There is no second opinion needed to state that Reena Gonsalves has 'design' flowing through her veins. Exceptionally nimble with scissors, brush and paper, Gonsalves has turned old clothes into admirable rugs and curtains; recycled plastic bottles into brooms; she has made greeting cards and also dabbled with painting on cloth.
However, it took a trip to England to pique her interest in paper tole. "I noticed a lot of people taking it up as a hobby. One of those people handed a kit to me and asked me to give it a shot." Paper tole, also known as three-dimensional découpage, is the art of transforming a flat picture into a three-dimensional one. It requires immense patience, an eye for detail along with perspective and precision, all of which Gonsalves has in spades.
Back home in Byculla, Gonsalves picked up her curved scissors, hunched over and started creating 3D art. Pretty soon, her charming work found its way into the pages of Good Homes magazine; Vogue India's Mars-inspired jewellery photo shoot as well as the walls of some of the homes across the city.
But none of this was easy. "Since the art form of paper tole is not that well known in India, I find it difficult to source most of the raw material," she confesses. "I have had to substitute a few for ones that are easily available here. Plus, since I can't paper tole with just any paper, I only work with printers who carry the kind of paper I need."
Gonsalves draws inspiration from nature—anything from forests to animals to flowers to the sea, tickles her fancy. "The number of elements in such pictures is vast. More elements mean more layers and more layers mean that the picture looks more realistic once it is completed," she says.
Visit www.papercut3d.com and www.facebook.com/papercut3d
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