Emerald Wok

The UAE Green Festival came to an end last week.

 Actually my heart is not full yet and 

my creative juices are flowing still.

I am getting addicted to the Recycle Reuse Recreate mantra.

And why not 

this spirit should run every day all year through!

Well, I am doing my bit

 and

 it makes me smile :)

UAE Green Festival organised a Green Menu contest

 in collaboration with Signor Pomidor Dubai...a family run healthy Italian kitchen and fresh deli.

Now this contest demanded a Green Recipe.

So here is my submission "Emerald Wok".

And guess what !!!

My illustrated recipe is

 the winner of the contest !!!

And this means 

I get a chance

 of an incomparable cooking experience 

at Signor Pomidor :)

I am a pure vegetarian 

and a true believer of

 "You are what you eat" 

and  I try not to be Fast, Cheap, Easy or Fake !!

I have high respect for the sacred human body.

 If art is my first love ...

cooking comes next :)

(and here I have combined both )

I love love love to cook 

healthy and wholesome 

and try to incorporate rainbow colours 

to my food through fresh vegetables and fruits :)

How do you like your food to be?

 My recipe "Emerald Wok"  is a super hit among my family and friends.

So when I read about the contest

It was easy for me to go for this !

and here it is for all of you to try out ...

trust me you will not be disappointed :)

The ground work for all happiness is

good health...

so my dear dear friends take care of yourself...

listen to your body...

choose what you eat ...

 stay healthy...

and happy  :)

"Around here"

So now you know where did I vanish !

We are having a UAE Green Festival here.

 I am associated with a beautiful online art gallery

 called Kobo Art.

 I got this opportunity

 to be a part of this green drive in Dubai through Kobo Art.

 It was great fun to create art pieces

 from recycled material !! 

I always always believe in the magical ways

 of recycle and reuse !!

 It saves you some pennies,

 reflects your love for mother earth 

and is soooo much fun !!

This is an installation which we have done at 

the Heritage House, Bastakiya, Dubai.

Empty water bottles have been used

 to show the depletion of natural resources

 and the disastrous situation

which we may face if we do not choose to recycle and reuse.

Done on a hard board,

 residue of coffee (which had been brewed and filtered) 

has been used to give a lot of textures to this art piece called "Adventure"

      The work is inspired by nature,landscapes and geology.

 The textures give a three dimensional look

 and the trails of overlapping colors 

led me to quite an intuitive and magical "Adventure".

If you have visited me in the last few weeks,
 you would be aware of
the tea bag illustrations I have been doing.

Now since the tea bags have been
 recycled  and reused
after satisfying the tea lover in me

it was a good idea indeed to display them as recycled art !!
My kettle, milk container
and that little garden chair are also on display.

"Around here"...as I named this work of mine

 is a big scale work of art
done using a variety of recycled material.
The base is a Gypsum board

 which had been earlier used for a graffiti workshop

... broken in the middle

 and has an irregular shape.

I used an empty pack of ferrero rocher chocolates 

to represent a solar window.

A blue water bottle lid here 

and the tiny water droplets show that we need to save water!

The face of my,Eco-Angel as I have named her,

has been done using an old burlap rice sack :)

and also the little birds singing the "Green songs" !!

Her neck shows photo film negatives and some round seals from spray paint cans !

 The wing of the Eco-Angel has been created using some old music sheets!

The Eco-Angel has a message to spread...

"Around here...or there...together we can make a difference!" 

By the way the tiara on her head is the beautiful beady portion of my chappals (shoes)  :)

and her earring from a matchbox !!

Are you finding me crazy ?

Yes I did go crazy and quite adventurous while doing this art piece!! 

So here is my final piece...what do you think ??

   

Joy forever !!

Sometimes I wonder 

about my ever growing love

for peacocks...

Is it the grandeur of the blue

that it proudly boasts of

or the brilliant strokes of green

and purple that adorn its feathers...

Is it the shining neck 

or the playful shining hearts on its tail...

Is it the large striking eyes

gazing beyond their range

or the music of its heart

coming out through its crown...

Is it the way it dances 

to celebrate its gorgeousness

or the way

 it gracefully carries itself...

Oh I still wonder 

if it is the compassion it symbolizes

or the fact that despite all the flaws and imperfection 

each feather has...

collectively they create a beauty

 that is joy forever !!

My "Mithai Tamasha" !!

Food is so visual ...and so why can't Recipe writing be ??

Proud as a peacock I am, to be a trumpet blower !!

Yes my Indian Sweets Recipe Illustrations have been published

in my favorite online magazine called The Indian Trumpet.

 It is an e-magazine which captures

 the color, culture and chaos of India.

 It blows the trumpet and makes a lot of noise about all things Indian :)

I fell in love with this magazine instantly

 for it truly... truly satisfies my lust for colors, and brightness, 

besides pleasing my heart which is oh so very Indian !!

Each page is so vibrant and oozes out so much energy

 that you can't resist flipping through them again and again and again :)

So here is my 'Mithai Tamasha" (Sweet Show).

Eid celebrations demand "Phirni" for sure :)

Favorite sweet of Lord Ganesha 

and so an irresistible part of "Ganesh Chaturthi"

"Onam" Sadya and Payasams a delicious affair!!

"Navratri Bhog becomes special with this sweet nutty kheer :)

  

A mouth watering sweet for the "Durga Puja " festivities.

 "Dussehra" and Jalebi...a bond unbreakable.

An Integral part of the famous "Karva Chauth" festival.

 Gulab Jamun makes the "Diwali " fun and festivities even more special.

 So friends how do you find this "Mithai Tamasha" ??

Do try out some of these recipes and I am sure you are going to love them !!

And yes , don't forget to read The Digital Trumpet.

Flip to page number 50 for this sweet affair of mine !!

The rhythm of festivals begins...

the seasons will change 

and the time will take its own course...

and I am here again after my vacations...

all geared up with my arty stuff.

Hope you all are enjoying your days too :)

Pod of Love !

Hey all my friends of the big blogging world

I love you all

                                                              your visit makes my day
                                                       your lovely notes and comments 

make my heart smile

your words boost my spirits up

with you I can be what I am

and say what I want to say

                                                       So my dear dear friends thanks...
                                                  thanks for being an inseparable part of my life !

Recently I read a quote by Buddha which said 

"You yourself as much as

anybody in the entire universe,deserve your love and affection. "

So do remember to Love Yourself ...   

embrace yourself for what you are

and shine on :)

You are meant to make an impact !

Are you wondering what this is?

Well this was a seed pod 

which I picked while on my morning walk

I brought it home and opened it to have a look inside...

the seeds fell down.

While my fingers were engaged in playing with the pod

I just happened to put it down in a shape which resembled

a valentine :)

and so thrilled was I that I called it my "Pod of Love"

I am painting it red and gold and my creative juices

are giving me ideas...

Do you have any?

For this "Pod of Love I am loving myself "

    

Sharing my "Pod of Love" with PPF,APR,IA and MOM

Hulum !

Diwali is over.

Christmas is on its way!

I love the power these festivals hold to bring joy to each heart

make each eye shine

...love and hugs

...they do spread cheer everywhere.

teaching us to give...to share....

I have been too busy 

making sweets 

and painting diyas 

and cleaning the house 

for diwali :)

...and now is the time to spread love around

So here I am with my art work :)

Baskets have always fascinated me

 and when 

it is a bright and happy one

I have all the reasons 

to drool :)

Are you wondering what is written there in black??

Well it reads HULUM in Arabic and means DREAM in English :)

My basket finally hangs on my kitchen wall 

inspiring me to 'dream'

for that which can be dreamed can be achieved :)

Celebrating friendship :)

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart,and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

Here is a list of things I would LUVVV to do with my friend :

1.  wake up to see sunrise
2.  take bicycles and go on a long ride
3.  have breakfast together from the same plate
4.  laugh at stupid jokes
5.  sing funny songs
6.  listen to her pointless dramas over and over again
7.  pluck mangoes from someone else's yard
8.  dance in the rain
9.  do our favorite thing... nothing
10.  watch sunset together

Actually the list has not finished as yet

11 watch a Disney movie
12 go through old photo albums
13 have some pillow fight
14 read a comic
15 laugh together
16 just be me :)

I know I listed quite a number of things there and still want to go on but I think I need to link this to 

Inspiration Avenue where everybody is celebrating friendship :)

Also sharing at PPF

My lemony birdie with a strawberry heart !

   Kristin at The Summer of Color: Week Three prompted us to create art using the colors of the flavor Strawberry Lemonade punch ! Now I thought of going to Baskin Robbins to check out this lip smacking flavor ...and to my utter dismay this was one of the official flavors of the month :)

I came home with their brochure and also some tissue papers....yes I surely had some plans in my mind :)

I wanted to use their brochure as my background :)

Next I layered the brochure with the 'BR' tissue paper and was happy with the textures that came up just so naturally ! I purposely left the middle section of the brochure which spoke about our flavor of the week...Strawberry Lemonade !

Then I used some newspaper and a music sheet to make my little birdie and the tree and the leaves...and also drew a few details down there with my black pen .
Coloring it all lemon yellow and strawberry pink was the most fun part and I enjoyed it thoroughly :)

I also liked the other colors of the brochure that were still peeking through the tissue layer as if trying not to miss out on the fun :)

Don't you think my lemony  birdie, with a big musical strawberry heart , is singing out loud ...all praises about the flavor of the month !

Enjoy!