Another year has come and is almost gone, with its plethora of moments, some happy, some sad, some inspiring, some that made me pause and think.
2021 brought with it the chance to recover from the year that was 2020. I had the wonderful opportunity to travel, host amazing shows, interact with all my lovely audiences, and feel the glimmer of hope throughout these experiences. I continued to create distinctive and sustainable artwork, for which I’m immensely grateful.
Some stand-out moments from 2021:
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Website Revamp
As an artist, I always strive to be as authentic to myself as I can. My earlier website served the purpose as well, but I decided to take the step of extensively redoing the whole website. What you see now is far more vibrant, interactive and aligns with my vision. It took a lot of hours and late night cups of coffee, but it was completely worth it!
You can visit my website here
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Focus On Social Media
I have always been quite shy, but have also keenly observed the growing power and reach of social media. I realized that to put my work out there, I needed to step out of my comfort zone. I began working more on my Instagram posts, learnt how to use hashtags effectively, and am proud to say that I grew my Instagram family from 7,000 followers to 11,000!
Here is my Instagram handle
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Diversification Of Art
Like every artist, I am also seeking new avenues of inspiration. This year, one of my favorite pieces is the “Sea Of Colors”. Awestruck by the mesmerizing colors of the sun on the water and imagining the beautiful underwater kingdom, I imagined the many hues that encompass the sea. It’s a paper quilled geometric abstract artwork, and the cluster of hexagons is painted with watercolors and decorated with colorful paper strips.
You can view it here
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Quilling Kits
So often, people reach out to me and say that they too would love to try their hand at creating art, but have no idea where to begin. This made me think of creating a one-stop crafts kit for beginners that would help them on their quilling journey. I created my Quilling Kits with a vision to encompass the basic shapes and materials like paper strips and a glue gun to create 10 designs. The most fun aspect was putting together the manual and hoping it would help budding artists.
Get started with your very own quilling kit right here
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Shows
Perhaps some of the best moments of 2021 have been the ones where I participated in shows. We took the required safety measures and interacting with people after so very long made me extremely happy. The Craneway Craft Fair was my first event of the year. Encouraged by the response, I took part in the Los Altos Art and Wine Festival. It’s one of the largest festivals in the Bay area and I was touched by the tremendous response and placement of orders. We spent a lovely weekend at The Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival which was held at a historic park. We wrapped up the year with the Gifty Craft Show, held at The Crucible, an art school in Oakland. The good vibes from the shows, organizers, participants and the audience makes me look forward to doing so many more.
Paper Sweetly likes to celebrate the festive season by creating the best in ethical, handmade and customized gifting. I created this Christmas tree artwork and these merry earrings, just in time to add some twinkle to your holiday gifting!
I would love to hear how your year has been! Happy New Year to all of you, and may it bring us all lots of love and light.
