Decorative Art ~ Rambha’s Anklet

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Decorative Art ~ Rambha’s Anklet Reliquary 

This piece of decorative art is another one of my reliquaries which was created around a piece of paper. This paper I love is inside — pale turquoise with paisley glitter designs. When I found the fringe, I knew it would match perfectly. But I wanted to add the luster of pink as well, and used it as an accent color. A broken piece of an anklet became the relic. I chose the name Rambha for the Indian woman. Rambha means “celestial dancer” and so I imagine her wearing this anklet and dancing in her garden.

Rambha was also the name of an Aspara, a heavenly body from Indian mythology which epitomized the beauty of the feminine form. The Asparas were talented entertainers and dancers and performed in Indra’s (The King of the Gods) court in heaven.

For this decorative are, a picture of the East Indian woman was taken from a vintage postcard and set on a piece of turquoise-colored mulberry paper decorated with gold glitter. Satiny fringe and trim embellished with pink pearls hovers over Rambha’s head. Small pink crystals surround her.

The relic is a fragment of an broken gold-toned ankle bracelet with two glass beads and a charm of golden slippers which has been sewn to a soft pillow of pink satin.

For the cover, handmade paper was painted with pink, turquoise, and gold acrylic paints and then stitched with coordinating silky threads. The threads were cut loose to create a soft, unique texture to the surface of the book. Turquoise and gold trims wrap around the cover.

You can find more decorative art like this by viewing Found Object Art ~ Ciera’s Spells and Triptych ~ Marie’s Key.