Lifting The Painted Veil

OLIE, my project that was undercover for a whole year finally opened doors to visitors, buyers and well wishers over the last weekend. The place looked like a dream, Raintree was at its most beautiful and friends and family pitched in to make sure everything went perfectly for the two days that we were there. Everyone who walked in loved the display, the stories and the products themselves and I cannot believe how many people will now have a little Olie touch to their home. It suddenly seems like everything is happening incredibly fast, but I am revelling in the love for this brand and simply dizzy with joy !

An illustration come to life, it was wonderful to be able to experience the magic in forms that one could touch and interact with.

moving shadows dance their way across walls and ceilings casting spells 

Love this pretty lady's outfit- the colours work so well for the brand !

cushion covers,table linen and lighting oh joy!

I cannot wait to walk into a home and see a little bit of Olie soul glowing over a table like a piece of art or like one lovely buyer told me, in her bedroom where the shadows each lamp creates would make the whole space incredibly beautiful and romantic.

I've been taking a bit of a break the past few days from all the rush of product and brand building, but the only thing that I did do this week was meet with the charismatic Asha and Sanam of Sunday Soul Sante. Happily, they seem excited to welcome us to their flea market. I always loved the sante, it seems so festive, a real market with music and wine and so much beauty in the stalls - It's going to be a whole new experience to be a part of it not as someone who is walking through enjoying the spirit but as one of the brands within the stall. Im excited. I hope you will be able to make it, it's happening on the 27th of this month !

All this excitement aside, I don't know if I told you - I moved back to Bangalore a month ago ! Back to long walks under beautiful flowering trees,plenty of cappuccino in quaint cafe's, lots of rides on the metro ( which for some reason fills me with joy even though its only about a 6 km stretch ! ) and friends everywhere. sigh, life is getting good again :)

Have a happy weekend! kisses!

Peep Into My Other World

 

Leaves of yellow

turquoise and olive

An intake of breath

(oh the wondrous joy!)

As they fall, dancing 

to the song of the wind

A pause in the flurry

of a moments breath

When glitter settles

as the dragonfly rests

the lovely nirmala, humoring my obsessive desire for the absolute perfect shade of teal.

A glimpse into the Olie world 

vintage love

photo credits : my lovely friend, heena pari 

So much is said so easily through a few pictures and words. This is why I sometimes feel that talk is always just that, long winding talk. And the reason why I love this space and blogging so much. Words are understood so much better when written and time is taken to look and absorb and stories learned. 

Every collection has a mood, an inspiration. A slow translation from sketch to product. A short verse accompanies each and I want you to interpret it as you will. Feel that sudden joy, the upside down feeling in the stomach, goosebumps as you relive an experience and then bring it home and tell your stories again,

through a cushion cover perhaps, or a glowing lamp - complete with shadows and colours. 

More soon, I can't believe how wonderfully people have been reacting to Olie. Thank you for your love - it keeps the silly smiles pasted on and spirits high !

Our facebook page is up and I would love for you to stop by and say hello ! www.facebook.com/olieindia

Have a great week !

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 !

Fierce Black

Today I finally pulled out this piece of charcoal I had bought a few weeks ago and picked up a piece of coloured paper and did a still life drawing. As always, when a piece of charcoal is in my hands, all hell breaks loose and I am covered in giant black smudges. But, it was fun and I enjoy the satisfaction of seeing these dark black , fierce lines coming to life under my hands. Im an angry soul these days, I dont think Chennai suits me very well.

The pine cones in the sketch are picked up from walks in Ooty, gorgeous ooty with its beautiful trees and pathways with ponies and flowers. Now thats a better place to live in.

Songs that make you sing

I rarely get to take a stroll in the big cities that I now live in and sit with my sketchbook and draw.
Last week, we went back to auroville to wind down for the weekend and a friend and I sat down to sketch our surroundings together - it is a distracted sketch, I have to admit . We were busy catching up and I was simply and happily dragging my brush across the paper. Such good times :)

It is sweltering here, but I have found this great mix of music http://8tracks.com/penkemeg/good-music-warm-weather-summer-fun . Its making my weekend so much sweeter ! Much love.

Leave you with this lovely quote, I dont think they are talking about the song really but more about life in general. deeper stuff :)

First Birthday!

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This post is designed to make you go aww ! 

I got the chance to design for baby annika again, this time it was for her very first birthday and her awesome mom threw a big butterfly themed party ! She asked me to design a card for her and of course I did :) 

She sent me this adorable picture of annika with the card. Im all smiles now !

Happy weekend everybody!

Hope

There is no despair so absolute as that which comes of the first moments of our first great sorrow 

when we have not known what it is to have suffered and healed.

to have despaired and recovered hope. George Eliot

Losing someone you love is the most painful, gut wrenching emotion you can ever feel and it changes you for the rest of your life. When I read this quote by George Eliot, I blinked at the absolute truth behind it.

When In Bloom

When I started working on this wedding invite, I was back in Bangalore and its springtime! The city was at its most beautiful with flowers of every colour creating beautiful canopies everywhere. Made my heart sing with joy. Obviously, this has translated into the card :) Lovely Rangeeta pretty much gave me a free reign with her wedding card. The envelope is made of brown paper and the whole thing is going to be tied with lovely blue ribbon. Im waiting to get the actual thing in my hands and Ill take some pictures for you to see :)

In bloom!

Dose of Normal

what better way to express all the crazy you feel in a week than through a sketch with a pen.

The perfect doodle device. Its been a mad few weeks, ecstatic one day - and down in the dumps the next. think i need a dose of normal :) 

How are things going with you? 

The Wonders of Travel

I was amazed to see what Ludhiana could do in my recent trip there for a friends wedding. The fashionable Punjabi women make the most of what is available in seemingly plenty out there - huge pools of talent. Embroidery, dyeing, incredible tailors and a sea of beautiful fabric to choose from as well as gorgeous borders and laces and the list simply never ends ! 

I decided I wanted to get a skirt made - in two days and it happened! I bought a white ''dyeable'' crepe

material and walked across the street to see the guy do this to get me the exact colour that I was looking for.

nothing less. I wanted to share this incredible process with you !

 Wanted to take these back home with me. A mouth watering collection of coloured powders (dyes)

He then adds the colours with great flair into this pot of boiling water

A few minutes later - voila! My gorgeous now bright orange fabric emerges!

And all the water goes down a drain. I shudder to think of the chemical pollution there. 

 Incredible to watch, and I wish I had my own personal dyeing place here as well. I would go crazy and dye all my things ! 

photo credit : Harleen Johar

That would be me, in Punjabi garb :)

Have a great week folks ! much love.

Brachiosaurus & Pteranodons !

Two of the new words I learned recently ! Its funny how enlightening it is to work with different people !
This illustration was commissioned as a wedding present for an ecologist couple. The brief was nothing short of fantastic, jsut the kind I like to hear - with requests for giant butterfly-eating dragonflies and dragons and a
whole world of dinosaurs. Incredible and I had a brilliant time creating this illusion !



Its been a long while since my last post - Things have been terribly hectic and I seem to have taken my usual nomadic behaviour up by a notch. Sort of in fast forward mode where I was doing the same sort of insane travelling incredibly quickly- leaving me with no time to breathe.  One of my best friends got married last week, so it was one big fat punjabi wedding. Unfortunately I didnt have my camera on me,  though I did ask friends to click a few things that I will post when I recieve them. Ludhiana is an incredibly artistic society. The fabric, the dyeing and sense of fashion there is unbelievable. Ive never seen anything like it !

I will try giving you a glimpse soon :) Have a wonderful week! much love.

Design All Around

Ive been spoiled thoroughly these past few days - being showered with gifts with valentines day and my birthday around the corner. So Im basking in the love and tirelessly admiring all my pretty new things. 

There is some beautiful design involved here - I thought I would show you around a little :)

A canopy (Ive always wanted one ) for my bed, 

turning it into fantasy sleep land with stars and fairy lights, dreamcatcher and lots of white linen ! and yes, also a man on the moon fishing for a star - you can see his shadow right on the top if you look carefully! 

beautiful pair of shoes sent for me by my sister - love everything about this pair!

Another dream come true - the incredible wacom intuos 5 made its way into my life two days ago - besides being an incredible tool, it is a gorgeous piece of design. I spend more time looking at it than using it!

It was love at first sight when I saw the Forrest Essentials packaging some months ago.

Another something that Ive always longed for. Not so much the product (though its great!) but more for that

gorgeous scented tissue with real rose petals and the beautiful bag and those gorgeous jars and bottles.

Finally - some plants for our new home. Its amazing how a little green life can alter a space so dramatically.

I plan to grow a whole little garden here, if my not- so- green thumb permits! 

Gotta love february! Ive never had such a torrent of beautiful goodies come my way in such quick succession  :) Have a great week! love.

Dance & Rise

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.

One billion rising is a movement, a revolution fighting violence against women - worldwide.

Their website is an incredible collective of talks, music, videos and dance recorded by some amazing talent from different countries. I was moved that they wrote me asking if I would create a poster to support this revolution and spread the message. 

Dance is holy,sexual and its a way of being very powerful and a little dangerous without being violent. 

All over the world, on the 14th of february- men and women will dance for their freedom.

In Bangalore, an event is being organized at cubbon park- join in if you can!

Forever Natural

A long time ago, I wrote about a diary I was working on for Hidesign. It turned out to be a piece that came very close to my heart, full of soul and much meaning. To me, it is very special. 

They kindly wrote a few lines about me and my art and my long connection with the brand in one of the introductory pages in the diary. 

My illustrations are about deep emotions and strong energies- Passion, Individuality, Sensuousness, Freedom, Love expressed through the various forces of nature - earth, wind, water, spirit. And the source of all that energy comes from the moon. The moon features in all the illustrations and all through the diary at various stages of its cycle. From a glowing full moon to no moon at all.

There are so many more illustrations to show you, but this is just a glimpse. I love the cover, a deep blue 

pebble leather. simple and gorgeous. If you have one of these - I hope you are enjoying writing in it!

Have a wonderful weekend. much love.

Fearless

The recent rape case in Delhi has created a huge stir in the people of the country, as it should. 

And everyone is doing their bit to ensure that the rage does not fizzle out and continues to loom across all our minds. Hopefully this will force people to see, to take action and to change. 

This is my contribution to a collection of  "FEARLESS" posters that are going to be pasted all over Bangalore. Artists and illustrators from all over the country are sending in their beautiful work as a tribute to this cause.

I feel proud to be part of such a movement and sad though it is that it took such tragedy to make this happen, Im glad it is finally happening and that people have finally woken up.

If you would like a print of this illustration, email me and Ill be happy to send you the file for you to print.

Reflections

We are but a reflection of ourselves

There is no beginning and there is no end.

Its the circle of life.

Its time for a change in the world and its people.

Imagine all the people sharing all the world

You may say Im a dreamer

But im not the only one

I hope someday you will join us

and the world will live as one.

Lennon