Turning bottles into art pieces

How much time do we spend each day doing things that help us unwind and relax? When asked this question, Ayesha Siddiqua says, “Nobody ever makes time for hobbies. If you’re passionate enough, you never run out of time.”

Painter, poet, doodle maker, actor, singer... Ayesha wears many hats with elan. She took to customising bottles only a year ago, as a break between academics. What started as a relaxation in college, is now her hobby.

Designing bottles is Ayesha’s creative outlet to reduce her anxiety and tensions. She says, “Whenever I have a bad day, I start redoing bottles.”

Ayesha has customised around 40 bottles till date and 15 of them have been sold. “The response I get for my craft works really inspire me. It makes me get better at what I do,” she adds.

She mostly prefers to work on bottles available at home. In fact, she initially redesigned anything and everything she found in her kitchen. “My first bottle design was done using items available at home. I made sure it was cost effective as it was my first try,” she remembers.

Her first attempt, she says, was decent. Ayesha is a self-taught artist and she feels that social media is a great platform for newbies to learn as well as publish their artworks.
She published her first artwork on her Instagram page ‘prettylittlethings560’ and Facebook page ‘Unfinished Canvas’ in 2017.

She says the response was very encouraging for a first timer. “I also get motivated looking at the artworks of people I follow on social media,” she adds.

Glitter, glue, ribbons, laces, beads and pearls are some of the necessary items used in bottle designing. “Anything which looks pretty works,” she chuckles.

Her creativity has taken her to great heights today as she is being approached by many for her creations. Among all her reworked artefacts, the three little customised jars count as her personal favourite. She says, “You can use these as a pen stand or a jewellery box.”

A lot of hard work goes into customising bottles. Ayesha says, “I take a couple of hours for designing each bottle. I end up getting a backache every time I sit through the process.”

She says, “My mother is an ocean of creative ideas. Most of my ideas are drawn from her.”

Ayesha has now taken a break from customising bottles and started doodling and painting. She recently published her artwork on social media with a message, “Be a woman, fiercely. Be yourself, unapologetically”.

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