Priyanka Sunil has a collection of buttons. In fact, each time she travels she keeps on picking up “interesting looking ones”. And so, apart from the usual round ones, she has square, rectangle, oval and even floral- animal- and number-shaped buttons in different sizes and in a plethora of colours.
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So, what does she do with them? Well, she creates art out of them. And so you have Hello Kitty in her red dress, Cinderella in a pink gown, Rudolph with his bright red nose, a multi-coloured unicorn, butterflies in a field and even a popular quote from Mary Poppins in buttons. Some of the images are embellished with sequins, ribbons and thread work.
Priyanka laughs when you point out that most of her works seem to be catering to children. “I have two young children, Samantha and Nathan. While Samantha is eight, Nathan is two. They are my inspiration and so yes, most of my pieces cater to children. Children rarely have art that is made with them in mind. I feel this fits the bill as it is both colourful and fun.”
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The images, inspired from the Internet, is given a tweak by Priyanka who worked in the advertising field in Bangalore before shifting to the city. “I moved back to the city when I was pregnant. As I was bored during my pregnancy, I started researching on arts and crafts and came upon button art. I found it fascinating and decided to try my hand at it.”
Using a variety of papers such as jute, handmade and textured, she draws out the images and then glues the buttons on. At times, she layers the buttons for effect. The works come set in attractive handpicked frames. “So they make perfect gifts. As they have a fun element to them, they can help enliven your home, office spaces, cafés and even classrooms. As Christmas is around the corner I have received several orders for works with Christmas motifs. A few of the customers wanted them personalised and I did it,” says Priyanka who enjoys working with floral designs with buttons. The prices for the framed works start from ₹550.
The 33-year-old has also introduced a line of button hair bands for children.
Check out her Facebook page Peeks' Art (Peeks’ is what her friends call her) or Whatsapp her at 9886582442