SunUp

The King of Pun

2011-07-16T05:01:00.005-04:00

We broke away from the crowd, got on to the bridge and stood behind the railing. Neil squatted down and stared keenly beyond the tracks, looking for something. Clueless I followed in action. We had been wandering the whole day and while my legs were on the verge of stage flubber, Neil was as alert as ever. 'Ok NOW, this way-run-fast', he shouted! I knew I'd better be following them orders and reluctantly woke up my restfully squatting legs. He had just saved us the envy of having to look at lucky passengers who's train had arrived beyond the suicidal tracks; he had spotted the light of the train arriving and shot us to the correct platform. He was such a Mum-bhai!

We spent a large amount of our summer craft training break together, exploring Mumbai. Neil was researching the wooden boat making craft of Mumbai while I was looking for movie billboard painters of yester-years. Differing in our areas of specialization in design school, we were linked together by our enthusiasm for design and an occasional witty sarcasm towards the other. He off-course is superior in both and I admire him for it!

That little block of a great summer break is one of the fondest memories of my life. Neil, having grown up and lived in Mumbai most of his life, knew the city's pulse like no other. Even though I had spent the first eleven years of my life in Mumbai, I had never seen it like this. On foot, the little details, things you've missed, something you can catch only when you tilt your head a bit maybe and look at it sideways. This city is so passionately instilled in him that he can contagiously spread a precious glimpse of that pulse just through his company, his talks and now his work.

Inspired by his love for the city, Neil has created a fantastic range of graphics, t-shirts and bags, which play on locally used words and distinct features of the city, injecting them with an interesting pun and twist, so reflective of his curious personality. Often his t-shirts are a reflection/reaction of what wounds the city like the train bomb blasts and Hindu-Muslim divide.

The double decker BEST bus, unique and such an integral part of Mumbai roads.

The mumbai cabs characteristic yellow and black color. Here Neil plays with the locally used term 'Khali-Peeli' meaning unnecessarily and 'Kaali-Peeli' meaning black-yellow.

Bus Kya? Also an interesting pun on the term 'Bas Kya' meaning 'is that enough' .

Neil work is catching on and resonating with fellow Mumbai lovers and lot of his work can be seen in Bollywood with actors sporting his t-shirts in their movies.

Imran Khan in the movie 'I hate Luv Storys' in the 'Forget Superman, Try Me' tee designed by Neil.

Jackky Bhagnani (right in the red t-shirt) in the movie F.A.L.T.U. wearing Neil's 'BEST I love Mumbai' tee. Also sigted in the movie are the 'BUS Kya', 'BEST 786', 'Smoking Kills' and 'In Crsis' t-shirts.

Another of Neil's very popular project is 'Kuch Bhi' which translates to 'anything'. I remember him handing over a postcard with this little heart shape blob and saying just add to it, do whatever you want. This project went digital and has over 500 contributions from all age groups, with some very original ideas. Neil plans to compile some of them in a collection of postcards.

The Kuch Bhi template

'Kuch Bhi' by Sumit Kumar Goyal
Artists description: 'It's a miracle how two hearts beat inside one body; one life entwined into the other'

'Kuch Bhi' by Anjana Sharma
Artists description: 'I scored Kuch Bhi'

'Kuch Bhi' by Kiran Jadhav
Artists description: 'Don't kill... save trees'

To see more of Neil's work, do visit his facebook photographs and also his website.

Unveiled: Meet the artists

2011-05-04T16:59:00.005-04:00

I have been holding on to this post until the artists talk which was held on the 28th of April. It is always inspiring to meet the artist behind the work and hear from them about the thought and process that resulted in the piece. The show also had a variety of techniques and inspirational triggers which covered the spectrum from dyeing and stitching fabric to working with mixed media like wood, polymer clay.

'Carnival' by Jan Myers-Newbury

Arashi shibori dyed cottons; machine pieced, machine quilted

57" x 68"

'Carnival' by Jan Myers-Newbury: Detail

'Carnival' by Jan Myers-Newbury, which won the Best of Show Award uses arashi shibori dyed cottons and is machine pieced and quilted. Jan's work focusses a lot on shibori dyeing and has a distinct style. Her love and exploration of the technique is evident in her work (closeup) where one can see the subtle variation in color she has achieved on purpose to bring about the continuity and balance of the composition. I love the composition of the piece and how the lines of the dyeing have been aligned beautifully to create the continuity and motion. The piece has been quilted along the lines, a quiet but important detail.

'Waterfall' by Kathryn Stanko

Sterling silver manufactured from recycled metal, glass, pearls; woven

10" x 8" x 4"

A truly beautiful piece

'Celebration Series #1: Listen to Sly - Isn't it about everybody?' by Penny Mateer

Commercial cotton fabric, beads, sequins, found objects; machine applique and quilted.

26" x 23.5"

Penny Mateer's piece above is inspired by Sly and the Family Stone song, 'Everybody is a star'. The piece which began as a part of her Protest Series, eventually became the first of the artists Celebration Series. A great piece speaking of the artists views on how she would prefer society be tolerant and celebrate homosexuality just as heterosexuality, it is coupled with a unique idea that Penny used for her trigger. A mat placed in front of the textile piece, when stepped upon plays the inspirational trigger song, 'Everybody is a Star'. While some of Penny's works are personal, a lot are political and one can tell the artists individual point of view and thought on the subject very strongly. Click here for an interview (listen to the story sound link) about the artist where she describes the above work.

'No-rainbow: In memory of Madison and child victims of abuse' by Kay Miller

Vintage embroidery, quilted border, cotton, applique, hand and machine quilted

36" x 56"

Kay's piece above was triggered by the tragic and sad death of a special needs fifteen month old child due to neglect, malnutrition and starvation. Kay who was involved with helping the family out through social services was enraged and disturbed by the unfortunate event which led her to make this piece.

'Spirits on cloth #523' by Jane Ogren

Value study done on red silk dupioni with black, white and shades of grey floss

12" x 9"

'Spirits on cloth' by Jane Orgen is a remarkable value study through the running stitch with four shades of floss only (black, white and shades of grey) on red silk dupioni.

'Iraq War' by Johanna Roszner

Commercial, symbolic materials, cotton, fused, pieced, machine quilted, appliqued

81.5" x 73"

Winner of the Kor award for most compelling inspiration

'Iraq War' by Johanna Roszner: Detail

A real labor of love and deep rooted inspiration, Johanna's piece was also inspired by a soundtrack and reflected her sentiments of the Iraq war. The piece includes army, naval and air force attacks, the large number of soldiers who were a part of and who lost their lives (denoted by innumerable small America flags floating through the piece), money that was spent and oil depicted by the black leaking and flowing down. The piece was pursued by the artist gradually and evolved in the process. It was one continuous piece of work until the artist boldly decided to cut it apart in three pieces to signify how the nation was getting divided. The depiction of oil followed this. A big eagle (as a bird which watches sharply over as well as symbolic of the US) is a prominent corner detail of the work.

Center: 'Pink Coral Feeding' by Roberta Gessner Hodge

Wrapping, fibers, wood, plaster, plastic

84" x 6.75" x 15.25"

'Poinsettia' by Poorvi Das

Embroidery, cotton and silk floss, metallic thread, metal frame

1" x 1"

'Trillium in Willow' by Wanda Spangler-Warren

Mixed media; wood, paper, thread

40" x 20" x 12"

Wanda's piece, 'Trillium in Willow' uses naturally found wood twigs used to create the frame of the willow, wrapped with paper and thread.

'Unveiled' by Brent Ruka

Commercial cotton fabric; fused

23" x 23"

Brent Ruka's work 'Unveiled' is inspired by one of her favorite artists self portrait watercolor done when the artist was getting old. Inspired, Brent decided to do one of herself. To bring in humor and individuality Brent thought of portraying herself eating an apple and reading.

The piece is fanatastically rendered through pieces of dyed and printed fabric so well and neatly fused together as you can see in the detail of the face and hair on the right.

'At the Cellular Level' by Wanda Spangler-Warren

Mixed media: fabric, beads, found objects

26" x 26" x 4"

Wanda's work, 'At the cellular level' was initially made for a biology project for her child based on the structure of a cell. I love the little details and how she has used fabrics to replicate the cell.

'Milkweed' by Laura Tabakman

Polymer clay, rayon thread, silk and wire

12" x 11" x 3"

Douden Award for Best Botanical work

'Milkweed' by Laura Tabakman: Detail

Laura Tabakman's piece inspired by photographs of milkweed the artist took, is so perfectly replicated, that one finds oneself extremely curious the follicle is actually man-made. It is and that too made of polymer clay, projecting out shaped metallic wire holding seeds replicated by silk floss tassels.

'Western PA, Oh what a relief' by Martha Ressler

Fused fabric pieces, yarn, embellishments (including historical engravings, beads, buttons, glass jewels) Angelina fibers, hand embroidery and machine quilting

50" x 61" x 1"

Martha Resslers piece, 'Western PA, Oh what a relief', was inspired by a Geological relief map of Pennsylvania, which she stumbled upon accidentally while surfing the web. The map challenged her to replicate itself on fabric and she was inspired to translate it in fiber. The piece includes a variety of fabrics (including gauze), dyed and fused together in the same color scheme as her trigger. It comes together so magnificently with the many layers that one is really lost as to where the piece might have had its starting point. Parts of the piece also include paper images from books that the artist had found on people prominent in the region, metal, buttons, etc.

'Western PA, Oh what a relief' by Martha Ressler: details

Unveiled: Opening night

2011-05-02T10:49:00.002-04:00

Just a few days earlier the walls of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts were bare and empty. The silence was enlivened by the opening of seven new exhibits on the 8th of April. Amongst these was Unveiled, which was very well attended by visitors keenly observing the new work and inspirational triggers.

It is amazing how a show adds so much to a bare gallery. How it fills it up with so many thoughts, feelings both by the artists pieces and the people attending it.

Co-chairs Sherri Roberts and Amanda Gross brought the exhibition together wonderfully.

Sherri Roberts welcoming the visitors and introducing Unveiled

Amanda Gross announcing the awards

Artist work on the left is 'Pink Coral Feeding' by Roberta Gessner Hodge
Artist work on the right is 'Trillium in Willow' by Wanda Spangler-Warren
Photographs courtesy Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh

Artist work on the left far behind: 'Rhythm' by Poorvi Das
Artist work on the right: 'Iraq War' by Johanna Roszner. Her piece won the Kor Award for most compelling inspiration
Photographs courtesy Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh

Artist work on the left: 'Visiting Gramps Memories' by Shawn Quinlan
Artist work on the right far behind: 'Carnival' by Jan Myers-Newbury. This piece won the Best of Show Award
Photograph courtesy Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh

Unveiled: Opening night
Photograph courtesy Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh

Juror Arturo Alonzo Sandoval's note on the exhibit and work selected
(click on the image to enlarge)

More happy news!

2011-04-07T17:59:00.007-04:00

I have been keeping this for a while, for no particular reason, I think just waiting for it to really really happen.

I got a little ambitious in March and decided to send some work for an upcoming exhibition, the first time ever. 'Unveiled', an exhibit organized by the FiberArts Guild of Pittsburgh called for entries that were inspired by a trigger, which could be anything ranging from an image, poem, song.

Three works were submitted, 'Poinsettia', a pendant I had embroidered during Christmas for the shop, 'Rhythm', bags inspired by Palm leaves I had designed a while back and a stole also inspired by pleating from the Palm leaves.

The show was juried by Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, alumni art Professor at the University of Kentucky. He has exhibited throughout the world and his works are in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art (NYC), the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Renwick Gallery, Washington DC) and many public and private exhibits. He creates huge pieces of art incorporating twentieth century industrial materials like tapes or films and uses the textile techniques of weaving and interlacing.

Work by Arturo Alonzo Sandoval
Pattern Fusion No. 10: Motherboard 1
73" x 79"

Work by Arturo Alonzo Sandoval
Pattern Fusion No. 12: Motherboard 3
73.5" x 76.5"

Of the three pieces I submitted two got selected for the Exhibit and will be on display at the Pittsburgh Center for Arts from April 8 to May 22nd, 2011, with an artist talk on April 28th. Yay!

It is very exciting as this is the first time I have ventured into a gallery exhibit kind of thing. The show opens tomorrow and I look forward to sharing some pictures with you. I might also have a better link to the exhibition details. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the work that got selected. :)

Embroidered pendant inspired by the Poinsettia
Probably the smallest piece in the exhibit!

'Rhythm': Bags inspired by the folds of a Palm leaf

Jumping with Joy

2011-03-27T06:55:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting for this day to get back to updating the blog with all that's happening, all that I am thinking, all that I'm doing, all that I'm inspired by. When I don't write, I keep filling my head with topics, images, ideas I have to tell you about and the wait gets so tough and impatient. So then once again, am back and this time jumping with excitement!

My work got featured on a great site called 'Of Indian Origin'. Founded by London based Nisha John, this site celebrates creativity by designers linked to India by body, mind or soul. It endeavors to replace the cliche perception of Indian art and design with that what it is emerging as of today. It is such a fantastic resource of emerging and established talents and kudos to Nisha for thinking up such a great idea and putting in all the effort to make it look awesome.

As for me, I am super thrilled and very honored. And even more encouraged to keep creating. Yay! :)

The love tote

2011-02-23T04:54:00.003-05:00

I did do it again! Only this time, I wrote my name as soon as the Valentines Party volunteer list was up! :)
So what was in the love tote for the kids party this time?

The Love Tote itself

Butterfly Lollipops

Flower Lollipops

Multicolored Heart Crayons
(will soon share how to make these, super duper easy and lots of fun!)

Flutes and Rings

And some candy and teddy grahams

Confession: Apart from the little heart bag, most of these ideas are from the internet. Aren't they the sweetest? Yes, the only things I may shamelessly boast about is the heart bag and some enthusiasm :)

Do visit the links if you're interested to know how to make them.

Oh Yes!

2011-02-11T23:21:00.001-05:00

Now don't you get thinking I have gone again. Psst...I am up-to something.
Details soon!
:D

Disko Bay

2011-02-01T04:02:00.002-05:00

I've moved the new endeavor to a new blog called 'Disko Bay'. Will try and upload the quotidians with images as often as possible as well as any other inspirations I come across on the subject. I hope you'll join me in sharing your insights and ideas on the subject.

So what's Disko Bay? Disko Bay is in Greenland, which is home to the world's largest ice sheet after Antarctica. The icebergs in the bay are steadily growing smaller and floating into the sea. Instead of the towering mountains they once were, they now remain low and fragile and break apart. The fishermen always remembered the bay to be frozen. In recent years however, there has been open water in the bay all year long.

Image Source: www.walpaperstock.net

While sea ice reflects sunlight, water absorbs it. The disappearing of great stretches of sea ice results in decreasing of the earth's reflectivity and amplifies human-induced global warming, sending us closer to catastrophe.

Image Source: www.scenicreflections.com

I'm sure you've experienced distinct weather changes in the past few years. While we were in Atlanta it snowed more often than it ever used to. Off-course it was pretty. But then it is also alarming.

A month late, can I still wish you a Happy New Year?

2011-01-30T01:48:00.005-05:00

2010 transitioning into 2011 was a little different compared to other New Years. It was like after having gifting me a year of happy beginnings, 2010 stood handing me over 2011 with the promise of more dreams to chase and accomplish. I do not remember feeling so positive at the turn of a year and I'm hoping to hold that feeling close to me through the year.

It usually happens that one makes the best plans as the new year begins and then suddenly by March at the most, the new year is old and aspirations forgotten. Of the many aspirations that gush through the span of a day sometimes, I am keen on listening to that silent chap who pops in once in a while to say 'keep it simple, sweetheart'. I hope I am able to really listen to myself. And I hope that even when it's October, I remember that it is still a 'new' year.

I planned on opening a gift with you, but it's been a busy busy January! Sorry! But hey, it's still a New Year, so let's do it now...

a book: 365 Ways to Save the Earth

A simple and practical piece of advice for each day to help reduce any harmful impact we may have on our planet. Simple things really, like boil only as much water as you need when making tea/coffee, turn down your heating by 1 degree C, recycle your mobile phone. The quotidians are accompanied by spectacular photographs of the natural world by Philippe Bourseiller.

I am no forerunner on this cause, but at some level, I do get it. Some people still do not. Unfortunate. Some believe that the number of people who want to do something about it are negligible compared to the number who don't, so effectively it doesn't matter. Luckily, some are convinced it will still make a difference.

So here's my effort: To try and implement the advice as much as possible and to share it with you as often as I can. So here goes..

30th January

Pack waste-free lunches.

Making packed lunches is a good way to eat more healthy and economically, but a packed lunch can generate a tremendous amount of waste if it is wrapped in disposable bags, plastic wrap, or tinfoil and contains a lot of individually packaged goods like juice containers. The average child that brings his or her lunch to school generates roughly 30 kg of waste every year.

Everything in a waste-free lunch is consumed, recycled or reused. Start with a reusable lunch box and make sure drink containers, sandwich and snack containers, utensils are also reusable. Use cloth napkins. Pack fruit rather than snacks that come in plastic packets. If you have to use plastic bags, buy recycled ones and reuse them as much as possible. Sending your child to school and yourself to work with a waste-free lunch will save you money,provide more nutritionally balanced meals, and reduce landfill waste.

Wish you a very happy and fulfilling (remaining) 335 days of the New Year ahead!

Calendar Watch

2010-12-30T05:33:00.019-05:00

There are hardly any grains of sand left on this side of the timer and soon it shall be turned around to begin afresh. How about I get you a little equipped for the new year with a great Calendar? These are picked mostly from Etsy as I thought I'd find original work by artists which would make the Calendar more unique. I'm a little obsessive about having a good calendar mostly because it is such an essential object and it stays with you for a whole year.

Large and mini calendars from Dekanimal

The Calendar by Printameldia has 14 images back to back. The drawings are inspired by inner magic and human connections

'The House' paper-cut calendar by The Time is Now. The months are divided in three cutouts of different colors to create a new image every time you turn it

'Eat Seasonal' by Anek. As the name suggests, the illustrations celebrate seasonal fruits and vegetables corresponding to their respective months

'Hooray Hands' by Curious Doodles celebrates the use of one's hands to create

'Feathers' by Miles of Light

'11 Girls and a Boy' by Peggy Wolf Design

Botanical and Floral designs by Susy Jack

Illustrated Calendars by Be Happy Now

Illustrated Calendar by Corella Design

'Counting in the Kitchen' by English Muffin Shop

Letterpress Calendar illustrating a cat's fascination with an umbrella by Ave9River

'Totem Animals at Play' by Ink + Wit

Whimsical Illustrations be Rupydetequila

Story by Mia

Leah Duncan

Calendar Pillow and Plate by Le Papier Studio

Nothing Design-Calendar with vase the Butterfly Dream by Withwill. An interesting take on the calendar

Have I succeeded in sharing my utter awe and confusion with you? :)

Time for a little clue then: When selecting a calendar, apart from liking the visual aspect, consider the space you'd like to place it (kitchen, office, living room, etc) and see what works best.

Christmas Lights

2010-12-25T09:22:00.006-05:00

This is our first 'White Christmas' and it is pretty. We drove around to see the lights one night. The snow on the ground reflects the light and adds to the wonder and awe.

'tis the season

2010-12-25T02:55:00.000-05:00

'Nice' kids

2010-12-24T16:00:00.017-05:00

I have realized that I will find any reason to make something and get busy. After consciously stopping myself until the very last, I hurriedly wrote my name on the blank line against the Party Favor volunteer list for Little Miss's school Christmas Party. That was it..ideas started growing and growing in my head, and I loved it! An enthusiastic dash to the craft store and they were as excited as me and shot up a 70% discount on all Christmas goodies the very day. Wow! So it grew even larger with may-be's, what-if's and oh wow's adding themselves in one by one.

"You will have to stay up ALL night, I hope you know that", said reason. "Yup I will, I'll do it, I'll stay up all night and do it, all of it", said a not to be defeated child. "You might lose ALL your spending privileges, I hope you know that", said reason. "I know", said a guilty child unconsciously starting the process of finding defenses and ways to make up. And in between somewhere maybe in the middle of the night when I was sticking or cutting or something, reason threw in, "you just find an excuse to do this, don't you", and the child who realized the same at the very instant smiled and said "yeah, I guess I do".

So the child turned elf worked through two nights with the most flowery thoughts expanding in her head, suggestions from very talented people on the web, for a bunch of six lovely kids for a very big day, their Christmas Party.

HoHoHo Mr. Claus, it's time to reveal what's in your sac!

We had..

Mice Candy Cane

Rudolph Candy Cane and Jelly Bean Christmas trees

my birds converted into little jingle bells

Tiny surprise ornament gifts in match box packaging

Photo frame ornaments, glitter gel pens and more candy

one of my favorite toys, a kaleidoscope

and Santa hats finished just in the nick of time with the remaining strawberry fabric!

Yay!

or should I say...

"HoHoHo!"

The Last Yellow

2010-11-14T09:44:00.004-05:00

The Last Yellow

2010-11-14T09:17:00.007-05:00

Ok. So I'm in a chatty chatty mood today and you shall be the victim of some more visual blabber! :)

Sharing some last glimpses of Autumn from our recent travels. Wish I could hold time a little longer when the trees do this!

From Darkness to Light

2010-11-14T06:57:00.008-05:00

Recently we celebrated Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. Diwali glorifies the defeat of evil by good and rejoices the homecoming of Lord Rama to his Kingdom, Ayodhya after an exile of 14 long years.

The family gets all dressed up in new clothes and gathers together for a prayer in the evening. Diwali also marks the beginning of a New Year, so there is much excitement and enthusiasm for what is to come, hoping it's all good. After the pooja (prayer) begins the fun bit, lighting the diyas (little clay bowls filed with oil and wick) and bursting the crackers. And yes, not to forget, good good food! :)

Hope you had a Happy Diwali and wish you an awesome year ahead!

Here she is

2010-10-28T15:52:00.005-04:00

Permission to flaunt the (23 month young) Strawberry ladies and gentlemen...

Band and shoes from Gymboree, Trick or Treat basket from Old Navy, Strawberry Costume and adorable model all all all from Me! :D

I enjoyed this project thoroughly. It seemed complicated in my head (and hence the procrastination), but was too smooth and easy to translate. The suit is on the lines of a balloon dress, with the lining being less rounded so as to allow room for the polyfill filling inside. The material is a thin flannel, with a subtle texture print. Felt additions on top to complete the leafy and other details.

Little Miss has been running around everywhere with it. At school her lovely teachers presented them with some monster hats (and more goodies). Little Miss..now more Strawberry Monster ran crazy behind a little boy saying "baby baby" and made the whole buncha lunch daters (as were we) in the mall laugh out loud!!

TrawBe

2010-10-22T20:37:00.006-04:00

Little Miss is going to be a 'TrawBe' (Strawberry) for Halloween and is most excited about her costume. She knows its 'hers' and shows such possessiveness as to boldly pull it from me while I am stitching. I know it's 'hers' and have to give in to a humble "yes yes..just a bit just a bit, let me finish it." It is a ritual to wear it atleast once a day, everyday. Whether it be for mummy to check the fit or grannies to pose in front of on skype!

It has been exciting making this. (Still in process though). Just a sneak peak. More very soon.

Boing!

2010-10-15T11:44:00.006-04:00

Bouncing back my friends. It's be a long long time. A little work and a lot of traveling (for fun mostly) have been keeping me busy. But I'm back now and up to sharing all the goodies that have been brewing. Watch out for a giveaway to be announced soon.

Here's a little of the busy-dom. An order for ten balls from Ideas are Us for a cool new store in Atlanta called 5 Continents.

And some lovely autumn air and light...

Essence

2010-08-23T13:09:00.018-04:00

I have just been on a fascinating journey with Eva, through her blog, 'Tinctory'. As the artist describes it: "Tinctory is a word which may not exist but if it did it would mean a place where things are dyed. Tinctor means 'dyer' in Latin".

Eva, a self taught dyer experiments with fabric manipulation and natural dyeing. I went back to her blog archives and began reading from the very beginning. I was met by a delightful journey, full of poetry, eager yet patient explorations, beautiful colors, lots of information and a sense of the earth, wind and water. Most of all, I was left with inspiration. Of pursuing most honestly what one loves so much.

Eva, a Czech, living in London creates unique jewelry pieces out of her explorations with dyeing and manipulating fabric. Her work explores the natural dyeing properties of almost anything one might find: colorful cherry leaves, maple leaves, beetroot stalks, wood shavings, eucalyptus, berberis twigs, onions, and flowers to give some interesting color results. Her process seems so simple and natural. She has also been experimenting with Indigo starting from scratch (planting the seed).

The thoughtfully dyed pieces are then translated into collections of intricately smocked jewelry pieces, each with a story or a poem as the background.

Fishing for Stars

"Come to the seashore in the evening and you will see a man fishing for stars. With his hope as bait he lands them, counts his catch, then lets them go again."

Crescent of inky Indigo with crystalline glass beads for stars from the Sea series

Beekeepers

"The intoxicating smell of pollen, rich thickness and weight of honey, brittle waxiness of the comb cells, the mechanism of the hive, sound of bees in the heat of the afternoon..."

From the Beekeeper Series

Queen Annes Lace

"Once again, green borders are embellished with lace. The white flowers seem to flow untethered. Everything is light. The dusk pours itself into dawn before the dark can settle in"

This is shaped as a bag which can contain a tiny object.

Eva's process of extracting the dye from natural objects and transferring them into exquisite creations is as if the essence of the leaf, twig or flower has been extracted and transferred to stay on with you forever with the piece.

Eva's latest collection now fresh on her blog and in the store captures the essence of late summer as she sees it. I love the way she has captured the rusting edges of the leaves.

A shade much brighter

2010-08-17T13:34:00.017-04:00

Confession 1: I did not bring any of my craft stuff with me (nope..not even a needle), knowing fully well I will be in a hotel room for a good fortnight with all the time in the world.

Confession 2: I am super happy about it!

All because I wanted to share some of my favorite people and their work with you. Something I've been wanting do for the longest!

So today I am going to tell you about Geninne D. Zlatkis. I have pretty much forgotten how I first came across Geninne's blog, but her header stuck with me. An illustration of a sewing machine stitching away a pretty orange color merging into her water color illustration amidst her paints, spools, brushes and her most favorite white acrylic ink bottle. It instantly struck a chord and I was a follower. And very very happily so.

I love Geninne's updates of her lovely water color illustrations and look forward to them most eagerly. They somehow make me feel a shade much brighter, a zone much higher than a moment ago. Always.

I prefer art that has a positive soul and is able to communicate that, almost spread it on to the viewer. This coupled with the charm of Geninne's subjects, simplicity of technique, colors and details put together so aesthetically have me mesmerized for hours at a time. I know I'm not the only one here. :)

On exploring the blogs earlier posts, one can find amidst Geninne's water color illustrations, her hand carved stamps, Margie Oomen's beautiful crocheted covered stones, sculptured bird hangings, illustrations on Geninne's diary and videos of her technique and tools. Infact that's just a little of what you'll find, there is so so much more.

Tête a Tête

2010-08-10T11:41:00.012-04:00

Reality pinch: we have moved cities since my last post. As much as I fantasized doing everything and blogging about everything in my head, all my craft tools were disappearing into cartons, ready to be moved at a super fast speed! So the result of the wooden picture frames will have to wait a bit.

Still, I managed to squeeze in one last project before we left. This one's for a friend in Atlanta who was keen on buying 'Nesting with my Mum'.

Here is also where I get to mention some very sweet and encouraging friends and family, who have nudged me on with my business endeavors by buying my products and saying, 'it's not because you're my friend, it's because I really liked it'. Yeah right. :) well thank you so very much. I loved it and appreciate it dearly! :)

Nesting with my Mum was a result of all the time I was spending with my daughter. I was keen on putting the two birds on a swing looking outside, when I found this cozy nest at the craft store. I loved how keeping this nest in the house was a more appealing idea, vis a vis a real stinky one. I do find it difficult to encourage a birdie making a nest inside the house.

Tete a tete is bringing the whole jing bang in on a twig. It began with finding a beautiful twig. Initially I tried it out in fabric, with this really lovely fabric bird template by spool. The birds turned out very heavy for the twig and eventually paper became the preferred material.

I just love the result and how the natural sculpture of the twig adds beauty and also has a mobile quality to it. I plan to make many more of these, none for the shop though.

Anytime Now

2010-07-27T15:20:00.023-04:00

Lovely people, I can safely announce, 'Alas, the stars have come together'. Um. I mean alas, the raw materials have come together and I should be doing something with my photographs, finally! Between you, me and blogworld-wide, when setting up the shop on etsy, 'photographs and prints' was the first category I made. Having confidently made the category I suddenly felt I ought to do something with the photographs. Couple them with some good mounting or framing, feeling almost odd selling a print as is.

Then began a search for good framing options. And a fascinated wow of some options that are out there vis a vis photographs and framing.

Corner frames by Details-produkte + ideen

Glass Jar Frames via Photojojo

'Ocean Walk', photograph on a wood block by Taira Vora

Polaroid frames via Photojojo

Wall Decal photo frames via Photojojo

Fridge magnets via Photojojo

Neat ideas eh? I plan to try the wood block mounting. Found meself some blocks and a tutorial from Jean Cody on etsy. She shipped me an extra block for free out of her sweetness and it felt so good that I had to share the special feeling! So now you know who/what was behind the freebies in the first ten sales.

Oh now only if Fed-Ex knocks my door quickly with the prints. This is un-waitable!

Teeny Tiny Memories

2010-07-18T18:09:00.007-04:00

Tada...the collection of pendants and barrettes for the shop. It took me a bit to break into thinking teeny tiny when it came to embroidery, but once I started, it was lots of fun and pretty addictive too. You gotta try it out!

Sunny Flowers

Rosette: Pendant and Barrette

Flower Garden: Pendant and Barrette

A Bike and A Book

Embroidered Tile, Printed Bird two sided pendant

That's all I have for now. As addicted as I am to it, you can be sure there will be more soon. All the ones above can be bought through my shop.

Thank you so much for your kind comments here and on facebook. It keeps me going! :)

Riding Along

2010-07-14T01:31:00.012-04:00

So what's behind such a slow rate of posts?

A decision to work on my shop and blog only when Little Miss is asleep. I enjoy keeping all eyes, ears, heart and soul on her when she is awake. It fills me with a happy satisfaction :)

And this is what has been full-filling me the 2 hours each day, when she naps.

A lot of bicycles. Tried in lots of colors. Against lots of backgrounds. :)

I'm almost always delighted by the magic that has erupted behind while I was intently focussing on the front.

Secret surprises

2010-05-30T18:43:00.026-04:00

May was a little busy...a little lazy...my first and most precious giveaway win...my first driving ticket and visit to a court...my first guest lecture at an Art College in USA...exciting new

explorations and ideas brewing...sampling... What, is it June already?

Somewhere in all of that, The Curious Flamingo found a loving buyer. While wrapping it for shipping, I realized he was my favorite-ist. And I was sad to send him off, (but happy that he had found a very eager owner). I also realized that with every shipment I send I find how to improve or add on while packaging my product. I find myself getting so involved with packaging the product for shipping, subconsciously feeling that this is the closest I come to physically connecting with a customer and hope to make it a pleasant experience for them.

The shop has had 7 sales since its launch in March and I have been secretly adding a surprise gift for each buyer. Secretly, because I haven't mentioned this promotion before now. I plan to do this for the first 10 sales. Oh! I actually want to do it for all my sales, because I am always more excited about the complimentary gift I am sending across!

I will write a special post about how I package my products in a bit. Meanwhile, I thought of sharing with you a few of the surprises some buyers have been getting. Do tell me what you think of them.

The Playground

2010-05-25T22:41:00.006-04:00

I have been enjoying working on some miniature embroidery recently. It is addictive once you start.

Let's set them rolling

2010-04-25T21:29:00.002-04:00

I have been rescued by Josh, who has explained how to make a 3d sphere so simply! Ever since, the balls have been rolling..Thank you Josh!

Presenting the next set of products for the shop: 'Let's Play Catch!' Quite a few, so hang in there! :)

Black & White Catch

Underwater Catch

Meadow Catch

Marigold Catch

Woody Catch

Garden Catch

Sailors Catch

Dogwood Finds

2010-04-21T14:57:00.015-04:00

Come summer and everyone is out having a good time. Barbecuing with friends or Festival hopping. Such a refreshing change after winter hibernation!

This weekend we visited the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta, and boy, did it show off some great talent or what! Piedmont Park was lined by crafters and artists from all over the country and one has to acknowledge that the quality of work on display was super.

I'm sharing a few artists work which made me halt and go all twinkle eyed in embracing their labor of love.

Melle Finelli Jewelery. You cannot ignore her pieces. So contradictory to traditional jewelry and still balanced and appealing. It has a hard-ware character to it which I think is the undertone of the contradiction and the appeal.

Melle Finelli Jewelery

Gina Panorfi. Gina creates scarves using a felting technique. Her shop looked like a bark of a tree from a distance, a closer look of which revealed strips of scarves and fantastic textures. I was mesmerized!

Gina Panorfi

Sheep Incognito by Conni Togel. Doesn't the name say it all? A cheerful representation of sheep that wouldn't fail to bring that smile on your face.

Sheep Incognito

More on the festival and award winning artists here.

Little Love

2010-04-21T03:09:00.007-04:00

I thoroughly enjoyed photographing the next set of products. The light was diffused and the grass was lush green. But most importantly, I had such a lovely model!

A hit and a miss!

2010-04-16T01:06:00.016-04:00

Ever since I posted the picture of the ball in the Secret Cabinet post, a couple of my friends suggested I go commercial with it. I've been trying to work out my own ball pattern as the one used there was courtesy Purl Bee, not to be used commercially. (Especially after announcing it!)

So how tough could it be right? I'd ponder it over in my mind before going to sleep. Ball, sphere, circle, 2piR.. 2piR.. 2piR... but offcourse divided by the number of sections for the width of the panel and D (diameter) for the length. A curve to connect one length point to one width point, reflected x 4. Wow!...rush to computer, translation in Adobe Illustrator, print, cut, sew, stuff...And we had ourselves a..

Pumpkin!

Yes, I ended up with a pumpkin and a confused frown. And much regard for the Purl Bee Pattern.

Left with a very complicated geometrical explanation as such, I left this adventure for another day and tried out the second interpretation of a ball.

In Design School I was very fascinated with hexagons and pentagons. These two shapes are found underlying in many creations in nature: the honey comb, eyes of moths and some insects, wasps nests, seeds, flower orientations, snow flakes. MC Escher has used them in many of his tessellation's. They seemed to be very important and in a way stable shapes. I chanced upon Buckminster Fulller and his Geodesic Domes, where he uses polygons to make the spherical domes. This became a base for another ball.

Not very original as it is infact the construction of a regular soccer ball. But still, it worked out more promising than the Pumpkin, so it felt good!

The rest of the gang

2010-04-08T03:29:00.013-04:00

As promised.

The Curious Flamingo

Have you ever looked at it from another angle? Curious Flamingo here reminds you ever so often to do just that. He’ll stand silently on your desk or your book shelf and gently tilt his head saying, ‘hi’ or maybe ‘excuse me’ or ‘have you considered’ or just ‘peekaboo-I see you!’. A quiet though friendly type.

Nesting with my mum:

This little baby bird loves to be cozy with her mum in the nest. Well, mum’s are that way right? And how great it feels to shelter a nest at home sans the mess and smell. This cozy twosome could do with a cozy corner, overlooking the cheery ongoings of your life. Twitter twitter, tweet tweet, be assured they will discuss it no end!

My good friend, Ostrich:

When in doubt, you can ask him, for he’s standing there waiting for you to. He’s glad you think him a worthy friend and not just a silly flightless bird like some. He values that! So go ahead, don’t hesitate. Tell him what you think.

Pheasant Call:

I must warn you, he is quite showy with those feathers of his and they might just attract a hen or two.

Birds on a twig:

Group Shot..

All of them now selling in my shop. (Finally!)

Have you seen my Goose?

2010-03-24T19:16:00.000-04:00

Lately it has been very chirpy around the house. I have been crazily enjoying making birds forPragya, a friend who has been chosen to exhibit and sell her illustrations at the Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend.

It's always the first one I keep procrastinating, especially if it's something new. It took me a whole 12-13 hours to convince myself that I am ready to cut and sew NOW! Long legged Blue turned up with promising eyes and encouraged me to go on. And I did!

Lots of free hand drawing on my patterns for different bird shapes. Losing patterns in between. Shouting aloud, 'Have you seen my Goose?' Looking at Little Miss very suspiciously, to find that I had been the culprit instead. Repeating 'bird' and 'chirp chirp' a zillion times to Little Miss, who insisted on saying Ka Ka (quack quack) instead. Fabric and trims strewn all over. What a mess, but oh such fun!

There was red.. (um I know this is a bird..I need to figure out which one!)

A Pheasant, an Ostrich, a Flamingo and many more in the making. I'll post some more pictures soon, once they have attended the festival.

A BIG Thanks to Pragya for letting me do these for her. I enjoyed it big time!

It's Cloudy!

2010-03-18T03:40:00.000-04:00

This week's competition at India Photography Contest Weekly is rocking! The theme is 'Clouds' and there are some breathtaking entries!

I love interesting cloud formations. I love the way the sky puts up such a grand spectacle each evening at Sunset. I'm sure Sunrise must be lovely too, but I rarely make it in time to witness its beauty. Though I love fresh morning air.

Anyway, here's my entry for this weeks competition...

'Resting in a valley'

This snap was taken on the way back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee during autumn..the best time to visit and experience Fall in all its colors. Unfortunately we were a weekend early. Nonetheless, loved it and this sight made up for it completely!
Here are two more snaps from the cloud in the valley set...

It sure was heavenly!

Over the top 'bout Spring!

2010-03-14T14:17:00.001-04:00

It is 'officially' Spring as of today and we just lost an hour!

Rang Barse (Color Pours)

2010-03-12T01:40:00.000-05:00

My earliest memories go back to me hiding behind a wall, all clean and dry, packet full of water balloons, scared and praying no one would find me. The deadly sound of those eagerly running slippers, lead to a racing heart which echoed all around the parking lot and invariably gave me away. Splash, patak, putuk, eeeeeee..(oh no, they found me)! As terrifying as this moment always is, it is so crucial in giving in and diving into the crazy, colorful, fun festival of Holi!

Many years later and many more miles away from the epi-center of this joyful explosion, Holi is lighter, yet filled with cherished memories and activities.

This year we unexpectedly found a bunch of flowers that made up for all the multi colored powders. Beaming with much pride, we returned home to find that the flowers were dyed, leading to a reluctant disappointment. After all, Holi is all about being happy, right?

The intense desire to eat Gujiyas (mmmmm) gives me the courage to make them. The fact that it makes for a great romantic activity where I fill and he fries cannot be ignored either! It takes one whole year to whitewash the memory of all this effort and before you know it, we're happily making them again!:)

A few friends were over for lunch and in true desi enthu spirit I went all out and made Chaat (for the first time). The flowers got me so excited I almost made colorful buntings for the door and wished I had solid multi-colored paper napkins in between the plates. Next time, next time..in true holi spirit.A little gulaal and timer mode photographs with everyone expressing 'holi hai', instead of 'cheese' got us giggling and concluded the happy day.

Welcome Dear Spring! It's so good to see you again. :)

'Felt' out of guilt.

2010-03-01T15:58:00.000-05:00

This post is the outcome of great guilt felt on going completely overboard shopping on artsy craftsy little things at Hobby Lobby. I visited it for the first time, and boy, do these people know how to tempt you or what?! Now tell me, would you be able to resist that

or that

or that?

Yes I do have a conscience and no it did not feel good at the billing counter. I stood there and wished I was ground tiny so no one could see me! Or maybe if only the soles of my shoes could dig, scrape, chisel, burn a hole through the ground so I could slowly slide through and escape! But no, guilt conscience decided to ride home with me in two accusing bundles.

So here is an attempt to feel a little good. A very indirect, lateral approach. :)

One of my finds was a finger felting kit, something which I wasn’t familiar with. Felt from what I knew was made by pouring a soapy water solution on wool fibers and creating an agitation and friction by rubbing, causing the wool fibers to interlink and join together resulting in felt. Un-woven and magical. Finger felting on the other hand is done with a needle, without a soapy solution and can be moulded into some lovely forms. So you see, my guilt was replaced by the pride of thorough research and information gained thereby. ;)

What’s more? I stumbled onto the creations of some very talented artists.

Paintgranny (Gretel Parker), an artist and illustrator in Cotswolds, England makes all kinds of animals in a very original style. I enjoyed seeing videos of ‘Blue Bird Spinning’ and ‘A beret for Buttercup’, while understanding the finger felting process.

Felt Alive, by Kay Petal. Wow! Could it get more realistic than this?

Kay, a felt artist from Wasilla, Alaska, loves to share and teach her work. She is presently on an indefinite teaching-road tour around America.

Doll, by Mimi Kirchner makes dolls of fabrics and I first came across her work at purlbee. While this is not finger felting, she has used felt here. A great thing about felt is that you can cut and sew it and not worry about a raw edge fraying, ‘cause felt won’t.

Finally, a video about Mimi Kirchner which makes me feel good about ‘being obsessed’ with things.

Ah! Felt out of guilt to feel good.

The Secret Cabinet

2010-02-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

It all began one day when I opened my crockery cabinet in the kitchen to find two queer objects staring back at me: A small rolled up bundle of fabric and a crumpled piece of paper. I didn't think finding a piece of fabric or paper would lift my 'end of the day and I have to cook, phew' spirit to such a high! The fatigue was lost, I gave a huge (lovely) smile and closed the cabinet door.

In some time 'Little Miss', 14 months young and 28" high, showed up, opened the cabinet, looked at her treasures, smiled, took them and left. Nope, she dare share a glance with me. It is her own private little secret. Shhhhh.

Ever since, I open the secret cabinet door to find many a treasure: pieces of paper, a flyer, her little pajamas, a sock. Amusingly, many a times she puts something in the night, forgets all about it the next morning and beams with the most gorgeous happy smile at finding something 'new' in her cabinet the next day! :)

Hey, I wanted in to this game too and I had a plan! So I squinted my eyes, rubbed my palms together, clicked my feet and set off! A few hours at the sewing machine and voila, ladies and gentlemen, we had a stuffed beach ball. Now all I had to do was place this in the secret cabinet and wait..oh so impatiently!

Morning was here and 'Little Miss' pranced around as she usually does. The Secret Cabinet was somehow not on her list of priorities today. I could hardly focus on my cooking! My mind and eyes kept stealing glances at the cabinet door, then at 'Little Miss', then at the door, oh when oh when will she open it? I reached my limit of patient waiting and hinted every time she pranced around me at the cabinet. Well, what can I say, cosmic conscience likes to tease too! When finally, bored of everything else, 'Little Miss' reached for the secret cabinet and I stopped my spatula in mid air. Psst psst, come quick, she's opening it.

Action reaction sequence: Opens the door, closes the door, wait a minute, open door, directly reach for a plump colorful object, confusion, hesitation, silence, my moms not stopped me as yet, let's get it out, turn around, two eager parent faces smiling wide and excited...oh..is this for me..oh..heehee heehee. She smiled and giggled with happiness. And she knew fully well, it was especially for her!

So now we play catch. I ask 'ready' and she repeats something between 'deady' & 'leady' (maybe 'dleady' but not quite!) and catches hold tight of the treasure stuffed ball, thrown from a foot away!

And yes, I keep finding queer objects now and then and also know where to put one for her.

Would you like to make one of these too? It's very simple. I found the pattern at www.purlbee.com, a fantastic site for a crafter to browse and get completely inspired! The little felt butterfly is a small detail I added in the process. Just keep it (folded) between two right facing layers while stitching.

'Mevlana' of Turkey

2010-02-21T02:21:00.000-05:00

The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.

We must get up and take that in,

That wind that lets us live,

Breathe before it's gone.

Dance, when you're broken open

Dance, if you've torn the bandage off

Dance in the middle of the fighting

Dance in your blood

Dance, when you're perfectly free

The Sufi poet Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-73)

from the book, 'The Essential Rumi', by Coleman Barks, locked in a box in India, waiting for me to return and bury myself in it once again!

Color Express

2010-02-16T17:29:00.000-05:00

Sharing two explosions of color which have filled me with much enthusiasm.

The first..

Henri Matisse 1869-1954
The Snail 1953
L'Escargot
Gouache on paper, cut and pasted on paper mounted on canvas  support: 2864 x 2870 mm  on paper
(Image courtesy Tate Gallery)

Matisse, a master of color and leading figure in modern art. His compositions, full of color, movement and vitality, often reflect a happiness and optimism. Very rare, if at all does one find darkness.

'The Snail', one of Matisse's last pieces in his brilliant series of cut-outs was inspired by the shell of a snail, resulting in the spiraling arrangement of roughly cut pieces of paper. Mind you, each piece of paper has been painted to the exact required tone and Matisse would have discussed with you in what percentages they would be perfect. While the spiral is his abstract take on the snail, he put in a tiny more obvious one on the left hand corner. A little secret detail of the painting which can easily go unnoticed.

The second...

Bedding cover detail in Reverse Applique, Kutch, Gujarat

Gujarat has such a vibrant mix of crafts. Kutch resounds with color in her crafts, making up for the lack of it in her barren surroundings. Home to numerous highly skilled craftspeople, one is impressed by the great sense of aesthetics which flows in their blood. None of these people received any color training or went to a design or art school. And still, a craftsperson humbly brings out his wares and you are silenced by an admiration and awe, left in turn the more humble of the two.

My Happy Bundle

2010-01-20T12:13:00.000-05:00

I have been mulling over whether I should write a blog for a long long while. Off late there have been so many pointers blogwards..whether it be friends mentioning blogs, my own interest taking me to many, fellow stay at home mom bloggers whom I relate to and offcourse, the movie Julie and Julia. So here I am in blogworld and with so many pointers, I must admit I have a good feeling about it!

My daughter is the essential ingredient of my Happy Bundle. Along with her, I would love to fill in and share with you my paints, fascination for art, design, textiles, food, crafts and photography. A little philosophy might creep in once in a while. I do not know what triggers it and when I could have that ‘it’s all clear to me now’ bout, but when I do and if it’s any good, I shall spill it over to you. Promise. My husband usually teases me and lightens the whole impact of my en-lighted moment. I do enjoy that. Makes me feel less serious about the whole thing :)

A little about me..I am a designer, textile and fashion, but have not practiced it for a while and presently am home with my little one rediscovering the fascinating journey of growing, this time from another perspective. It is quite a challenge and immense joy. It helps me come back when I go off lost and wandering.

I do endeavor to be in touch with my field and things close to my heart, by indulging in my interests, my bundles of happiness: making clothes for my daughter, taking a snap or two, experimenting on a taste bud and going ga ga over flowers and art related books. Being here is a conscious decision to fuel that fire.

I hope you will also share your happy bundles with me.

So here goes...wish me luck!
:)