Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Making the Mundane Sacred

Blessed Vegetable stand  watercolor India sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao 

During the festival season in Mysore, every vendor gets into the spirit by decorating their little section of the footpath. On a quiet Sunday morning walk, I spotted this red onion stand with an elaborate huge 'rangoli' design on the road itself next to a tree turned into a shrine. With a lot fewer vehicles and pedestrians, the stand by a 'petrol bunk' (gas station) could not be missed.  The rangoli done in white powder on the road stretched to the median line!


The Flower Vendor and her stall watercolor India sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao 

This flower vendor was giving her thanks to the goddess in her small stall turned into a shrine decorated long strands of colorful garlands. The blue plastic tarp tent was a good backdrop for the colorful flowers! 

A Streetside Shrine -unfinished  watercolor India sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao 

This was the beginnings of what turned into a elaborate shrine by one more vendor. It is so much fun to walk around the city checking out all the different ways the vendors try to show their devotion and give thanks to their favorite deity.   

And an important notice and plea for help:

Please sign this petition at Change.org and get wallpart.com off the internet and off the business it is trying to do- sell artwork as posters without the knowledge and permission from the artists. Search your name/website on their webpage and you may be surprised you are being duped and compromised :( I came across the site via another blogger who posted about her works being stolen. I was shaken up to see all the pictures from my blog being offered at $5.59/poster!  

P.S:  I discovered this morning that it is best bot to even go to that site to check -- but be sure to sign the petition! 
http://peterandcompany.tumblr.com/post/124924181627/phishing-warning-avoid-wallpart-at-all-costs


I thought long and hard if I should continue to blog then decided to post but work towards getting wallpart off the internet.  I am hoping to alert other artists, photographers, art enthusiasts, customers and make them aware of this problem. Please spread the word about protecting artists and our work. 

6 comments:

padmaja said...

Your posts always have been informative with beautiful sketches to make things come alive and so hope you wont stop blogging 😀
Loved these sketches, the fliwer vendors tent is beautiful. But I hate it when the people turn everything in to religion to make money, these road side shrines are getting too much to bear.
Signed the petition, hope things tirn around for better!

M R Anand said...

everytime i see your post, i decide to pick up a handy sketchbook to keep painting quick sketches! lovely posts!

Meera Rao said...

Thank you Padmaja :) Thanks for signing the petition. Thru someone I know, Getty Image' legal department is looking into it too. Hopefully sites like theses will be taken out soon even though like hydra they rear their ugly head elsewhere in the cyberspace under a different name :(

Meera Rao said...

Anand, i hope you are sketching away merrily -- i am so happy to be a very tiny tiny influence for your wonderful works !

Sadami said...

Dear Meera, If you do not mind, check the information of "DMCA takedown notice" as well as a copyrights law. Best wishes, Sadami

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Sadami - I will check it out!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...