SCreEn PrIntIng |The Source|

I keep asking my workers, crafters, artists, this one question and often its just a greeting………. “Khush ho?” (Are you happy???) …….. the man/ woman smiles…….. surprised and shy most of the time, happy by the gesture itself sometimes and at other times back with a story in his/her life – the stories are the best! These guys have much to share and those smiles – content –  rather contagious and one of the reasons that I just love to chat up with them creators, the men/women who truly believe in their contributions to whatever big or little they do – they are happy and more than that – proud, something that I always have to remind myself off, strangely!

Ever thought about this – the people and businesses that a creative supports also supports them. It needs to co-exist like a demand and supply chart, its use needs to progress and develop not only in availability but in education and awareness as well and only then can an art form and its representative artistry stay alive. I feel elated that the digital world could never take away from this 2000 year old form of printing  – Screen Printing.

Continue reading

Kimya Gandhi – Typeface Designer

You know how teachers and professors at schools and colleges always feed you with rot that everyone is competition and one must beware of even their own shadow!!! I thank my stars (actually my parents) and the people I met that mattered, because of who I got to believe in just the opposite – to be fearless! And as much as I wish every one to work carefree with just all the passion and nothing else …… she truly is fearless – KIMYA GANDHI – my inspiration from the day I have known her!!!

Continue reading

Defining Spaces: Bead Curtains |The Source|

If you don’t already know, I work on art directing confined spaces and locations to their best potential use, and style them to suit a script/ character of a film or advertisement. The biggest challenge always is space division and the only thing that gets me thinking over and over and over again.

I like to believe I have the space planning part nailed, though creating a great depth, function and connect of one area to the other by experimenting with newer options is what keeps me in check. While we can use different styles of screens, glass doors, furniture, drapes, lights, sculptures etc. to divide and define spaces; Glass Bead Curtains are on my hit list these days because I just LOVE the way they catch the light and glisten up like a perfect tease to a space. It is a pleasant layer that allows privacy yet a subtle disconnect.

As beautiful as this may sound it is an uphill task to source bead curtains to the right dimensions and style. And if you want to make them on your own – local wholesale markets like Pydhoni in Bombay (Mumbai) help, but its just tedious to get ‘glass’ beads in this china made world that we live in and then to string them together! – don’t even want to get to that……

This week MMT introduces you to “Memories of A Butterfly “ by Sreeti Mondol who says that it is a simple and malleable concept – the bead curtain.

What we love about bead curtains is that they not only allow for a play with color, light and texture, but also enable us to create natural connectors between spaces. They have the ability to create privacy without disconnecting an area from the rest of the house, office, bar or restaurant. - Memories of a Butterfly

Memories of a butterflya_bead curtains-11

One should note that all designs by MOAB are hand-made and every piece is customized so as to suite the clients’ design and functional needs! Sreeti surely has created an edge by exploring extensively, in style, material, dimensions and design. The variety of materials used includes– Pure Glass, Crystal, Australian Shell, Bone, Treated PVC, Stained or Sprayed Acrylic, Acrylic Crystal and Wood, just to name a few.

You can work along MOAB to design a bead screen to your tastes or better, just pick from her creations to suit your space. MMT’s favorite is the BlueGreen MOSAIC Glass Bead Curtain because of its intricate and modern design. Her other designs include, ‘Moroccan Blue’, ‘Bold Polka’, ‘Champagne Gold’, ‘Glass Crystal Multicolored’, ‘Pomegranate Gold’, ‘SeaBlueGreen Aztek’, ‘Topaz Leaf’, ‘Acrylic Crystal’s’ and ‘Chandelier Decor’.

View much more and contact Sreeti Mondol – Director and Principal Designer for Memories of a Butterfly through her facebook page linked here and/or her website www.memoriesofabutterfly.com; having been at this for almost a decade, you can be sure to find the advise and help you need from Sreeti.

Paper Prowess |Source|

One thing that has totally impressed me always is the use of the right paper. It's that background which upholds the identity of one's design, the intend of a photograph, the character of your writing...... it's like a foundation of any building. Well yes! That's how important choosing the right paper is because you may ignore it, but it is that little detail that enhances the overall experience.
Sun Papers in Bora Bazaar, Chimanlals in Wallace Street, and Sona Commercial in Lower Parel, bombay (mumbai), India are MMT’s favourite shop stops for paper.
Chimanlals has been making and selling handmade paper and paper products for the past 50 years bringing along a paper culture in India and overseas. Their pursuit of traditional designs and printing techniques reflect in their stationery collateral (letterheads, envelops, visiting cards, desk organizers) wrapping papers, wedding invites, gift cards and many other accessories. If you want all the Indianness in your paper – ikkat, bandhani, ghumar, patola, warli, block etc etc. Chimanlal’s is your must go to store.

Continue reading

Art of Screen Printing

Screen Printing Wkshop_Studio118

‘Woah! This is harder than it looks!’… I guess that is when you know something truly is an ART!

That was my first reaction after attending a workshop at Space118 last weekend. I am sure some of you would agree with me on this. It is the kind of art that requires a serious commitment to begin and then to get better and better at it.

Many small studios in Lower Parel and Andheri work their skills on screen designs and print thousands of products every day! We too are waiting for the MMT contact cards to come fresh out of press, which instigated this desire to know how screen printing is even done!!!

What is Screen printing?
It is a printing technique that uses a woven meshto support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image.

It is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes and often identified with the pop-art works of Marliyn Monroe by artist Andy Warhol who popularised this technique. It was also known as serigraphy in the USA in 1962.

Did you know?
Apart from the regular paper, textiles, glass mediums – screen printing is used in many many different industries including: balloons, medical devices, electronics, vehicals, circuit boards, touch screens, product labels, sign and displays, snowboard graphics, thick film technology etc etc 😮

Screen printing is truly a skill every art&craft enthusiast should master!
Hopefully this encourages and inspires you to take up the challenge that is screen printing, also do let us know when you succeed and create some beautiful works of art!