Dreaming a Dream

If I could capture the moon

And paint a sky full of blue

Fight scattered storms

To light the night

If I could skip along clouds

And hear the wind sing out loud

Rewrite the rhyme

And slow down time

I see a world

Where every boy and girl

Has all they need

To live free

Where everyone

Could share the sun

Life is only a dream

Dream with me.

-Jackie Evancho

A storm has been brewing, and I have been killing myself keeping it from you ! But the time has finally come when I can tell you all about what I've been up to the past year .

You know all about my love for Pondicherry. So many of my first posts were written while I lived there and drew inspiration from people and places in that little town.

But before I left Pondi, another thought was born. The simple lifestyle there, the magic in cycling down a cobbled street, the time we all had to appreciate every little thing, the love the people in the town have for the sea and its wild unpredictability - these were what made it beautiful - the little pleasures.
I remember sitting by the sea, with my sketchbook and pencil -scribbling away, wondering how I could turn my illustrations into an experience. Bring this magic and whimsy into peoples lives, maybe their homes.

And so a year later I get to tell you about Olie. Olie meaning light in tamil launches in Bangalore in a few weeks with its first collections of carecrafted accessories and lighting. My inspiration translated into reality. Now a mood, an ethereal beauty for you to experience in your homes and spaces. And I am so excited about it ! The illustration above is a mindmap of sorts, mapping the journey and thought process that led to Olie. But the real journey has been in the learning, and the people I've met and the good and bad experiences I've had the past couple of months. It already is such a long, rich story to tell - and I'm going to tell you all about it, between scribbles and pictures.

More soon !
much love to you !

Under the Sea

 

To see the world in technicolour, to not have to imagine because in front of you is the unimaginable. 

I never dreamt it was really possible and I feel so fortunate to have seen. I spent an incredible week at the andaman islands and each day was a feast for the senses. seas that lasted forever, turquoise blue beyond belief. fish in a million colours, shapes and sizes- glowing. graceful. ( I was the clumsy creature underwater). I loved loved loved this beautiful, magical, mysterious place where ancient tribes still live a life untouched by civilization, elephants swim and dolphins- I saw a dolphin! you have to see to believe. 

so heres a glimpse - and a few more next week !!

The Fish at the End of the Rainbow

I dream of flying into a space that is empty of thoughts, the only emotion i would feel is 

complete pure happiness at the freedom of it all. 

I miss those days when I lived in my little room (whilst still studying) when I would climb to the terrace and watch the skies and the tops of houses and life go by below.

The Stronger Pull

Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love  Rumi

The new Hidesign diary holds illustrations that speak of passion, spirit and sensuousness. of an emotional high, and I use the forces of nature to bring it to life. In each illustration (there are going to be 10) is the moon in a different part of its cycle for each month and all energy is drawn from this one, glowing source. I love the energy in this series and I think this diary is going to be quite beautiful when it all finally comes together! I hope you get to keep one with you when the new year begins!

Folk Valley

Today I did something thats been on my list for a while! I finally got to sit with some folk artists and work with their lovely vegetable dyes. A friend and I went to the valley school in Bangalore - a gorgeous space, very much like auroville, and in their artists village, amidst music and much energy, we painted and watched and listened to the artists as they related stories and sang songs about their art :) lovely!

 Banyan trees have special powers. They heal souls and exude peace. 

 the initial form that Rabia's art took

painting a pattachitra bird

my folk art dreams finally coming true :)

The colours arent spot on, I clicked this picture half in the dark! But heres my first foray into folk art! 

The tale of how the magical urn of life that poured endless amounts of nectar filled the soul, so everything - the trees, birds, sea, fish and lotus, the entire universe exists within you.

When Time Stands Still

quaint little doors and yellow houses 

lake in the middle of nowhere - auroville    

Living in Pondicherry is so inspiring, Im surrounded by a quaint beauty that is unique to most towns in India.

And its not just the place, its got some incredibly interesting people living in it too- creating the most exciting things. Sometimes I go around with my sketchbook and scribble away, something to look at and drown in someday when im far away in a horrible noisy city. This morning I was in auroville at a gorgeous lake. There were birds chirping and I think I almost forgot to draw, it was just so peaceful.

And on a sadder note, all the likes from that facebook like button have suddenly been erased and i dont know how ! it makes me a bit sad. So do leave your comments as well as clicking on like, I really would love to hear from you !

Cracker

awake and asleep :)

I think that if everyone in the world had a little pup, there would be no more wars, no more petty gossip, and plenty of love going all around. Meet cracker :) With him came lots of laughter and plenty of distraction. Weve all just spent 2 days sitting around him playing and laughing at his crazy antics. He's a cocker spaniel puppy gifted to my mom by my dad and Im home right now, watching him chew the teddy bear he loves so much. he sleeps on it, and chews it to bits, shaking his sweet little ears in a most glamourous fashion :) ! I think were all head over heels in love with this pup, and hes in grave danger of being ridiculously spoiled. But its hard not to swoon when he looks at you with his adorable puppy eyes !

Have a great weekend :)

Painting with the Skies

                                               

A wind has blown the rain away and the sky away and all the leaves away.

And all that stands is me, painting with the skies

staring with awe at the gloriousness of it all.

Song of the Magic Seeds

Weeping sky

We bring the sun

to make you glad

and fill you with the day

Quiet tree

We have the wind 

to make you dance

and fill you with our play

And you shall be glad

and you shall dance

and you shall come

to hear our song

and learn its tune

before it fades away

This work by amrita is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.