For some artists, any medium is a surface to create art. Even unusual surfaces like leaves, sand, clothes, eggshells and even plates and mugs become the canvases for artists. Debashree Madhavan, working at Ernst & Young as an immigration and tax consultant, is an artist who prefers creating wonders with her art in any available area.
A talented artist and crafter, Debashree is proficient in creating home decor, bottle art, wooden log art and gift hampers and sells them through her Instagram page @d_art.box.“Art and craft was an integral part of my life ever since I could remember. But over the years, I got busy with my professional life. However, it was during the lockdown period, when work from home was introduced, I restarted my art career,” says Debashree.
She started her art journey with bottle art. Debashree says, “I started it as a trial and error method to showcase my work and develop my own style. Then, I moved on to painting on ceramic and wooden plates and started making gift hampers,” she says.
Initially, the youngster used to pick up bottles from the wine parlours near her house.“Beer glass bottles are usually not of good quality and often have scratches on them. So, I pick up premium bottles like that of whiskey and gin which are not tinted, look beautiful and come in different shapes. I use them only if the glass is of good quality,” she adds.
Initially, there were a lot of takers for her bottle art.
But the artist says, “Now, more orders are coming in for the uniquely styled wooden magnets. It is very tiny and cute and is emerging as a preferred gifting option. What makes it different from other magnets is its raw, wooden finish,” says Debashree.She has already made and sold about 100 wooden magnets in various themes.
Earlier, her works followed on abstract style.
“Then my thoughts changed. Sometimes, the artwork is customised according to the client’s requirements. But it also involves ideas of my own. Surface patterns, seamless surface patterns and abstract floral patterns all are born in my mind. And this is how most of my work is depicted,” she says.
Debashree uses multi-surface paints for her work. “These go well with the wood, bottle and ceramic plates. I use these paints because of their adhesive nature. And they are more durable than other mediums such as glass paint. I put my heart and soul into each pieces I create. I am very particular with the durability and quality of my products, so I always choose the best medium,” she adds.
As Debashree has a professional career too and often has to attend to multiple orders, she takes three to four weeks for an order. For the bottle art, the price ranges from `1,299 to Rs 2,599. Wooden log art comes in sets of five to eight pieces and the price depends on the size and number of pieces. “The size of one wooden log art ranges from 2.5 to 10 inches. The wooden magnets come in the price of Rs 799 to Rs 1,599,” says Debashree, who wishes to explore digital art.