exotic

Just Around the Corner

umbrella day

conversation G -1

Today I had a voice chat with G after a long time. He is looking forward to start going to the day care center at Rithala(New Delhi, India). It is a new venture by a group of 3 Psychiatric counselors. The plan looks honest to me although I am not quite sure if it can be as hopeful as one wants it to be. They want to make people like G self sufficient, financially independent. I doubt those terms even when it comes to being used with normal people like me. They are charging 7000 Indian Rs per month to take care of them and teach them gardening, designer candle making and running a local cybercafe cafe at the center. The counselors say that after a period of about 7 months they will be in a position to make some money from either of these ideas. For instance selling the candles, plants and running the cafe. And, accordingly the money being taken from their guardians will be reduced. I would be delighted if they could involve an artist. Because G really loves to draw. The drawing or paintings that they make can be sold to corporates or better still auctioned off to galleries or art houses. Am I being Utopian here? I do not think so because I have heard that it is already being done in Dubai and USA. His art is unconventional. It might seem quite alienating in fact to many people, but yes that s art to me. As long as that money goes towards the benefit of G and his friends, I will keep hope. I will try and contribute as soon as I get a job. Hmm I love G a lot, the way he is. His excitements, his miseries and his sense of loneliness makes me tear at times, but I hold on to my reality. Just so that he can hold on to me when the time comes. (PS mom and dad are taking care of G quite well but in due couse of time I will taking charge of him)
He is super excited and waiting for the 1st of June when he will start to go to this place. I have no idea if he will be able to continue going there on a daily basis in such a hot weather. And, the increased levels of his anxiety during traveling in public wears him down even more. That is why I am thinking of a place where he can just work from home, data entry kind of a job, drawing, painting ....something on those lines.
Scratching my head , scratching ....hmmm

Tangerine Days

It is growing really hot these days and I love tangerines, so enjoy this drawing.

Chaos Within

They say that evolution has no rules. A system before achieving a state of stability always goes through many cycles of chaos. Chaos is hence in many cases an essential part of the process of building a system. And any system that aims to be self reliant and self evolving, is more or less a chaotic one. It is almost similar to the famous process of solving Boolean algebraic equations by means of truth table. You go though all the possible combination s of zeros and ones before arriving at what really represents your system. Let chaos guide you towards a sense of achieving completeness instead of bogging you down. In simple words, you can have chaos, just, do not let the chaos have you.

Illustration Friday - Impatience

There are so many things that are flooding my mind. Issues related to my health and career. I have developed asthma because of the pollen and dust allergy. I have started medication today. The attacks just sap the energy out of me and make me feel so irritable and impatient. I have a job, but I do not necessarily like the work I do. Illustration Friday gives me a great opportunity to look at the illustrations which are all superb. Viewing them makes me calm and that is what I need to be, so that the things become better with time.
Click on the image to view it larger.

Schizophrenia/ Bipolarity

This is going to be an ongoing post. Things that a family has to deal with if they have a member suffering from schizophrenia. Articles, medication, thoughts, coping, anything that I can think about concerning Schizophrenia. Starting today - May 24th 2009. Please comment if you want to contribute to this post.
If I see this post going in some positive direction in due course of time, I will try and create a separate blog on it.
1. Here is a website which showcases work by artists that have manic bipolar disorders.
http://www.bipolarartists.com/resources.html
Warning - the work is mostly dark - PG 13 rule applies.
2. An article which discusses the work by Adolf Wolfli. Also termed as Outsider art because it is not influenced by the isms of the art world, neither by its history. He suffered from chronic Schiz and during his stay at a swiss mental asylum produced works which can be described as intriguing and alienating in nature.
Art by Adolf Wolfi

high key

Vitality

Artist Block/ Writer Block

I wrote a small article in one of the forums regarding Artist Block. It is quite useful if you are a beginner or even an expert in Art/ Design/ Writing.

To summarize:
Please Know that it is a temporary slump, you are not at the end of your creative abilities and eventually you will be able to come out of it.
a) Nurture Self (indulge in something you like). Spend you creativity in another direction entirely, a gentle way of doing this, is to take up cooking something new and exciting… write, use a diary…
b) Self examination (what’s bothering you in personal life?). Attend to personal problems first, let the art come second for a while.
c) Be open and reach out to friend (go for coffee n chat)
d) Try and look out for inspiration around you. Take time to dwell in creative spaces, such as library … books, magazines, creative material, attend art museums, cultural places, listen to music…. don’t pick up your brush or pencil….not until….
e) Pick up your brush again, only when you feel an inkling of inspiration and an excitement inside about creating
f) also, be careful where you spend your energies at this time, because you are fragile. Only give where you receive, stay away from negative persons who drain you at this time, just so you can recharge, refill and replenish… think of nourishing people at this time, people you respect, people who encourage you.
g) exercise, get out into the sunlight for some sunshine on your shoulders and face…lift your face to the sun…to the sky and meditate on loftier things for a while, spend time in nature and think upon where you fit into that… you will realise you are but a small part of everything, albeit an important part and although your troubles seem enormous, this will help put them into perspective for you

Some resources on the net
How To Fight Artist’s Block: 7 Methods by Nubby
Artists Block
Overcoming Artist’s, Writing, and Creativity Blocks

One of my friends Anang contributed to the discussion and what he has to say is something of great value.
"Some believe that artist's/writers' block is actually the gestation period for new ideas. It is your system taking a break while it processes new things. The anxiety attached to this seems to be due to a 'result-oriented' and a 'deadlines' based set-up, which may not always be the best way for creative activity. The ideal solution, acc to me, is to relax and realize that this period is actually working in your favour and that there is no need to feel that this is wasted time.
So should one just spend the whole day in coffee shops or in front of the telly? No, what this block requires is that you continue to go to your studio/den/workplace and pour out all the rubbish and gibberish that comes to your mind, for this will be like laying the saplings in your creative nursery. Document all the random thoughts in small notations/shorthand and, when things begin to take shape, just go over this sheaf of papers to cull out the best ideas. This is your resource centre and you will be amazed at how much worth is contained in all the ideas you might have otherwise rejected as baseless and foolish. Let writer's block be no excuse for either despair or inactivity. It just means a lull in full-on mainstream productivity because your mind is taking a stroll in the countryside to search for new seeds.
So relax, enjoy this break from the usual hectic schedule, make use of this time to clean out your studio and rearrange the furniture, catch-up with friends, go to exhibitions/cinema/theatre/libraries, but be sure to spend time tracking all your ideas faithfully. Do not make this an excuse for goofing off, but continue spending time in your work space, albeit in a different way. Above all, do not panic but learn to take pleasure in this phase. It is a necessary part of creative growth and should not be a source of frustration.
N-Joy!"

Sideways

I seem to be going through a block these days. Its frustrating I try and spend time on drawing something, yet nothing that I like comes out. There were the dishes that need to be done and the food that needs to be cooked. And their were some old memories that cropped up. Or perhaps it is just a temporary slump. I am trying to take it easy on myself, thankfully I have no to do lists.
Maybe when I am back I will recycle my stuff coming out in this period.

Doubt is better than Certainity

I loved these lines quoted by Milton Glaser one of the most important, prolific and profound leaders in visual and graphic arts in his 10 Art secrets
"if you believed that you had achieved enlightenment you have merely arrived at your limitation. I think that is also true in a practical sense. Deeply held beliefs of any kind prevent you from being open to experience, which is why I find all firmly held ideological positions questionable. It makes me nervous when someone believes too deeply or too much. I think that being sceptical and questioning all deeply held beliefs is essential. Of course we must know the difference between scepticism and cynicism because cynicism is as much a restriction of one’s openness to the world as passionate belief is. They are sort of twins. And then in a very real way, solving any problem is more important than being right"

You can find the whole article here

I am not a Racist

I had got a bag of marshmallows last year. One bite and I knew I could not eat any more of those. They kept lying in the freezer and last night I had a strange dream and I saw a palace of marshmallows. So I tried to make one :P. I am thinking of sticking them or sewing them permanently to make my first installation art.

Click on the image to see a larger view.
PS if anyone dare calls me a racist , I will break their legs. I love all human beings, all forms colors and shapes and sizes.

hhhhhhhhh

Eyes like his make me pant.
inhalers/asthalins anyone
f*** all that shit look at him
before I go mad and do something immoral.
Those eyes

Paisley-fied

Ganesha - Illustration Friday Focus

And I have promises to keep, And Miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep.

Transform - Illustration Friday Modify

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change, you want to see in the world". Many times one has to bring in change within themselves in order to bring about a change in one's environment. The woman in the illustration is any ordinary woman, but has developed wings, figurative of the trasformation she has brought about in herself.

Chicago Blues

here s collage that I made quickly out of the 500 pics that we took in Chicago(Yaa whew!! we were on a clicking spree) Enjoy!
The complete album can be found
here
here

Reaching Out

Moonlit - Illustration Friday - Muddy

“Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud;
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lies in sweetest bud.
All men make faults.”
-William Shakespeare

Quick Update
I sold another T over the weekend, yeaaaa :) and
I had been to Chicago over the weekend. It was great fun, as S and I particularly enjoy long walks. Yea we managed to scoop, well the most of Chicago on foot in 36 hours (k mostly on foot ;) Although the sun was playing hide and seek for a long time and the sky did sprinkle upon our heads, but nonetheless I had a great time.

Momentum

Radhey Shyam

The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It’s indeed hard to miss the many legends and paintings illustrating Krishna’s love affairs, of which the Radha-Krishna affair is the most memorable. Krishna’s relationship with Radha, his favorite among the ‘gopis’ (cow-herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif in North Indian paintings.

Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other – they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha’s love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to, and Krishna worship is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.

Keeper of secrets

Failure

How easy is it for someone to let the world know of themselves and their darkest and deepest secrets. Is it easy to judge people with the way they behave and the way they portray themselves to the outer world. I have struggled with a million questions like this in the past. I am person of the present and when people ask me about my plans I go blank. I used to swing between two poles and I have stopped at each of those million points. After 27 years, I confess that I have failed not once but many times. I failed as a daughter, as a lover, as a partner and even as a friend. I get up each day and it feels like deja vu. I paint the linen which covers me in the night. The only difference between today and yesterday is perhaps only the color. Am I like everyone else, just caught up in this cycle of dirtying and cleansing myself.

-S

Rangoli - Illustration Friday Linked

Here's a link to give you an idea of this Indian folk art.

http://www.ikolam.com/

Kolam is an auspicious art of decorating courtyards and pooja rooms/prayer halls in South India drawn mainly by women and girls. Some women use rice flour to draw a kolam, which is the traditional medium to be used while others use sandstone or limestone powder. Although commonly known as Rangoli in many parts of India , it is known as Muggulu in Andhra pradesh, Rangavalli in Karnataka, Poovidal or Pookalam in Kerala, Chowkpurana in Uttar Pradesh, Madana in Rajasthan, Aripana in Bihar and Alpana in Bengal.

Generally, a kolam is drawn with bare fingers using predetermined dots. The dots are either connected together to make a pattern or loops are drawn encircling the dots to complete a design. Nowadays there are perforated rolling tubes, perforated trays and stencils available to speed the process of making kolams. During festivals and weddings, rice flour paste is used instead of the flour. This tradition of decorating with kolams is passed on from generation to generation.

Feeling Blue

Existence

There are moments when I wonder why do I F***ing exit.
One of those, and someone one complimented me by calling me a "drama queen".
I love drama, theatrics and all that jazz and the cigarette is only for the purpose of display. I do not smoke neither do I recommend it.