The GUIDE spoke to artist Shubha Gokhale who designs quirky jewellery embedded with artworks for aficionados who love sporting art around their neck or finger
The GUIDE spoke to artist Shubha Gokhale who designs quirky jewellery embedded with artworks for aficionados who love sporting art around their neck or finger
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| Artist Shubha Gokhale with her art jewellery. pics/ Bipin Kokate |
If you think paintings look picture-perfect only in an art gallery or nailed against a wall in your living room, get set for a paradigm shift. At artist Shubha Gokhale's Dadar workshop, she fashions wearable art jewellery using beads, buttons and semi-precious stones.
She starts with creating a 4 inch x 4 inch hand-made acrylic-on-acrylic painting around which a necklace is designed. Each piece is customised based on the personality of the wearer, their features, and the apparel they wish to wear it with.
For Shubha, jewellery-making has been a hobby of sorts for the past two decades. Her inspiration: the artisans from Jaipur who make colourful miniature paintings of deities on necklaces. She also makes rings with her artworks, on request.
While theatre and direction have always fascinated her, Shubha chose to follow her "inner calling" and focus on art. She studied miniature painting at the Prince of Wales Museum (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), which comes in handy when she creates her miniature pendants.
She also spent time researching on topics like minimalism in tribal folk jewellery and the ornate patterns of Peshwa jewellery, and regularly incorporates the design elements in her artworks. To enhance her knowledge, she even visited temples across India to take a closer look at miniatures, trained herself in acrylic painting from expert Jaipur artisans and worked with weavers to learn block printing.
Her pendants string together traditional puppets, nayikasu00a0 from the Natyashastra by Bharat Muni, lotus motifs, Rangoli patternsu00a0-- with textile collages serving as the backdrop. "My focus is on making ethnic products since I am in love with all themes, motifs and designs that are traditionally Indian. I also add a contemporary touch to my work by using calligraphy or experiment with pendant shapes and colours to make it relevant."
While the bulk of her time (at times, even up to a fortnight) is spent on hand painting the pendants, she employs assistance of a silver-plating specialist and string expert (she has been working with him for 18 years) to bring finality to her jewellery items. She also accepts orders where she is required to give a contemporary touch to a traditional piece of jewellery; like a grandmother's vintage pendant that needs a modern update.
Next up on the 51 year-old's to-do list is learning Minakari work. "I make it a point to keep learning. It's all about keeping the inner child alive. Rabindranath Tagore began doodling at 40, didn't he?" she says with a smile.
Call 9324469738
LOG ON TO www.shubhagokhale.comCost Rs 700 onwards
