The colours of the country

What happens when you blend your love for the environment with your passion for art? Some fine recycled artwork for sure! Neha A Patel turned her hobby of creating intricate pieces of art into a full-time profession a year ago when she founded ‘Color Crab’. It all started with her love for painting. She would often create some unique paintings and share them on Facebook. “I also used to make paper bags and share photos of them with my friends. All of my work was appreciated by everyone,” she says.

Soon, she branched out to create amazing works of art on bottles and tiles, which are very popular among her clients today. “Both my husband and I got the idea of creating artwork on bottles and tiles. He motivated me to go ahead with my plans,” she adds. Slowly, she started getting more and more orders with the first big one from Manipal University. “They had a convocation ceremony and told me to make 125 coasters,” she says.

The unique name ‘Color Crab’ just “popped up” as she says, “I wanted to explore and experiment more. Certain things like tile coasters aren’t largely available in the market. That’s why I thought of making them. If I come across something rare or a product that’s not available easily, I try to create it myself,” she says. Currently, she receives several orders on her Facebook page and single-handedly churns out beautiful works of art on bottles and tiles among others.

The best part is that all these are recycled! While the bottle art is done on used bottles, she also makes paper mache coasters. “Why waste something when you can use it in a better way,” she asks. She makes some gorgeous tile art too. The colours and designs of India are her biggest inspiration. One can find bottles with mesmerising ‘mehendi’ designs as part of her collection as well as ones with earthy ropes woven around.

She says. “Our country has so many beautiful colours and cultures. So I try to showcase an amalgamation of everything on my works. For instance, on bottles, I use different types of yarns and the sari borders of various states. Even on coasters, I make designs that represent the rich culture of our country,” she says.

While the intricate designs on the bottle take a day for her to create, one set of coasters takes around two days. Currently, a home-based venture, Neha plans to open a store in future. “Right now, I am single-handedly working out of home. Hopefully in future, I will have my own store and also a team,” she says.

For details, visit her Facebook page – Color Crab.