Crafter In The Spotlight 11 - Itsy Bitsy

Hello friends!! Itsy Bitsy brings you "CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT" – a unique way of encouraging and appreciating the talented crafters. We recognize talented crafters week after week, turn the spotlight on them & feature them in our "CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT"! We love what you talented crafters create & are amazed at each of your unique creations every single day! We love the way you use Itsy Bitsy products & give life to those products. 

We are delighted to announce this week’s Crafter In the Spotlight – August 2016 “ NAGASHREE NAVEEN” ! A Commerce graduate, who has worked in various financial Institutions, Nagashree took to full time Painting & Crafting in the last 2 years & finds it most gratifying! :) She & her family are so hands on ( DIY types), she says they did all their wedding craft themselves ! :-)

Although she has dabbled in embroidery, home decor crafting, sewing, jewellery making, paintings, lettering, mosaic art , Painting is what she loves most now & finds Itsy Bitsy to be a haven for all her Art & Craft supplies!:) She is heavily inspired & influenced by Indian Folk Art & Tribal Art!

What would Nagashree do if she had magical powers & what are her All- time favourite quotes? To know all these, read her very interesting interview ( I loved it, I am sure you will too). 

CONGRATULATIONS Nagashree! Wishing you loads of success on your creative Journey!

Here are excerpts of my interview with Nagashree:

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

Here are a couple of Nagashree's awesome creations :

Many congrats Nagashree for being the CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT - ITSY BITSY :-) :-)

You will receive Rs 500/- Itsy Bitsy gift voucher :-) :-) & a Crafter in the Spotlight badge, which can be proudly displayed on the side bar of your blog.

Also, visit our Youtube channel to view & to know more about this crafter – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbzFNKzVX2g&feature=youtu.be

Looking forward to many more creations, Happy Crafting!