An incredible experience!!

I recently attended a workshop organized by Artry . 

It was as if I took an adventure into the beautiful world of art

 with charcoals in my hand, 

easels in a very spacious room,

 remarkable peace in the air and

 so many artists and art lovers all around !

As I entered I thought YESS this is it! 

This is the kind of place I wish to be in! 

There were smiling faces to greet me and all.

Artry is a shared vision of a group of artists 

to understand and foster dialogue between artists

 and their practice,

 a space for in-depth explorations into art.

We had to observe the model

 sitting in front of us and

 draw with charcoal.

 All the necessary material was provided to us.

                                                                  We were fortunate                                                             

that we got an opportunity to learn from the best

. Mr. Ram Chandra Babu 

who is an illustrator with Gulf News.

 He was kind enough to share with us 

some good techniques 

while we did a Life Study with him.

 He made a perfect use of his knowledge

 and enthusiasm to encourage us.

The environment as a whole was unintimidating.

I felt extremely positive vibes,

 a sense of tranquility and peace

 flowing in my mind and body 

with an urge to create.

It was amazing

 how all of us saw the subject in a different way.

Each sketch was unique and beautiful.

It was a weekend filled not only with

 art and creativity but also fun and learning.

Thanks Artry  :)

The call of a heart !

And the brown of my eyes

floating again in the pool of silence

longing to see the new face of love

smiling with astonishing eloquence...

And I wait within my heart

to dance out

the next step

choreographed by... love

to sing aloud

another melody... of love

I know,my smile is precious

when your hand covers mine

cherishing 'that' moment in the moments

I suddenly feel alive...

appearing as I am...

my tears rolling down your cheeks

and I see you turn into many eyes

quietness speaking a thousand thunders

and then those eyes into many hands

as many as the strands of my hair !
...and the brown of my eyes
floating again in the pool of silence !

A slice of moon !

I take a fine slice of moon

place it on my dish

then whip well a cloud

with a delicate wish

next is a wedge of rainbow...

looks quite like a candy

sprinkles of stardust

come in quite handy

a dash of mist for the dressing

and a generous squeeze of rain

then I stir in a lot of love

with passion insane

flambe it with my breaths

a pinch of love again for the garnish

the divine soul food is ready...

to go straight through your eyes

to your heart... in less than a while

and my eyes

wait to see the taste

on your rather lyrical smile.

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  :)

Wonderings !!

Sharing the beats of my little heart

that whisper all day long

One says it is all right

Second says something is wrong!

And then the one which skips to beat

tells me it's just perfect!!

The smiles I share

and the tears I cry

each tiny beautiful moment of joy 

like first rainfall on the already damp soil

Oh! that glitter in your eyes

when I sing the song in your heart

and how much I feel proud

when your thoughts I think aloud

and as I nurture this

extra-ordinary existence

I am filled with wonderings

a few questions

 and some doubts

but one thing I am certain...

everything will be gorgeous soon

and that's what it is all about !!

"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 ??

   

Chai...A sip of India !!

When I was told by The Indian Trumpet

that their March April issue is celebrating Chai

and that I needed to do some illustrations for them

I was thrilled because

Chai is ...

a sip of India !!

It carries a great importance in the life of an Indian :)

and so I began my journey...

Do you drink Chai ? Which one is your cup of tea ?

Different regions in India have their own special Chai ...with special names !!

Masala chai is a healing elixir if it creates a state of balance within our being. 

During winter, warming spices like ginger, cinnamon and pepper

 will keep us in harmony with the season. 

However during summer, 

mint, fennel, coriander, saffron, and the cooling nature of sweet milk, 

can help us stay cool and balanced.

Hum Saath saath hain (We are always together)

 shows the various things that go absolutely, crazily well with a cup of Chai...

I asked a few friends the first word that comes to their mind 

when I say Chai...

and then this illustration came up :)

These are a few tea labels which I illustrated ! Some known...some old  :)

These are a few of the excuses we Indians take to enjoy a cup of Chai !!...

morning chai....chai with breakfast...

chai for no reason....family time chai

chai with friends.....and so on  :)

This is the humble Chai waallah (Tea Seller) who is the life line of India :)

Hope your voyage with my cup of Chai has been memorable :)