Treasure trove

Unique hobbies

Like any other child, Rupneet Kaur was fascinated by the world of art and craft. But what set her apart was that she took her love affair to another level. Today, her passion for art has only grown.

“I don’t throw anything away. I save them and create something beautiful out of it,” she exclaims.

Rupneet uses scrap items like bottles, buttons, bottles, electric waste, pipe, broke glasses etc and upcycles them. Be it doing decoupage or  painting, her imagination runs out.

She says, “Everything is a canvas for me. I imagine what I can do with it and start experimenting. It may not work but I attempt everything.”

Her interest for upcycling took a meaningful turn when she went on a school excursion to the Rock Garden in Chandigarh.

“I noticed that the artiste had  used every waste material that he could get his hands on and created a masterpiece. It looked absolutely beautiful! That’s when I realised that I can also try something like this on a small scale. I used the waste materials I found at home and gave it a new life,” she adds.

Her first try was to create edible rakhis. “We used ‘atta’ to shape Ganesha and pulses to create the band around it. Later on, I taught some kids at an NGO and they thoroughly enjoyed doing it. Their appreciation is what motivated me to continue experimenting such things,” says Rupneet.

Though she uses scrap items most of the time, she also loves working with shells.

“I’m currently working with stamps. I am going to decoupage them and make a table out of it. I also love using sticks, sharpened pencils, stones, empty cookie jars, leftover ‘bhindis’, delivery boxes and make something out of it,” she says.

Her latest fetish is working with expired credit and debit cards. She plans to make a table and a keychain with it.

Talking about her favourite artwork so far, Rupneet says, “I used old bottles and boxes and gave it a new look. I painted it pink and drew some designs on them. This one is particularly special to me as I made this for my friend after she renovated her house. This was for her daughter’s dressing table and the design I created went with the theme of the party.”

As she is also does apparel business, she hopes to create something with the ‘fulkari’ material.

“I love the fact that Bengaluru gives me the opportunity to experiment and I get a lot of constructive feedback from my loved ones. They are truly the ones who motivate me to pursue my hobby and I will always be grateful for that,” she exclaims.

(Rupneet can be contacted at [e-mail])