energy and thought with blending of colours and more control. Still using the left hand!

The first in the set. ©

It seems that I was drawing moons, planets, unknown galaxies, more moons and planets.

The 2nd in the series. ©

For Art Therapy’s Sake – 10th Feb. 2012

The triad. An exhaustion and an explosion of colours. Dated 10th Feb. 2012. ©

I was exhausted after the ARTE event at Times Square. It had been a long day. And it had been a slow day, even though it was a Valentine themed day. I did get many compliments for my lovely Valentine mini sculptures and pendants, so that kept my boat rocking.

I usually fall off to sleep immediately after returning home, but somehow this time, I felt that I needed to put my exhaustion onto paper. So out came the pastels and paper and what I produced was a triad of drawings. Again, these were done with my left hand, with a little help from my right hand. There is something mystical about my painting (and even writing) with my left hand. It is as if I am tapping into an another dimension of creativity unknown to me (Read why I have started to do some self-initiated art therapy, to better understand why artwork is sitting on my jewelry/accessories blog!)

The first in the series. The murky one. Dated 10th Feb. 2012. ©

The 2nd in the series. All those eyes! Dated 10th Feb. 2012. ©

The last in the series. Dated 10th Feb. ©

Has my creativity with the Janys De line increased as a result of self-initiated art therapy? Perhaps? Who knows, I’ve only started. It’s only a journey, but it’s my journey to take.

For Art Therapy’s sake – 8th Feb. 2012

There was a time when I used to create jewelry as a form of therapy. One could call it ‘jewelry therapy,’ a term that I have handcrafted myself.

Since Janys De has become more of a serious outlet for me as opposed to just a hobby, I have had to find alternative methods of keeping the therapeutic spirit, especially when retail therapy or spa therapy didn’t really excite me.

I started to do some amount of sketching  nature landscapes, while on holiday in the UK last year.  In the UAE, however, I have taken to drawing randomly with my left hand (I am right handed).  I recall my art therapy friends from my study days in the UK and remember my own art stint for therapy’s sake.

So whilst Janys De has become serious with lots of rules and guidelines for creating, I have to let my inner child and happy spirit  play with limitless abandon.

My first artwork for therapy’s sake is the one you see below. The beauty is that it is random, no routine thought. Just a way of getting it all out on paper. I obviously, love soft pastels, especially when I’m in my element, I tend to crush the pastels and go beserk on paper.

Art Therapy mood dated 8th February 2012. Copyright Jan D'Sa 2012

This drawing came about in a strange way, I worked from the right hand side of the paper towards the left side of the paper. Thus you will note a distinct difference in the mood. Whilse draw the lute, I was reminded of poet, painter and writer Rabindranath Tagor’s

If you want to know a bit about Tagore, you can read about his exhibition taking place right now at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Whilst drawing the lute, I started to sing the song, which has the lyrics as follows (I, of course remembered my mother, because if I’m not mistaken, I learnt this song off her).

There are numerous strings in your lute, let me add my own among them. Then when you smite your chords, my heart will break its silence, and my life will be one with your song. Amidst your numberless stars let me place my own little lamp. In the dance of your festival lights my heart will throb and my life will be one with your smile.

–

More art therapy pictures to follow.

When a scientist falls in love…

Dubai, 2012 : The Scientist within me demands self-expression. No, not through research writing in healthcare and biotechnology communications (for once!).

The Scientist in me wants to create. Design. Handcraft. Paint. Sculpt. Experiment. Discover. Explore. Fall in love with magical life in all its colourful magnificence.

That’s why I started crocheting these tiny sculptural pendants. While I came up with the mini-sculptures concept in December 2011, I struggled to find a Valentine’s twist to it. It was through a conversation with a business colleague Matt Farr, who runs a company called Mountain Quests,  that I had my ‘Eureka’ moment. During a meeting with the Mountain Man (I prefer to call him the “Pahad” Man, where “Pahad” means mountain in Hindi/Nepali) I discovered out that he had a degree in Chemistry. Suddenly, I had a ‘kindred’ spirit sitting in front of me, someone who had a science background, someone who loved to discover and explore.  And suddenly, the ‘Love Potion’ pendants concept was finalised.

Each pendant that I have wire-crocheted, looks like a conical flask that a chemistry or science student would be familiar with. I finished the pendants with a hand moulded and painted clay heart and the Love Potion is ready for any scientist in love this Valentine’s Day. The smallest pendant stands at 2.5 cm tall, followed by 3.5 cm tall pendants. I have even created 5 cm mini sculptures that can sit at your table with a bunch of handmade flowers or just on their own. These are made to order as I have limited stock to showcase at the ARTE handcrafted exhibition this Friday, 10th of February, from 12pm to 7pm at Times Square. (I discovered yesterday that there is a ‘rock climbing’ area at Times Square, next to Adventure HQ. I might try it out some day, to calm the adventurous Scientist called ‘me’.)

And if you don’t favour ‘love potions’ pendants or sculptures, perhaps the “Tears of Joy” ….

… Or Flowers around your neck may be of interest (to the ladies of course!).

Coming back to my ‘Eureka’ moment at a business meeting. It is very important for creatives to find time to network. Get out of your creative shell; you never know when you will find a solution to your creative problem or who/what will inspire you to climb every mountain towards another creative peak. (Ok, I happen to be watching the Sound of Music whilst typing this and feel inspired to write about climbing mountains).

Perhaps the scientist in me yearns for a bit of fresh mountain air. And who knows another sculptural idea about to be visualised.