World Collage Day

Today, the second Saturday in May is ‘World Collage Day’.  

You can read more about its genesis here.  

In celebration of today, I would like to revisit my piece ‘Buddha of the Peace Lily'.   You can visit the original post of this artwork from the link  here.

The Peace Lily by its very name and the Buddha by nature personify Peace.
Nested within the Peace Lilies is the Buddha conveying a subliminal message of Peace. 

Let us for a minute stop whatever we are doing. 

Let’s stop the cacophony of noises, the meaningless screeching debates, pontificating and posturing, the mindless violence and ruthless killing of humans, animals, birds, plants, trees and forests. 

Let’s stop the destruction of our environment.

Just let's take slow deep breaths and let peace be.  

Like the Buddha, sit in contemplation.  

Find the truth within you.  Enjoy the beauty in nature.  

Let peace pervade your senses.  

Be at peace.

Mumbai Art Fair 2018

So I participated in my first exhibition ever !!!  

My debut into the artworld at The Mumbai Art Fair of 2018 !!!   

A big event by all means in India's Art calendar.  This year there were over 250 artists from all over the country and neighbouring Nepal and they showed over 1500 artworks.   The art festival  ran from 12th to 14th October - 2018 at the Nehru Centre in Worli, Mumbai.     

My e-invite

Preparations took time and effort and I had planned not to leave anything until the end.  The preparation time was hectic and the anticipation feverish but it was totally worth it.   I had  been allotted 2 panels in booth 106 to put up my collage art.  

Mumbai Art Fair team took care of all the organizing in a brilliant way.   They had sent me the e-invite earlier on. 

The local paper I sent the invitation to did a small feature in their Weekly.  

(Planet Powai, Edition of  13-14 Oct, 2018).   

(2nd from right, in ''The Afternoon Despatch & Courier'' 13th Oct, 2018)

Morning of 12th Oct, 
before the opening

My best friend helped me put up the artworks. (The large ones are pretty heavy after framing).    

This photo shows the view of my panels before the opening of the art fair.   

Over 26000 people visited as per the registration desk.   

Paper collage is not exactly common in India, artists usually use acrylics or oil paints. Art lovers who visited the exhibition were intrigued at the idea of using paper instead of paint to create artworks.

It was a pleasure interacting with other upcoming, mid-career artists and also renowned and established artists. Some good friendships made and I  had fun networking.  It was a truly enjoyable experience for me at my first art show.  

       My heartfelt thanks to friends who were instrumental in encouraging me and      enabled me to do this.    

Hanuman and Rama Setu

Title :  Hanuman and Rama Setu
Size  :  19.5"x 29.5"

This paper collage is of Hanuman building the bridge to Lanka and is a commissioned piece.

Hanuman (the monkey God) is revered in Hinduism for his selfless dedication to God (Lord Rama). He is the symbol of energy and strength and also of great knowledge. He makes a late entry in the epic poem ‘’Ramayana’’ (the story of Rama).

Rama the prince of Ayodhya is assisted in the rescue of his kidnapped wife Sita by Hanuman.  Sita is held captive in the island of Lanka and Hanuman and the monkey army build a bridge to attack the kingdom of Lanka, defeat the demon king Ravana and rescue Sita. 

This artwork is about the building of Rama setu (Rama’s bridge) and Hanuman overseeing the construction.  He has the image of a forlorn Sita sitting in the grove on his mind. The monkeys are building the bridge. There is also a little squirrel that tries to help by carrying pebbles.

This is a short explanation of the story behind this composition.  In case, dear reader, you are interested in a less brief version, you can read the story here.  

Whether the Legend of Rama is a mythological story imagined by the author or a retelling of events that had already taken place as is mentioned in the Ramayana itself is hotly debated to this day. Fact is Lord Rama is venerated as an avatar of Lord Vishnu in the Indian sub-continent and as far away as Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia and Nepal.   And there are many legal cases pending in the Supreme Court of India on Property Title issues where parties seek to prove the historical accuracy of their claims. 

Today Rama Setu is called Adam’s bridge. 

Rameshwaram is a town on the Indian side named after Rama and here is a temple where the idol of Shiv Linga is said to have been installed by Rama before his foray into SriLanka.  The temple still exists.  The temple records say the bridge was walkable until 1480 A.D. after which the bridge broke up in a cyclone. Today it cannot be used for crossing from India to Sri Lanka as it is underwater and it also proves to be a hindrance to navigation as the water is too shallow and ships have to go around Sri Lanka due to this reef. 

This is a NASA photo showing photographic proof of such an overland connection at some point in time. However NASA have said it could not be determined if it was man-made or is a series of naturally occurring sand banks 30 kms long. 

Geological Survey of India’s report has concluded that this bridge was used as a means to travel between India and Sri Lanka about some 7,000-10,000 years ago.

Carbon dating has been done and it places this in the time-frame of when the Ramayana was supposed to have happened. 

So the debate continues...

In the style of Gustav Klimt

My ''Lady in Gold'' 

The mother of a dear friend passed away last year.    I was asked to do a portrait of her.  The only reference photo I had to work with was a photo sent on my mobile phone of a 2x2 inch B&W photo taken perhaps 50 years ago.  

 

Title : In the style of Klimt, Lady in gold

Size :  12"x16"

With this portrait I pay homage to the master Gustav Klimt.   

This project helped me to learn a lot about portraiture as it presented a few challenges; in addition to capturing the likeness ofcourse.  I was working off a photo with only head and shoulders and the values dimmed with age.  Importantly it had to be made into a portrait that would look better than just an enlarged photo.  Added to this was my personal preference for paper collage over other mediums. 

Paper collage in itself would not allow for a very good likeness so it had to be a mixed media.  I have used acrylics for the body and everything else is paper collage on canvas board.  Yes I also added in some Klimt motifs in gold paint into the collaged paper as I had decided to make it in the style of my favourite artist’s golden period.    

Interestingly, the original ‘Woman in Gold’ aka ''Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I'' (54"x 54") is not at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna where most of Klimt’s paintings are. 

It is at the Neue Galerie in New York.  There is very interesting real life story behind this that has been made into a movie.  

You can watch the trailer of the movie here or the real story in documentary format here and as a presentation by Randol Schoenberg here.

Coppersmiths in Cannonball Tree

This collage combines a favourite tree of mine the cannon ball tree with the beautiful copper-smith barbet that is perfectly camouflaged among the flowers! 

 

Title : Coppersmiths in Cannonball Tree
Size :  11"x 17" 

Allow me to introduce the copper-smith barbet.  This delightful little bird flits from branch to branch and is always a challenge to spot as it moves so fast! Green and yellow with crimson red on throat and head, black lines on its back and near its eyes, it flits about quickly  calling out to its mates.  And it has the most impossible sounding birdsong. Those unfamiliar may not even realise that it is this tiny bird calling.  It does not move its beak. The sound emanates from its tiny throat and it is loud and metallic. Rhythmic too.  It is the sound of a hammer hitting metal, hence the name – copper-smith.  And when it calls in quick succession and two or more join in, it can get noisy!!  But it is such a happy noise.

Here is the most exotic tree of all. It does not have leaves and flowers on the same branches.   The leaves grow on the big branches like other normal trees.  The flowers grow on branches that only come out of the central trunk and the fruits are found on these as well.

Its called the ‘’Naga linga Pushpam’ in Tamil (Naga being cobra, Linga being God Shiva and pushpam being flower).  In South India and Sri Lanka, the flowers have a religious significance due to their centre being shaped like a serpent hood over a shiva-linga and so are usually found in temple courtyards.  

This flower has the most heavenly scent richer than any other tropical flower in my opinion. These large blooms are such a pretty peach and pink colour with the beautiful white and yellow centres.  So heady is the fragrance of these flowers that your nose could probably lead you to the tree in any garden even with your eyes closed.  The fruits can get as large as small melons and are round and woody on the outside.  It’s due to this shape it came to be given the name ‘cannon ball’ in English. 

I so love this tree that when I find one it’s very hard for me to walk away.  Inevitably, I return with a whole lot of flowers that drop down from the tree and preserve them for the longest possible time to enjoy their fragrance.  

Santorini

One of the magical places on earth in the Greek islands. 

This collage is hopefully the first in a series to translate my memories into art.  

Title :  Santorini (1)
Size  :  20"x 15"

 Santorini lives up to its reputation and more.  The light in this place is exquisite.  Very crisp and perfect, enhancing colours in a way that makes everything look prettier.   


The caldera with its volcanic rock so dark and beautiful, every possible level surface impossibly crammed with dwellings and walkways turning into steps leading to more houses! Yet there is a feeling of vastness on this island where every house, stair, chair and rock has been painted in bright colours and every outlook offers a beautiful view over the dark blue Aegean Sea.  The blue of the sea is dark like ink and the water appears to be still; yet it heaves slowly making hills and troughs on its surface and the waves slowly lap the rocks along the shore.   Close up,  the water is crystal clear.  One cannot but marvel at the natural beauty of this place and how the locals have protected it and even enhanced it.  

Happy are the cats that call Santorini home. They have the greatest views, are fed by the locals and hangout along the caldera sunning themselves. However, I never did spot any donkeys there though all their souvenirs have a donkey in it!!  

Acrylic painting
Title : Santorini (2)
Size 4" x 4"

Peacock

This is my latest collage. A colourful peacock - the national bird of India.

Title : Peacock

Size : 19.5" x 29.5"

Monsoon Lilies

No other flower reminds me more of my childhood in Mumbai than the Spider Lily. It is truly an exquisite flower though its fragrance is very mild. 

It has a structure that is very intriguing; with a white translucent base cup on a longish light green hollow stem, six thin long white petals are attached to back of this cup with dark green stamen emerging from the front and rim of the cup aligned to these white petals. At the end of this stamen is the pod of pollen almost an inch long. The stigma stands out separately from the centre of the cup and is attached to the base of the long hollow stem. Perfectly round drops of water adhere to the surface of the base cup adding to the monsoon magic. When in full bloom each flower and every part of it stands out separately and the freshness and whiteness of bunches of these flowers is so pretty a sight that it is hard to forget.

Though it blooms abundantly in the monsoon in Mumbai it seems it can tolerate much harsher climes also. It is said that the harmonious design of this (desert!!) flower inspired the design of the Bruj Khalifa in Dubai which is the tallest tower in the world!!

In Mumbai, these plants are largely planted lining paths in gardens and flowerbeds around apartment buildings. The blooms are at just the right height for kids to reach out and pluck. The yellow pollen dust would readily stick to the hands and stain our clothes when we went picking these. The sticky gel oozing from the plucked stem of the flower did have an unpleasant smell but not enough to put us off. As kids we called these flowers Monsoon lilies and so I have named my collage the same.


– The monsoon Lilies. Size: 11.5"x8"

Butterflies in the Garden

Here is another buttefly collage in post-impressionist stlye.

Title : Butterflies in the garden
Size : 11"x8"

Sri Venkateshwara collage and our trip to Tirupati

I have had a long break from this blog and my collage art for most of the year battling family health issues that by the grace of the Lord have now resolved. So I am back to collage making and life as I know it.


A few weeks ago we visited Tirupati and to pay obeisance to the Lord of the Seven Hills – Sri Venkateshwara and to give our thanks for getting us through a very difficult period. The temple is a Vaishnavite Shrine dating prior to the 9 AD and the diety is the God Vishnu. Tiru-mala the hill on which the temple stands means ‘sacred -hill’ and Ven-kat-eshwara in Sanskrit means “ven=link to one’s sins, kata = cut off (for those who surrender to ) , eswara = the Supreme God. He is the benevolent God and the granter of boons.

After a long time I was inspired to make a collage painting and that too one of the Lord, which miraculously I completed rather speedily.

Size : 8"x11.5". This artwork is not for sale.  I have donated it to the temple at Tirupati.

Mentioned on Marion-Boddy Evan's About.com: Painting.

Title :  Inspired by Van Gogh's Sunflowers
Size : 13" x 17"

My Van Gogh sunflowers collage on Marion's  About.com: Painting website.    Click this link to take you there.

Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:

A beautiful example of collage as a medium, and of translating a famous artist's style/work into something that has an evident source of inspiration but is your own.

Wow.   Thank you Marion!      I do love Van Gogh's  brush strokes.  Here is the link to the original blog entry on this collage.

Celebrating the Festival of Ganesha

Mumbai is celebrating the festival of Ganesha with its usual pomp and splendour and I am reminded of one of my early collages - one of Lord Ganesha.  This one.
  

Size : 9.5"x 8"

Ganesha is a much loved diety of the Hindus.   He is depicted with the head of an elephant but with a human form.  Everything in Hinduism is symbolic and so it is with each body part of Lord Ganesha. 

He is called the 'remover of all obstacles' and is considered the epitome of wisdom.   It is customary to say a small prayer to Ganesha before commencing any activity that one wishes to accomplish well.

Mixed media art in Warli Style

Title  :  Welcoming Ganesha,  Warli style

Size 14" x 10 "

This is a mixed media collage in acrylic and paper on paper. This is in traditional tribal painting style of Maharashtra called Warli Painting. I have used acrylic paint for the fine details and collaged the larger details with paper. The subject is the festival that our state of Maharashtra is preparing for this month. The festival of Lord Ganpati that starts on Ganesh Chaturthi (19th Sept this year) and celebrations that last for 10 days.

I was inspired to make an artwork on this festival in the Warli style after attending a workshop on Warli painting last week. The Warli painting art form is over 1200 years old. The tribal women folk used to decorate the walls of their mud huts coated with cow dung and mud or terracotta with designs made with ground rice paste. The subjects were usually restricted to pictorial representation of their daily activities or were of folk lore and myth. Though their paintings are two dimensional, lacking in perspective and are monochromatic, the eye is drawn in to study the detail which is used very economically. Thus the viewer is forced to read the story being told by the pictures.

Gond painting

Today I took a tribal painting workshop taught by tribal artist Durgadevi Vyam. She spoke on how the art form originated, how the paintings are done and some of the folk lore associated with it.

The Gonds are originally a forest dwelling tribe of Central India. Their brilliantly coloured paintings are found on walls and floors of their houses. The subjects for their paintings are usually animals and trees, local deities and depiction of their daily lives and folk tales. It is important for Gonds to regularly wipe off and make new paintings in their homes in preparation for celebrations whether religious or social. Usually the paintings narrate a story.

The colours used are all natural and derived from locally available material. Bright reds, yellows, black and white are from rocks and mud found on river bank. The greens, browns, blues are obtained from obtained from barks of trees, leaves and flowers. Each drawing is meticulously filled in and then decorated with dots and dashes or swirls and squiggles made in a contrasting colour. The simplicity of the drawing style and bright colours used make this art form very engaging.

Now this artform is produced on paper and canvas using acrylic paints.  Here is a sample of what I did in the workshop.

The Hug

There is nothing more comforting than hugging your cat as every cat lover knows.   This collage portrait is one of my sister and our cat.  


Size :  10.5" x 13"

This collage was created in June 2012.  The true reason for the late posting is that I was unable to make decent photos after I upgraded to a smart phone! My digital camera is also not satisfactory. So taking a good photo took me a while. Now that I have a better phone with an 8MP camera I am able to post pictures online :-)  

July has been a very busy month for me so the July collage is still a work in progress.  I hope to be able to complete two this month so I dont break my new year resolution!.

Temple town by the river

This is my collage for May 2012. 

The subject is a holy city on the banks of a river. Actually I had Nashik in mind when I started though it is not an exact reproduction of any particular spot but is more a general feel of sunset by the river minus the crowds ofcourse! 

In making this collage I felt inspired to use bold colours by the works of collage artist Kathryn Uster.

Size :  13" x 10.5"

Art in April

April is a busy time for me as in my other life I am a bean counter.  So even with ideas galore, there was little time to convert them into collages.   However, true to my resolution for this year I did make two small ones and a third one is almost complete.  

I sometimes feel envious about those who use paint as a medium.  They just have to squeeze it out of a tube.  With collage, one has to  accumulate the material first or one just can't get started.  And this can be time consuming.  So for a change, I played around with paints too.    I made an abstract geometric painting in acrylic  that I have now hung up on my living room wall.  This I have painted over a faded print so I made good use of a frame.  Recycling feels good and I  must confess that I am quietly pleased with how it turned out.

I also made some papier mache sculptures but that is work in progress. They are still drying out and I will post pictures when they are ready.

Here are the two completed collages. 

The first one is a painted face from Kathakali.  This is a classical dance in drama format of mythological stories from the southern Indian state of Kerala.  Katha means story and kali means dance.  In this dance form the dancers have vividly painted faces and large costumes. The elaborate facial make-up is the most striking feature of Kathakali. The face paint colours indicate the character of the person portrayed.

Title :  Kathakali
Size :   12" x 12.5 "

Green make up is used for portraying the virtuous and divine, green  with red streaks stands for person of high birth with a streak of evil, exceedingly evil persons are portrayed with red painted faces and red beards,  black face paint and black beards depict forest dwellers,  black with red streaks are for demons and bright yellow painted faces for women and ascetics.  The female roles are also played by men in Kathakali!!  

This collage here has a green face with a white beard so we can safely say that he is a good guy.   And the sideways look that's amore.  ('Amore' as in the Dean Martin song... when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's amore)       
           

The second is a limited palette collage of Phalaenopsis - my favourite orchid.  


Title : Phalaenopsis
Size : 10" x 12"  

Bodhisattva Padmapani

In Sanskrit, Bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व; Pali: bodhisatta) is either an enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva) or an enlightenment-being. Padmapani is ‘Holder of the Lotus’. This is the Sanskrit name of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara - “The Lord who looks down (with compassion)”. He is the one who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas and is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas.

Title : Padmapani
Size : 20" x 30 "

This collage is a depiction of the oldest and most famous of murals in India – ‘Padmapani’. 
         

Photo of Padmapani at Ajantha

Sometime during the 7th century, Buddhist monks painted frescoes on cave walls in what is now famous as the Ajantha caves in India.

Padmapani - the embodiment of compassion is one of these.

Buddhahood can be attained only after various lives of bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas are beings who work for the enlightenment of others, not just themselves. Sometimes it is said that Bodhisattvas make the ultimate sacrifice of giving up their own salvation (Buddhahood) out of compassion for other sentient beings.

The Buddha is not decorated; statues of bodhisattvas are for they need not be monks. They may live in society and dress like everybody else. The only difference is on the inside. Bodhisattvas exist in the world just to help others.

It is believed that Bodhisattvas manifest where they are needed in many forms. They might be friends or strangers, young or old, a tradesman, a salesperson or anyone. They might be you. Whenever needed help is given without selfish attachment, there is the hand of the bodhisattva. When we see and hear the suffering of others and respond to that suffering, we are the hands of the bodhisattva.

Trees in Evening light

Size :  10.5" x 7.5 "

The evening light in Mumbai just before the beginning of summer is beautiful.

All colours take on a golen hue. It is as if one were looking through yellow coloured glass.

When the light turns everything golden at the twilight hour, we know that summer has arrived.

My first guest post

I have just had the opportunity to do a guest post and that too on the blog of an accomplished artist and collagist of many years experience - Kathryn Uster. What can I say, I am thrilled!!

Here is the link to my post on Kathryn's blog 
http://ustercollage.blogspot.in/2012/02/finding-our-zen.html
(btw, I believe this counts as my art blog post for the month of February).
And this is the link to Kathryn’s website http://www.ustercollageart.com/

Kathryn's art is brilliant.  Her eye for detail and bold colourful palette draw the viewer in and impart a sense of peace.   I urge you to visit and view her remarkable collage artworks.

And this is my guest post on Kathryn's blog.

Finding Our Zen 

I met Kathryn at the yahoo collage group and since then, she has been my guru in many collage related ways. As a collagist I still have a long way to go and the sum total of my knowledge and experience is limited by the number of years I have spent doing this. So in my guest post on her blog today, I thought I would share what collage means to me. 

I think creating a collage is almost like Zen meditation. It is uplifting and fulfilling at the spiritual level. Let me explain. Zen is the Japanese word for the Mandarin Chán, which in turn is derived from he Sanskrit word dhyāna meaning ‘meditation’. 

Personally, I find meditation tedious. Have you tried it? I find it difficult to sit down quietly for a length of time, with legs crossed, eyes shut, and concentrate on thinking nothing so we can give the brain a chance to rest and reboot as it were. I am told one needs discipline and training to be successful in meditation. Rather unregretful, I admit to being not concerned that I am not good at meditation, because I have a happier alternative. 

I love making paper collage. This is the next best thing to Zen meditation. I am convinced of it. I usually collect all the paraphernalia required and either stand at the dining table or sit on the floor. One could compare this to getting ready for meditation. Once I have decided on the broad idea of what I want to do, all I have eyes for is the colours that I am looking for. I find that without any effort on my part I am able to block out all the ambient noise and focus just on the tiny pieces of colour paper that I need at the moment. Sometimes I might spend hours bent over adjusting tiny bits of paper with tweezers and paint brush, unmindful of physical exhaustion. I am in Collage Heaven.

Meditation is said to calm the mind, so does collage making. Collage making is a very soothing and relaxing activity. I find that it quiets my mind, makes it more tranquil. It helps me forget the stresses of daily life. As a consequence, sometimes I also forget to fix dinner. 

Meditation is the process to know your consciousness – that you are not defined either by your body or your mind. You are just the witness to what is happening around you. Collage making does the same for me. These bits of paper have a mind of their own, and somehow they make themselves into a picture while I just watch out that they are glued well and flat, and stay within the overall theme. Sometimes these bits of paper can even change the theme and one can do nothing about it but go with the flow and bear mute witness. But that is a story for another day. Each torn piece of paper finds the right spot for itself like a jig-saw puzzle. Slowly the hazy idea in my brain gets created on paper. Each piece of paper torn by hand is unique in shape and size; thus, the collage creates itself to which I am merely a witness. So I believe collage is a kind of Zen. What does your Art mean to you? Do write in with your views and let’s compare notes.