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.

Dreamer of Little Words

everlasting ingenious blue,

magic ideas fish sky tune

Smile he destiny quest-

power love and float

Dark the home an experimental

Reclaiming smile for who

-amrita nambiar

I read somewhere, that To make a Dadaist poem
'' Take a newspaper, Take a pair of scissors.Cut out words and put them in a bag.
Shake it gently.
Then take out the scraps one after the other in the order in which they left the bag.
The poem will be like you.
And here you are, a writer - infinitely original.
endowed with a sensibility that is charming
though beyond the understanding of the vulgar.''

Above Your Head

Hello!! Im going through a crazy time in life, sometimes big decisions seem so massively huge and i spend half my life worrying over things but I know that later, i am going to look back and think : silly me, what a thing to worry about. So thats what Im doing these days. not very productive. But lately ive been doing a lot of identity design ! And loving it. I love the process of creating a face for a client and then taking it forward. Its just so interesting ! Also, my little story is over ! Here are the five. Theyre soon going to be printed and framed and be adorning the walls of Annikas nursery :) 

And let me tell you of the little story that goes alongwith these illustrations.
Once upon a time there lived a little girl, (lets call her Annika after her new owner to be) She found this door in her home and it was one big circular door.She wondered what was behind it, and one day decided to find out. But this door was locked! And annika suddenly remembered the key necklace she always wore ! She tried it in the lock and it turned. Her eyes grew big with excitement and she opened the door to see this incredible scene in front of her eyes, toadstools with peeping squirrels, magical pink horses that floated along strange grassy lands which were in steps and had ladders to go up to the next grassy land and trees with all kinds of fruit growing at the same time.. and even a tree of stars! She walked along the little bridge that popped up and entered the little world. And did she have the time of her life there! She came across this little party and joined the fairy folk and little creatures there and had some delicious pink cake that melted in her mouth and all this under a tree of lights and stars. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
And then a big bird swooped in and annika climbed on her back and they flew amongst the stars till they reached her home. It wasnt long before she fell asleep, a happy smile on her face.

i love ze magical lands !
Also, i forgot to mention, and now im back and actually editing the post to say this - that between the five illustrations, annikas date of birth, time of birth, weight when she was born and her name are hidden somewhere :)

Fairytale Love

You probably already have this figured out, but i love stories. And i think im going backward mentally, because instead of reading intellectually stimulating books, these days i find myself going back to the enid blytons and other fairytales kids read. it makes it so much easier to live in a bubble.
A new project for a client who has just had a little girl, and is giving me such a treat, by asking me to do a series of illustrations for the babys nursery. And the whole theme is a little girl entering a magical world.

There is a short little story behind it, and there are going to be five illustrations! Ill tell you the story when all five are done! Oh oh good news! Skinny Scribbles has been published!! I have a copy in my hands, and I think you should be able to buy it! Im very happy with the print, it looks lovely, if i may say so myself :)
Half the weeks over, and the way times-a-flying, it should be the weekend before you know it, have a good one! much love.

Dream Base

This is something Ive been wanting to do for a while now, Nobody tells you how hard it is to take interior shots! what looks good to my eyes, just doesnt come out the same on camera. But finally (with a little help from siddharth, who i frantically called while panicking about wrong light, etc) I shot some that dont look so bad :)
Welcome home ! I havent clicked every little bit, It was a race against fading light, so just the bits that I love. I love the lights hanging from a branch that I installed over my dining table, and the beautiful windows there. I love my kitchen which is so vintage - I painted it mint green to add to that whole feel! And my bedroom - that got painted blue ! I havent done such a super job with little bits of paint dripping onto the floor, im probably going to get yelled at by our landlord when he sees this :) but oh well, makes me happy for now! Its also our first grown up home - with real furniture ! I dont think I mind growing up so much :)

Rain Rain

Oh for some rain. I realise lately that im drawing a lot of rain, might have something to do with the overwhelming heat here.These days, im always fondly thinking of swimming pools and rain and cold weather.sigh. I should also introduce you to my new love, connector sketchpens by fabercastle! got to love them ! Super design and so delicious, theyre the special of  the day! 

Also saw this talk recently, you should watch Sara Blakely with her brand SPANX. Its an incredibly inspiring story, and a mine of information ! 

Lots of talks and plans happening these days. I cant wait for them to come alive so I can tell you of them!

But until then, enjoy the rest of the week :) its almost over ! is time going by really quickly these days, or is it just me?!

a dog amongst green.  auroville.

Flying Free

What am I upto these days? im dissolving in the heat just a little bit, but besides that- my illustrations/designs are going to be on the covers of exercise notebooks! thats right :) so here is one design that i think might work- what do you think? yes or no? (sneak peek)

Happily, ive been given full freedom to choose the subjects of my illustration. so they are naturally nature inspired and these are butterflies. aiming high, flying free, and loving life.

Speaking of which, ive been interviewed by desicreative and you can read the interview on their website- www.desicreative.com ! SO exciting and feels so strange too :)

Gluttony and the End!

Gluttony took the form of a tree, a beautiful tree teeming with delicious looking fruit and flowers.

and youth and beauty and everything that one desires in a lifetime. Also hanging, is the apple, a 

symbol of temptation- attached to the apple is a tap from which Gluttony unfortunately drinks. 

Below him a strawberry bleeds.

Its that time of the year when long term projects come to an end, and you finally get to see the fruit of the seeds you sow (or something like that :) The Deadly ego series was started many months ago, and each character was a discovery, a lot of research and emotion involved. Im happy with the result and now rearing to start something new and exciting! Once these are printed, they are going up on the walls of the Hidesign Flagship store in Pondi- large prints, I cant wait to see them there.

On another slightly lazier note, got pampered at the gorgeous Le dupleix during our holiday there, and Im just back this morning from Pondi, refreshed and happy :) Im a pondy fan, whattodo.