Much room for ideas

Unique Hobbies

The supreme skill of turning trash into objets d’art is the forte of a select few. Sahana Vishwanath belongs to that esteemed club.

The art and craft works that she has created from waste materials vouch for her
creativity and patience.

For Sahana, what started as a naive, childhood curiosity, now stands at a great
juncture.

This was what she has always been doing, she informs. “I am basically from Pune. My mother Uma was my initial inspiration and I grew up watching her do drawing and stitching. It was she who recognised my liking for craft and encouraged me to join hobby classes as a child,” she says.

“I have been making craft items since I was in class of class five or six. However, these were nothing unusual. After class 10, I attended a course in craft,” she says. That was the clarion call for an interesting pastime, which only grew in years to come.
“When I came to Bangalore after my marriage, I met an artist, who greatly motivated me,” she remembers. Truly, there was no looking back after that.

The items that hold a pride of place in her house are varied. There are tiny bags and envelopes made out of invitation cards, wax flower vases, pen and comb stands, plates with various kinds of decorative works, colourful bags, diyas, ornamental pieces of different shapes and sizes, baskets etc. You name it and there it is!

Sahana takes great pleasure in not just making them but gifting them to friends and relatives. “There is no specific thing that I create. Whatever strikes my mind at that point of time comes to life in my hand,” she says.

One of her favourite work is the wax flower vase, the making of which she explains in great detail.

“Melt paraffin wax in an aluminium vessel and add any crayon colour to it. Once it cools down, keep churning it. When the froth forms, spread it on a bottle or a talcum powder tin with a spoon. You can decorate it with thermocol balls when it is hot as it will stick easily.”

Sahana, who partners with her husband in an engineering firm, has left no item untouched in her creative process. “We have a wood factory from where I pick up all the leftover wood pieces. I have made a whole lot of items out of these like a key holder complete with holes and designs on it.” 

Some of these creations have imprints of Sahana’s painting skills like the warli art. “Warli is a Maharashtrian folk art, which depicts the village life and I am interested in doing it,” she explains.

If that’s not enough, there are clocks, letter pads from invitation card folders and photo albums. “Generally, I make things from whatever is available or lying at home. For my niece, who is getting married soon, I have decorated a traditional umbrella with kundan and stitched borders on it. I have also made a carrot burfi gift, with two hearts on it. It is made with carrot and coconut and is edible. It stays around 10 days,” she informs.

Further on, there is the bunch of gerbera flowers made out of duplex paper, the stems of which are made out of copper sticks. These find their place in a beautifully wrapped basket.

Ask her what or who motivates her so much and she says, “My husband is very supportive. In fact, he wants to get most of the materials available in Raja Market for me so that I could make more craft works. He is my critic.”

Sahana also spends much of her time knitting. Any kid who is born in the family gets a knitted sweater from her. She does her own patterns while regretting the fact not much literature on knitting is available at affordable rates these days. The sweaters that she has comes to 200 and counting. She finds opportunity in every little thing and her creativity knows no bounds.

Neither does one know where her next surprise is going to spring from!