Last year, after pursuing her MBA from Acharya Bangalore B School, Ipsita Senapati was going through a troubled phase in life. You know what helped her pull through? Arts and crafts, something that has warmed the cockles of her heart since childhood. "Working with a pen and paper proved to be meditative for me," she shares. That's when she revived her Instagram page Daisy Paper Hugs, which she had started towards the end of 2018, and got back to posting her artwork with great gusto. It was mandalas, cards, coasters, fridge magnets and other cute stuff that cheered her up and it is these products that she offers to whoever wishes to cheer up their own life or the life of others.
The 26-year-old did not intend to make a business out of this but today, she gets about five to six orders a month. So this night owl burns the midnight oil to work on them. She has started to conduct workshops as well, another way in which she spreads her love for art and craft. Ask her how she learnt paper crafts like embossing, masking, stenciling and so on in the first place and she says, "I watched several YouTube videos even while in Bengaluru, made multiple trips to the Itsy Bitsy there and experimented a lot," shares the Bhubaneswar-based youngster. You see, this artist couldn't settle for a 9 to 5 job 'cause she knew she had to do more.
.jpeg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
Our favourite creation of hers is Mr Pointy Nose that she made with a kulhar (clay cup), complete with a funky orange unibrow. Then there is Mrs Fridge Magnet with pouty pink lips. Ipsita generally uses M-seal or molds to make her miniature models. The coasters with mandala motifs are also quite detailed. All that she makes might be simple and adorable but it takes a lot of work. But however does she come up with these characters, we ask. "Oh, I just go with the flow," she concludes confidently.
Some of her work
For more on her, check out instagram.com/daisy_paper_hugs
