Deft with fingers

Shamala Bhandarkar Patil's home in Abu Dhabi would probably be a veritable Ali Baba's cave for a lover of handicrafts. The entire house is filled with the items this talented lady has made and husband Uday quips that now the only place left to hang his wife's latest creation around would be his neck!

Shamala discovered her talent for art when her brother refused to do her science drawing assignment once again. She then realised that she was actually much better than he was. She followed up her discovery with courses in sketching and painting and today she is proficient in many forms of art and craft.

While she finds silk painting most difficult, she is happiest dabbling with charcoal because she feels that the simplicity of this medium with just two tones gives any work a surrealistic look. She has an impressive collection of books on handicrafts and being an avid traveller, she makes sure she picks up a form of art from the country she visits.

A visit to Singapore taught her the art of making rice paper flowers. She can now make flowers in silk, ceramics, stocking fabric, paper, organza and ribbon. A trip to Australia ended up with Shamala learning how to make floor mats with fabric pieces.

One of the most beautiful item in the Patil home is a glass carving and mirror etching done by Shamala. To do one such piece can take up to six months. It involves a lot of care because one little mistake and the whole thing could get ruined. These pieces of art are in great demand and clients send in orders from as far away as London.