My ode to a Rhino :-)

A lot of my sketches just - sort of - draw themselves.  Which means that I don't always start off with an idea in mind.  Here is one drawing that once it was complete, reminded me totally of a Rhino's horn :-)  A Rhino with a cold, possibly?  Or may be after watching a sad movie? :-)

The tattoo my brother chose!

There it is - in skin and ink! Got to admit, never thought someone would choose to get a permanent impression of a sketch I made, ON THEMSELVES :-)

Tattoo patterms for my siblings :-)

My brother had asked me to make him a design around "Om" a while ago, and when my sister heard about it, she had the grand idea that we should all three get the same pattern tattooed. Now the designing bit I can do, but I am trying to duck out of getting a tattoo - needles and I have a longstanding enmity :-))

So I made a scribble for my brother - he likes it but asked that I make it bigger. My sister on the other hand was plain creep'd out by part of the design, that reminder her of her nemesis - i.e. lizards :-) So I decided to make a 'his' and 'her' version. Here they are, including the His version whoich reminded my sis of a scaly lizard!

Hers

His.

What say, siblings - do these work?

Mommy & me

The euphoria I felt when I was still able to swoop my son up, high into the air, is without parallel. And watching his gleeful eyes and thrilled shriek before he could speak any words, clearly told me that the euphoria was shared . I think of a child as a projection of the Mother: the child fulfills so many dreams and is a Mother’s gift and link to the future. A child has so much in common with the mother (as represented by the ‘kalka’ or paisley shape), yet is his or her own person; the same elements make the both of them; but while they are inseparable, they are separate entities…This drawing is dedicated to my now 4-yr. old – and to the moments of intense happiness he brings me, which help tide over the moments of indescribable frustration that he also brings me :-)

To borrow the words of Khalil Gibran:
Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your childrenas living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Feathers and teeth...Tattoos, continued

My colleague liked the sketches I last made for her, but did have an additional request. She wondered if I could make a design resembling a feather. Since I've never drawn feathers, it took me a while to get to it, and here are 2 options I created for her. As I always do, I asked my little boy for his critique of the sketches. He said the first design "a little bit dumb it is". Now while I know he does not yet know what dumb means, there is little doubt in my mind that he did not like the sketch :-) Even worse, he said the drawing looked like a leaf... ah, the honesty of the young: priceless!

The second design he said was "very pretty". "I like your pretty feather, Ma", he said. Awright! 50% success ain't that bad! Just as I thought I was ready to show the sketches to my colleague tho, he said he preferred the sketch he had me custom draw on his hand, before I sat with the designs. Design 3, is also featured below.






























Yea, yea, I know - I am no marine biologist, but hey - I have a satisfied customer, so no complaints :-))

The Ugly Duckling

Most people know the fairy tale of the Ugly Duckling. It is a simple, yet powerful metaphor for metamorphosis. In the case of this sketch, the name has a more a literal connotation: I had no intention of drawing a swan when I started the drawing. I was looking to make an inverted "Kalka"; but some miscalculated curves later, I had the option of the final drawing look like a very curvaceous bottle-gourd, or a swan. I went with the swan, and laughed when I was done: the would-have-been disaster of a sketch turned out to be a reasonable swan :-) Now if I had gone with the bottle-gourd tho, not sure how that would have looked! Talk about a blessing in disguise :-)



The only birds I've used in my drawings so far are illustrations of imaginary heavy-crested parrots, or the mythical Fire bird which I encountered in many a Russian folk tale that I read as a child. So I am glad to add another character to my repertoire of squiggles :-)

A canvas with a difference

I've always thought of my sketches as patterns on paper. So it was an interesting idea my brother and then a colleague came up with recently. Design a tattoo for them. "I want it around the 'Om' symbol - and not girlie, please", was the brief my brother gave. I have not got down to designing that one as yet, but recently my colleague made the same request with a different brief.


She has been looking for a henna-like pattern to go on her wrist, to remind her of Teddy. Her dog of 14 yrs., Teddy is unwell - and it's likely that he won't be here much longer. She asked for designs that possibly incorporated his name.

Here is the first set of drafts - more to come on this, but for the first time, I made my sketches in pencil so I could erase any errors - did not want those to be etched for perpetuity!

See if you can spot Teddy's name between the square and triangles on both sides!

This is large, but otherwise, I like:

My 4 yr. old liked this one the best:

That's the last one...

The Linear Spring store

I have always been blessed with good friends - and one such friend asked me if she could buy my drawings to help donate to SAFE. Thank you for the idea, Bette :-) I've begun to put together a catalog of products at my store. Every little bit helps, so I look forward to being able to hand over a check or 2 to SAFE.

Wish me customers :-)

Past, present and future

The flower, the bird and the fruit - or, the past, present and the future. This drawing captures three dimensions of nature, and the symbiotic relationship they share. The flower provides its nectar to the bird; the bird pollinates the flower; the flower's life ends, but the fruit soon appears - promising life. And with the new life, the hope for yet another flower that will sustain yet another generation of birds, to create more fruit... and so the circle of life continues.

One bit of credit - the bird is reminiscent of the "Fire bird" I used to read about in Russian Folk tails as a child. But another strong influence on my version of the bird - an element I use very often in my drawings, is my friend from college, Laxmi Srikanth. Her beautiful embrodiery back int hose college days. a lot of it with pretty bits of mirror used to have the rest of us in awe! She's one of the two followers of this blog, so you can see, she continues to be that supporting friend she's always been. Thanx Laxmi!!!

"Yes!"

An experiment in Photoshop, this image reflects the thoughts of my favorite philosopher, Khalil Gibran, on marriage. A marriage is the coming together of two people who are similar, yet different; who though together, will respect each other's space... This drawing depicts two hands, each accepting the other: I wanted to capture the dizzying exuberance of a proposal being accepted; hence "Yes!"

"You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
- Khalil Gibran

The Grass that wasn't

On the face of it, this is a sketch of a flower and some grass. But what if I told you that all the shapes in this sketch are blades of grass? This is the story of a blade of grass-that-wasn't...

Once upon a time, there was a patch of grass. Very pretty, delicate blades of grass. Some were tall while others, short; some grew straight upright, while others grew which ever way they liked. But they were all blades of grass. Save one. It did not look, think or behave like the others. It had wings like no other grass around it. But it grew and flourished, happy to be in the patch, until one fateful day when a tall blade said: "You don't look like like any grass I know". Another said, "You don't belong". And a third said "You are flawed!"... The grass-that-wasn't began to doubt itself. Soon it grew sad. It stopped sticking its head out each morning, no longer eager to catch the sun - or the cool rain... It began to wilt. "I am flawed", it thought. "I don't belong", it thought. Not once did the grass-that-wasn't or the other grass pause to think that maybe, this grass was not a grass at all...

And so-the-grass that wasn't stayed unhappy. It never tried to live a life as anything other than a flawed grass. It remained the grass-that-wasn't. While the other blades of grass grew and flourished, the-grass-that-wasn't remained unhappy, its wings ignored and untested.

-The end.-

Yup, no happy ending :-) That's life sometimes, isn't it? I wish each of us bears that in mind the next time we write someone off for not thinking/ looking/ sounding/ living like us. Can't help but wonder... What might the grass-that-wasn't have achieved, if just one voice had said, "Wait - you are not a grass at all! You might be a really flawed grass, but you'd make a perfect flower!"? What might have been, I wonder?

Harmony, in Ebony and Ivory

This drawing was for a Musician who is donating his time to charity. It has a few things going on, but the main theme is that it is possible to create a complete "bigger picture", if colors work in harmony. The Ebony in this drawing, creates shapes - which would be impossible without the Ivory, whose contrast provides context to the shapes.

Another idea I was expressing in this drawing is that music, like a feather, floats gently. It's lilting ups and downs mesmerize and soothe; it's fluttering 'touch' is a soft caress on one's spirit. Excuse me for getting prosaic - I've always SO loved the idea of being a writer ;-)

One other idea this drawing captures, is the Octave (Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do) - and the Saptak (7 notes, per Indian music: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni). The only difference, if you can call it that, is that Western pedagogy counts 'Do' twice whereas the Indian school counts 'Sa' once. Otherwise, they are basically the same.... neat, huh? Back to the drawing... The 'comma' shapes represent these notes, with the near comma cocooned at the top of the paisley shape, representing the last 'Do' of the Octave. I've always been fascinated that the Saptak and Octave should have matching frequencies for the notes that comprise them - tho they were created on opposite sides of the world. If we look - I mean really look - we're all the same beneath our skins. So while the East is East and the West is West, we are just different notes of the same Saptak/ Octave. Let's give that idea of living in harmony as Ebony and Ivory, shall we?

I'd be glad to hear any other interpretations of this drawing :-)

Credits:
1. Ebony and Ivory": The 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney, performed with Stevie Wonder
2. "Oh the East is East and the West is West...: " Ballad of East and West, by Rudyard Kipling - if you have not read this, you simply must! Here's where you can find a copy.

My sketch for a survivor of domestic violence

It cannot be easy to walk away from an abusive relationship. But I admire the courage of this -and all survivors of abuse... She might be just one person - but all it takes is one spark to light a torch.... This is my visualization of the revolution this one person is capable of sparking: a ray that's as bright as countless suns...

Mail me if you'd like a .jpg copy; and don't forget to include your comments/ interpretation!

Bookmark for SAFE in Hunterdon

SAFE is a charity that helps victims of domestic abuse. I designed this bookmark for SAFE to give away to attendees of a candlelight vigil, slated for Oct. 16, 2008. I will post an update on what the organizers thought about this bookmark once I've delivered the lot I photocopied and cut over this weekend.

I know, I know - I forgot a key element of communication when I designed this item: the bookmark does not convey who/ what SAFE is. So it does not stand on its own to introduce SAFE. Note to self: remember to work that messaging in V.2 of the bookmark.

Should you wish to print a copy of this bookmark, I welcome you! Only request: do visit SAFE so you can tell anyone who spots the bookmark, who/ what this organization is. Feel free to e-mail me, if you'd like the actual file (.jpg).

Nayana, the eye

With this drawing, I join the ranks of famous artists, who never sold their art :-) Well, I am not famous, but here is a drawing I posted on eBay - and no nibbles, alas!

This pen and ink drawing is approx. 1.5 x 1.5", drawn on 4 x6", standard paper. Titled "Nayana, the eye" this drawing depicts the inner eye, cradled deep in one's mind. The one that we must use to understand ourselves. The one, that let's us see how each of us fits into this world. Like the myriad lines in this drawing, we are each unique - imperfect, varied and yet made of the same basic substance. And we are each connected... It only takes the inner eye to understand how we are part of the tapestry we call the world. The style draws from shapes and nuances that fill Indian art. Like all my other drawings, this one incorporates the "Kalka", or the mango shape, that is a basic element of paisley prints.