Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy : Tell us a bit about yourself
& your background?
Nagashree Naveen : My name is Nagashree. Bangalorean by
birth. Married and a part-time
aunt-mommy to my little nephew. I am a B’com graduate. I am (internet) self-taught
artist-crafter. I probably inherited partly from my mother who has been
extremely creative. I have learnt many of my pursuits by watching how things
are made via different social media platforms.
I was working for 10 years in different financial
institutions. I have been creative on and off for the last 5 years or so. Since
2 years, I have accepted this to be my most gratifying work and got onto
creating and sharing full time. Lately, I am enjoying producing short progress videos
of making my creations. Also, I am trying to be a blogger. Learning to share more,
which I believe is as much gratifying as creating to an artist
RC: How did you get into crafting?
NN: As mentioned, mother was creative and we as family have
always been into making things on our own, the DIY’ers. I feel proud to say my
mother, me and my younger sister did all our traditional wedding crafts
ourselves, for our respective weddings. There
after, I branched out into different means. I started with embroidery, moved
onto home decor crafting, sewing, jewellery making, paintings, lettering, mosaic
art, so on...
I never knew I could paint up until 5 years ago. Me and hubby
were overseas for his work, where I had lot of time on hand. I got some
canvases, paints, brushes and just started off. After making paintings, I was
surprised to see what I could make. Then, the joy of creation and
encouragements kept me going.
RC: What is your favourite type of craft?
NN: Anything that involves my hands and brings out my creative
thinking enthrals me. That being said, I am lately enjoying painting. I have
previously worked with acrylics, now exploring the watercolour, pen and ink.
RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?
NN: Ohh, finding Itsy Bitsy was a haven for me. I was introduced
to the stores by a common family friend Rashmi.
As said earlier, I watched a lot of other country crafters
and always wondered how to procure those materials without burning a hole in
your pocket . Frankly, I was mesmerised when I went to their shop, here in
Banashankari 2nd stage. Then on, I knew I could create anything and here is
Itsy Bitsy providing those materials at your easy reach.
I have so many of their stuff, sketch books, canvas, brushes,
paints, clear stamps, carving tools, palette knives, embossing tools, paint pens,
feathers, threads..... I am still looking into my stash. Believe me, I have got
a lot of their materials. To pick a favourite, honestly, it’s very hard.
Currently, would be their self-healing mat (a boon for cutting anything), a
large sketch book, paint pens, palette knives, drawing inks.
RC: What products from Itsy Bitsy do you think are must have’s
for a crafter?
NN: Clear stamps, punches, embellishments, inks which are
versatile to be used on any surface.
RC: What product would you like to see at Itsy Bitsy?
NN: I would like to see more of carving surfaces like linoleum or
carving rubber/wood which would be great to make your own stamps. I would also
like to see gelli-plate for mono printing as well.
RC: You draw inspiration from?
NN: Indian folk and tribal forms of art and craft inspire me
mostly. I am a colourist in my artistic virtue. So, I like anything colourful
and bohemian. My versatile art supplies bring out my imagination to create
things in an unconventional method.
RC: What are your other interests?
NN: I practise yoga, a bit of sewing, and exploring different
forms of art. I also believe in reuse, reduce and recycle. I also knowledge myself,
implement, and make lifestyle changes in an effort to reduce my carbon
footprint on our only living planet.
RC: If you had magic powers, how would you contribute
to the Crafting world ?
NN: Everyone is an artist as Picasso said. I would make more
people to get involved in the joy of just making things. Everyone is
right-brained, it’s just that not many want to explore that side
of their being. Creating with your hands is therapeutic and
gratifying. I would also make people be more appreciative of things being handmade,
which lacks highly in this current cheap factory-made, use and throw situation
of our world.
RC: Your prized possession in your craft stash?
NN: Not sounding egoistic, I feel I am blessed to be a creative
being. I am grateful that I am a medium to put some beautiful and colourful
things out to the world, which may put a smile on someone’s face for a while.
This is the prized emotional stash.
Physical stash would be plenty, I am an art supply junkie. To
choose one, without hurting my other art buddies, would be my painting brushes
and palette knives.
RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?
NN: Eclectic, meditative, colourist influenced by folk and tribal
Indian art forms.
RC: How
do you organize your time for crafting?
NN: If I am not making something, I keep thinking about making
something. Over the years, I have learnt just knowing is not enough. Executing
what I have learnt is important aspect of being creative.
Being organized to make or to be even away, from
arting/crafting has always been a work-in-progress for me. I tend to forget
world around me when I am in my creative mode. I am trying not to be a
late-night owl. I am exploring area of making videos, for which daylight is
best. Hence, putting efforts to be an early-riser. I make an effort to make art
or art-related on an everyday basis.
RC: Tips
for people who want to craft?
NN: Take a step at a time towards making something. Explore
different materials, watch/read about it. Try your hand on many forms,
eventually you will find your haven. Don’t hold back on experimenting. Start
with you, make for yourself. Enjoy the joy of ‘just making for the sake of
making’.
Don’t entangle yourself with negative reasoning like whom am
I making it for, who will see it, what will someone think, should I be doing
something else than creating, is it any worth,...
RC: Your all -time favourite quote?
NN: Quotes if I may say
“Every child is an artist, the
problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso
“Have no fear of perfection,
you’ll never reach it” – Salvador Dali
“You can’t wait for inspiration,
you have to go after it with a club” – Jack London
“Originality is nothing but
judicious imitation” – Voltaire
“You can’t try to do things. You
simply must do things” – Ray Bradbury
