Playful Art

A Day in the Life -sketchbook project page 21 color pencils

I always wonder how and who came up with original recipes and cooking methods for various dishes.  How and who concocted the very first delicacies? or the herbal remedies? The cough syrup herbal remedy that my aunt made for me was a wonderfully powerful one that relieved me of my incessant hacking  during my trip to India in January.  I do hope that these recipes and knowledge don't get lost as the world moves towards new and improved technology.

Speaking of innovations and creations, I watched  TED fellow Aparana Rao talk about her unique interactive art projects that are steeped in surprising, playful and humorous ideas.  Check it out and see why I want one of her high tech art installation 'shy pygmies' ! I am totally fascinated by her mix of art and technology - her fun 'uncle phone',   delightful 'drunken man', the intimidating expanding cube, and cute tired oil blob. Actually I am in awe of her imagination and innovation! What a wonderful way to infuse art with 'humanity' that begs one to respond and interact. 

The Surreptitious Scion of Summer

Mushrooms Digital Photography

These gorgeous mushrooms are some of the specimens I photographed a few days ago on my walk.  I was trying to ID them and was sidetracked when I came across two wonderful TED talk videos on mushrooms, their usefulness and their new role in the modern technological developments.  Paul Stamet holds numerous patents and in his TED talk, outlines six ways mushrooms can save the world. He has fine tuned cleaning polluted soil, making insecticides, treating smallpox, ridding carpenter ants and termites etc. using mushrooms.  His 'Life Boxes' are a surprising way to renew the soil! He 'seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords.'  It is a treat to watch his talk . I am amazed by the potential that is hidden in these life forms! I also found out that 400 million years ago they were giant three feet tall mushrooms called Prototaxitis  and their fossil can be found in Saudi Arabia!

"Are the mushrooms the new plastic?" is the title of the TED Talk by Eben Bayer. ' Eben Bayer is a product designer and he 'reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens — and the environment.'  I have new respect for these nature's wonders and recycling system.  

And if you can name these mushrooms, please leave a comment and let me know  :) 

Different Perspectives

Hanging Beauties  6x4" watercolor

Delicate Beauty  4x4" watercolor

Lately I have been hearing again and again how we should shut off all the technological distractions like cell phones, computers, iPads, television etc and concentrate only creating. But is artistic creativity only confined to the traditional platforms? In today's society, what is the artist's responsibility for showing different perspectives; for using various newer media in creative ways for making a statement; for helping the world learn to empathize?  A TED Talk by Artist Raghava  KK    "Shake Up Your Story" shows off  his children's book idea for iPad. The brilliant creativity he displays  showcases how to expose children to various perspectives on morality, culture, religion etc in a playful, kid-friendly way.  What a wonderful way as an artist to open minds.  

Framing Nature

Framing Nature : A Window at San Antonio Museum of Art - digital photography 

I think most of the time it is hard to improve what nature has to offer.  Copying nature is challenging and I often feel humbled as I sketch and paint.  Nina Tandon in a TED talk experiences this in a completely different way in what she calls 'Biomimetic Paradigm" - as she copies nature in the lab. She engineers artificial tissues for transplants and therapies.  Watch her short video as she talks about this amazing process.  

Artistic Impulse

A Day in The Life   page 12 color pencils

As an artist you are always told to develop your own style. Well, I just watched a TED talk by Shea Hembrey  -- he became 100 artists with hundred different styles for his own 'International Biennial Show!'  He made up artists from different counties, invented bios, wrote one hundred different artist statements and created different styles, forms of art in all different sizes too - paintings, sculptures, performance arts, installations, movies/documentaries. He was even his own curator, Gallery director --but of course, you know by now that he came up with names and positions and bios for them too.

There is a huge debate going on in TED site about what all this means.  I am impressed with his audacity, creativity and sense of humor. It tickled me that he has hundred different artists in him and now I feel comfortable to carry on with my varied styles and  choice of mediums without feeling compelled to choose one or the other. Does this mean I may end up not mastering any one style or medium? Probably so but I may never grow as an artist if I don't keep experimenting and pushing my limits. When it comes to creativity, I think it is a fine line between being focused and spreading yourself thin! Check out the hilarious and creative talk and a sample of his hundred of artists in the TED-video. Please leave a comment and let me know your opinion about it. 

Spectacular Images

A Day In the Life..Full of Surprises  page11 color pencils

I am waiting for The Art House Co Op to finish revamping their website and for my project A Day in the Life -in Blue Jeans With Gold Embroidery  to be added to their digital library. I am also hoping their scanned online versions are better than mine :).  

Even as I am pleased to have completed writing and illustrating  a small book for the Fiction Project, I am fascinated by what I read and see on their site about how some artists challenged themselves to take their art to new level by changing the paper in the moleskine journals or turning it into an accordion book etc., transforming the materials they were given. I just watched a TED talk by artist Janet Echelman on 'Taking Imagination Seriously.' I am in awe of her creativity and drive to pursue her unbelievably big imagination! I also really like how she combines science and art in her work. Having just returned from Chicago last month, where Anish Kapoor has his sculpture the Bean/cloud, I wonder how does one come up with work of art that scale and magnitude that boggles the mind? Is it a different level of risk taking, resourcefulness, determination, tenacity  combined with  the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time and to know to seize upon the opportunity presented?  And does it have to be  really spectacular or it is not imagination taken to the edge?  

What Matters Next

Color Burst watercolor 12x9"

Last thursday was TEDxNASA at Newport News, VA which I attended- thanks to good friends who helped us get the tickets. It was  such an inspiration to hear speaker after speaker with all the wonderful ideas. I came back charged with enthusiasm and motivation.  But, having not painted for close to a month because of trips, Deepavali Celebrations, mundane catch-ups, etc.. I realized my painting muscle memory was missing! This is my third attempt at painting the same flower in one day - the flower that had graced our garden this summer and gave me so much pleasure.  I was frustrated by the difficulty I was having in moving paint. The montval paper I usually enjoy painting on was not behaving in its usual way - I found the paper tearing very easily. I am wondering if it is the temperature fluctuations in my over the garage studio or if I had purchased a bad lot.  At the end of the day I was glad to have persevered and put in a few solid hours of playing with my brushes, paint and water. In a way, the theme of the TEDxNASA - 'What matters Next'  seemed to  resonate- what matters is that I keep painting, sketching and doing art :) 

Right Brain, Left Brain

watercolor on 140lb cp 9x12"

watercolor on Yupo  7x11"

I often switch between left brain and right brain ways when I plan and paint trying to find order as well as spontaneity. In that vein, I did a side by side comparison of watercolor on cold press and Yupo.  Layering paint is fun on cold press where as it is very difficult and slow process to layer on Yupo. The colors dry lighter on cold press and hues are pure and brilliant on yupo. It is very easy to take off paint from yupo since it is a non-absorbant surface. I washed the paints off three times before I settled on this Yupo version (half heartedly). On cold press, it is crucial to plan and save the whites early on.  The slick surface of Yupo requires different techniques than the regular watercolor paper. I discovered erasing on yupo paper makes it harder for the paint to adhere.  Another difference is yupo needs to be on a flat surface while painting since the paint moves freely-which also means that one can tilt the paper to get different mixes and effects. I have to use thick paint with little water to have definite detailed shapes on yupo and spraying with water mist gives it wonderful textures. For other kinds of texture I have also tried laying balled up plastic wrap or blotting paper towel on wet paint.  Removing or adding paint by using stencils, cheese cloth, gives beautiful shapes.  I can see myself continue my experiments and playing around with resists etc.  :)

Deconstructing and reconstructing art work is a preoccupation for me as I try to figure out the artistic and technical aspects to help me with creations. I happened upon this quirky TED video of Ursus Wehrli sharing his version of  cleaner, more organized 'tidier art' in a very funny unconventional way :) Enjoy a different take on creativity :) 

Wonder of Creation

Tulips watercolor 16x20"

The change of seasons always gets me very excited. Right now it is amazing to shed jackets and gloves, see and feel the transformation outside: fresh green and other colors all around us, rabbits hopping around, chirping birds looking for morsels and a place to nest. As we were moving the potted plants outside from the sunny kitchen window corner and the sun room, I was tickled to separate the plants as some were sending creepers every which way.

In the past week, I also saw a TED video by Amy Tan on how she goes about creating, a movie "Creation" on Charles Darwin writing 'The Origin of Species" and another TED talk by V.S. Ramachandran on our brains and the universal connection. The world around is just full of wonder.

Tulips in watercolor was painted by me a few years ago. I am dipping once again into my collection as I have been busy matting and framing my paintings rather than making new ones. I am now itching to get back to my brushes and pencils.

Lunch Break

I finished this painting yesterday. In most cities, there is at least one place like this where office workers take a break, reflect and enjoy the outdoors. I painted this in my head a few times before plunging into sketching and painting it using different water media on cold press watercolor paper. I am still wrestling with detailed vs loose and less is more. I am hoping some day soon my technical skills will catch up with my mental image of the finished piece :)

Speaking of 'reflecting,' I just watched an amazing video on TED on the 'uniqueness' of being a 'human.' Primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers an informative and hilarious look at human and animal behavior, ending the inspiring talk given at Stanford University by urging the new graduates with what resonates as Gandhiji's quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world." It is also interesting that he looks like the 16th century artist Albrecht Durer and peppers his talk with illustrations from the art world.

Lunch Break watermedia 9x12"

Small Wonders

The close up photographs of the bees and butterflies that I clicked in the past few days got me wondering how and what do they really see in a flower. So I googled and discovered that "The worker bee's eye is a very complex organ with 6,900 facets, known as ommatidia each carrying out separate visual processes. Each one of these acts like an individual eye, and they stand aligned together, rather like straws in a bucket. Each one ends in a small convex, transparent lens. These lenses form the outer, glassy and oval-shaped surface of the eye. As well as the two compound eyes on either side of their head, a bee also has three simple eyes atop its head. Its estimated that these latter three are used to measure the strength of the light. The bee's eye is superior to the human eye in two respects: it can see ultraviolet light and perceive the plane of light polarization." The miracle of nature - the smaller the creature, the more complex its anatomy and structure!!!

"Just because you can't see something doesn't mean its not there" -So started an inspirational TED talk by Willard Wigan who creates art so elaborate, so tiny and so unique that they are mounted on pin heads or the eye of a needle and you have to see them through a microscope. Check his amazing video here as he explains that since his sculpture is so small he has to work between his heartbeats!

Up-close and Personal color pencils on 11x14" on hot press paper.

Fishing Eyes

I subscribe to e-mails from TED  - an organization that spreads most innovative ideas by the world's leading thinkers, artists, scientists and others. The videos are anywhere from 5 minutes to hour long and are amazingly inspiring. Just yesterday I watched one by David Gallo with footage of wonderful sea creatures.  

Fishing Eyes is a mixed media piece using watercolors and color pencils on masa paper(size 14 x 18".) I painted it a few years ago, framed it and put it aside.  A year ago I took it out of its frame and changed the parts that were bothering me a bit. I think I am happy with it now.