Go Green Kolam Competition-2012

 My Kolam Journey: A Lifelong Passion

Kolam has been a part of my life since childhood. Ever since I was little, I loved creating kolams for every festival at home. Although my designs weren’t always perfect, the joy of drawing and decorating our doorstep was something I cherished deeply.

One thing I especially loved was making colorful kolams. At first, I struggled with using colors—they would often smudge or mix unintentionally. But with time and practice, I learned how to work with colors better, and that made the process even more enjoyable.

After marriage and having kids, our living situation changed as we moved into an apartment. This meant I had to simplify my kolams, but I never stopped making them. Even simple kolams brought me peace and a connection to my tradition.

After these many years am sharing about this in my blog.

A very special moment in my kolam journey was in 2012, when I saw a kolam competition announced in a weekly magazine for the Pongal celebration. The challenge was to create a kolam using 25-14 inside dots. I submitted my creation and was thrilled to win first prize along with a cash award of Rs 1000. That moment was a proud milestone for me and deepened my love for this art.

Below are few trials I did before I arrived on my final version 

Below picture is the final output of the kolam i submitted for the competition 

To me, kolam is not just a decorative art—it is a way to bring positivity, creativity, and blessings into the home. Each design is a symbol of tradition, patience, and joy. It connects me to my roots and brings a sense of calm and fulfillment.

Below is the results of competition 

Now, as I write this blog, I want my children to know about my passion for kolam. I hope that by sharing my story and photos, they too will appreciate this beautiful tradition and maybe carry it forward in their own way. Keeping kolam alive in our family means passing on a piece of our culture and the happiness it brings.

Resin Art by Anu_part 2

 I enrolled for a basic resin art class with penkraft. I got all my supplies Ready for my basic Resin Art course. Immediately started watching videos and completed my course.

Above materials I got and couldn't wait to start my art work. First I started with mdf canvas board work. 

1.Mdf canvas board:-

I mixed my resin and hardener 2:1 ratio

Then mixed with needed colours and poured one by one on my canvas board. Later I used hair dryer to blow and blend colours. I really felt excited to see colour mixing and wondered of the pattern I got . It almost looked like a floor tile.

I loved the colour pattern and enjoyed doing it. I used leftover colour resin in the alphabet mould that I have so could use it to make for keychain.

2. Epoxy wall clock and beach tray

   Yesterday I did this craft with my son's. They helped me mixing colours. I did this both simultaneously. Got ready with my resin and hardener 2:1. Later mixed colours for beach art and clock. I used white,dark blue,light blue, greenish blue, sand colour,yellow and golden colour mix.

Next we put waste newspaper and placed clock MDF board and tray board ready. First we applied white base for both and poured colours randomly and blower did magic here I loved the results.

My beach tray looked like this. My sea shells delivery got delayed so used cut thermocol balls and finished my work.

My First epoxy clock, a new  add on to our living room. I loved colour mixing and results.

One thing i felt was I could have placed clock 

numbers after my resin dried out but now it has

blended with colours i used. It was also looking

good and my art is completely awesome. We

may plan thousands and execute thousands

but the actual Result  really reflects our true 

inner, happiness of doing things with love and

dedication. ✨ Art work is a Magic ✨!!!

Resin Art by Anu !!!

 My latest thrive for Resin Art inspired by seeing some you tube shorts... I love to work with colours and paint ... All of a sudden wanted to give try .... It is an expensive art so just to know if it works, ordered a basic art kit from Amazon which had below list of items

1. Resin - epoxy 2.Resin hardener 3. Use & throw gloves 4. Paper cups with icecream sticks 5. Keychains 6. Alphabet mould 7. Coaster mould 8. Mica powder(gold,silver,pink)9.glitters

I got ready with things given.

I mixed Resin and hardener 3:1 ratio. Added mica powder to get a desired colour and porer it on alphabet mould and it took nearly 12 hrs to get ready. Then put key chains given as this mould has cavity got the hole for inserting key chains given. 

Later tried doing coaster mould i actually used partially dried aparajita flower from our garden I placed flowers front side down on mould i used mica powder I got matte finish at the back of my coaster so couldn't see it inside my coaster.

 Below are the outputs of the key chain resin art and coaster art

Felt excited by seeing result. Happy that I was able to get the desired output in the first go.

Things that I learnt from this art:-

* Need to mix resin and hardener with correct proportion I used 3:1 

* If proportion is not correct our casting would break two alphabets broke but still could reuse it next time.

* Adding glitters less will give you nice look.

* I used mica powder to give colour for my resin mix so got matte finish in the backside of alphabet and in front got a glossy look. Planning to do my next trial with colour pigment. 

* Baby wipes are helpful to clean our hands if we accidentally touch resin with our hands. 

* Tough to work with plastic gloves must find some alternative to that..

Above points I have shared based on my trial and error. Planning to explore more on resin art in upcoming days .........,:) 😄.