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.