Mirrored!
By
Priyanwada Ranawaka
Mirror, mirror,
on the wall Who is the fairest of them all?
Anyone familiar with the tale of Snow White
would remember the talking mirror that would pick the most beautiful
person on earth. The mirrors painted by Nanditha Gamage would have
you saying that they are the most beautiful mirrors you have set
your eyes on.
Her
own style. Her own choice of designs. "This is something I
created on my own," smiles Nanditha who is now ready to hold
an exhibition of mirrors called 'Mirror Mirror…'.
Her
designs vary from flowers and plants to aquatic creatures. The striking
colours, Nanditha's hallmark, give her mirrors a breathtaking effect.
"I
have seen creations made of painted pieces of mirror and thought
I would improvise a bit and design a painted mirror instead,"
says she explaining how she first experimented with painting on
one of her own mirrors at home. Nanditha draws the design on the
surface of the mirror with Indian glass paint and another special
paint she gets down from France.
She
says that each mirror takes more than a week to complete. She has
to wait till one coat of paint completely dries to start with the
next. "If something goes wrong, I have to redo the whole design
from step one." But hard work never puts her off, given the
satisfaction she has at the end. "It's a long process, but
I feel happy going through it."
Although
‘Mirror Mirror…’ is her first solo exhibition,
Nanditha is no new face at expositions of art. She has been participating
in the Kala Pola for the last three years where she came to be well
known among art enthusiasts. "All my work is sold out every
year and I've even had a few orders," she says.
"These
mirrors look good almost anywhere," she says, adding that she
is also in the process of designing mirrors and other accessories
to go along with an existing design. For instance, if the mirror
is to be hung in a bathroom she may pick the design on the shower
curtain or on the wall tiles and use it to decorate the mirror and
a few other accessories in the bathroom.
It
is not only the mirrors that are adorned by her skillful hands.
She could light up even a casual looking t-shirt, tablecloth or
a cushion cover with a few paint strokes. Some of these items are
currently available at the boutique at the Lighthouse Hotel.
Nanditha
completed her primary, secondary and university education in New
Delhi. While in school she tried her hand at painting and won the
silver medal for the inter-school art competition in the North Indian
region.
"Now
I have free time and have taken up my hobby seriously," she
says, adding that since her children are schooling, she can sit
down and devote time to her hobby.
Her
exhibition will be held on June 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
at the Lionel Wendt Gallery. It will highlight about 25 mirrors
and some of her oil and watercolour paintings as well.
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