an art ofa different kind

20

CO

MM

UN

ITY

Craft

20 April 14, 2016

Liju Cherian

She is an orthodontist with a difference. An out-of-the-way artist who makes use of expired dental material to make exceptional works of art.

It is Dr Seema Bhandari’s innovativeness to make use of throw away dental materials from her clinic that needs appreciation. These are used for making colourful wall hangings, statues, glass paintings, flowers, and several other works of art.

The process is a bit tedious but the final results are wonderful and a joy to the artist. Composite dental fillings are mainly used to seal cavities.

Explains Dr Seema, of how the process is done. “First, the tooth is cleaned and dried up. It is then etched with an acid and again dried. Later a bonding agent is applied and exposed to light for about 20 seconds. Later a composite is added and given light so that they become hard. When this material expires it is actually discarded.”

These are then used on paintings which is coloured on glass or acrylic.

Another innovativeness which Dr Seema shares is to take the impression in the mouth to make false teeth using heavy body material. This is then mixed in proportion and becomes like rubber which can be made statues and other forms as required. This becomes hard and does not need to be baked.

Waxes are being used to make false dentures .They come in different colours and can be used to make pretty flowers as the waxes are sticky and glossy.

The expired dental material can be used effectively to make different art forms. She cites the example of waxes which is a carved tooth form than the composite white tooth fillings. This is cured with light for them to become hard and can be used as M-Seal or Plaster of Paris and can be used as glass varnishes to provide glaze and shiny touch which is mostly used to bring shine for the tooth fillings. Similarly, dental heavy body can be used as an impression material which is excellent to make statues but has to be done in seconds before the material hardens.

As a dentist, she passed out from the government dental college from Bombay University. Later on she worked in the same college as a dental surgeon.

Craft

21April 14, 2016

Dr Seema Bhandari

Her interests to provide knowledge to the masses enabled her to anchor several television programmes in Indian national channels like Doordarshan on topics related to health, medicine and art.

After which she worked in private clinics in Muscat for few years and is presently with a private clinic in Qurum. The clinic deals with all cosmetic, dental whitening, Bollywood smile makeover and light filling.

A Mumbaite, she learnt all aspects of doll making, handicrafts, soft toys and was able to develop her own ideas from her mother who is a professional artist.

Dr Seema says, ‘art is a beautiful habit which gives you lot of happiness and which drives you with our intuitions and surrounds. You can create a new world of your own and create happiness all around.”

She compliments humans and says they can do

wonders having a complex brain. Life being a short journey and opportunities being less but humans can work miracles since we ourselves are an art from the chief artisan, the creator.”

Her job was not at all simple. She collected expired dental material and started to make statues, wall hangings and other items. She made use of the available colours with waxes, seal and glass paintings and was able to make flowers, vases from throw away waste materials.

About art, Dr Seema says, that art is a beautification of mind and flowing of thoughts into efforts which later transforms into a hobby. It can be related to anything one set a desire on and can also be with throw away and used disposables like broken glass bangles, pebbles, bottles and others.

The enterprising lady who has a busy schedule at the clinic also spends a good time during weekends

Despite her work as a full time dentist, she also spares time to hold seminars at schools educating children regarding dental hygiene.

This includes common problems which adolescents face in the present day society.

22 April 14, 2016

Craft

and other spare time with her hobby. She recollects that it all began started during the days of yore when women decorated themselves with wet mud on their arms and beaded flowers on their hair. This now has turned out to be a fashion through the use of henna. Clay forms were used in pottery and at present it is used as an art of porcelain and mosaic marble work and houses painted with dyes.

Dr Seema praises her mom who was a professional artist who encouraged her throughout to take up courses in doll making soft toys.

At her Al Khuwair home, visitors can get to see her works on the walls. Be it the work of a basket weaver with face mask from Al Batinah, Turkish Mosque, Masha’Allah art work, Lord Ganesh of Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple, several glass paintings and other works on canvas.

Some of her works are on 3D or glass painting using glass colours which takes at least two weeks to make. Paintings on glass are covered with tin foils or sandwich and provides for a shining effect when light rays fall on them.

Recalling her student days, when she studied dentistry at a Mumbai College, they used to carve tooth on paraffin wax blocks. It was then polished with cotton gauze and made to shine with soap solution.

“I started doing the same with big candle waxes and made statues of candles. Red waxes were used to set artificial teeth for dentures from which I made roses with red waxes as they can be molded easily. Dental plaster is also good to made human bust as they are hard but need to finish fast as they harden early.”

She also extensively uses M-Seal, which is a resin used to seal pipes and basins. This is used to make small toys or flowers mixing two parts and later colouring them with bright acrylic colours.

The dentist uses this from expired composite fillings as a liner for stained glass painting only and to harden them with curing light same as the dental filling. Now the availability of new art material in markets has made it easy for artists like her to cope with art work.

The liners for glass are available in gold silver hues to make bold glass paintings. The use of glue beads and stones to the paintings can be made as required.

About her qualities and interests as an artiste, she is quick to confess that art is inborn and cannot be copied or made masterpieces. “Definitely one can learn and each artiste has his own way and style. In the same way as no two human beings are the same nor can be duplicated.”

23April 14, 2016

Craft