Jwellery/couture
bijoux
Dual role
Traditional painting techniques get a jewellery upgrade with House of Kalart's creations
INDULGE
THENEWINDIAN EXPRESS FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 | COIMBATORE
HAT if
you could
turn your
favourite painting into
statement jewellery?
Arathi Rajagopalan, founder of House of
Kalart was just experimenting with colours and
bright hues and vivid colours across the collec- tion. "While the pieces are
hand assembled, some of the compo- nents are manufactured in a cast," Arathi shares, adding that the collection uses acrylic enamel on a base metal of brass.
textures on canvas when she came up with the idea. A Two's company
graduate of NIFT, it took the Chennai-based designer up until 2010 to quit her job as the head of Merchandising at Lifestyle and find her creative expression through designing. Attempting to fuse her love for hues and knowledge of metalsmith- ing, the designer launched her first collection titled Suminagashi in February. "I had styled a few advertisement shoots earlier and always found that I was inclined towards jewellery. It was during a DIY experiment with crayon drip art that the idea of creating a jewellery line emerged," she says, adding that it was the control to create forms that piqued her interest. The collection that mirrors its Japanese namesake of floating ink, follows the technique of marbling.
Splash of colour
In the city as part of anartexhibition, the 35-year-old's abstract paintings which are on display also find their way onto her creations. An item collec- tion (similar designs available in differ- ent colour combinations) that is pre- dominated by statement earrings, the line also includes necklaces and bracelets. Characterised by the use of geometric shapes, Suminagashi offers
Pointing out her favourites from the collec- tion, we learn that the designer prefers naming each piece from her collection. "Ila and Naira are my picks from the collection. The earrings have two of my full-sized canvas paintings transposed onto them." And since the designer-artist is in the city showcasing her art alongside her jewellery collection, customers might get a chance to see the paintings that inspired her two statement earrings.
Ila
*500 upwards. At Art Houz. On until April 5.
Rebecca Vargese rebecca
@newindianexpress.com
@rebecca_vargese
From the Suminagashi collection
Naira