Art and Life

Sketch of ‘The ship sculpture by Emanoel Araujo’ by Meera Rao 

The ship by Emanoel Araujo 

I visited the exhibit ‘Afro-Atlantic Histories’  at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC on June 7 2022 and was so touched by this sculpture in wood & carbon steel that I had to record it! The label reads:Araujo's work reflects the influence of European modern art and African and Afro-Brazilian cultural histories. This geometric, abstract wood structure is a direct reference to slave ship plans (like the one depicted in James Phillips's Description of a Slave Ship, shown nearby). The 31 wood sculptures representing human forms echo images in abolitionist pamphlets of bodies piled inside ship holds, while a metal chain linked to a shackle recalls the brutal restraint of enslaved people. Translating iconography of the slave trade into geometric forms, The Ship suggests the symbolic capacity of abstraction.

The entire exhibit was very powerful with many paintings and sculptures. In fact I visited again during that week to slowly taken in the works. 

The spread on my upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar -Pandemic journal 2022 week 24

The photo in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 upcycled to my 3rd year of journaling during the pandemic week by week is ‘inland Niger Delta Artist Djenne, Mortimer Region, Mail Equestrian Figure 13- 15th Century Ceramic, collection of National Museum of African Art.  Unearthed from the archaeological remains of an urban center in the Inland Niger Delta region, this is among the area's largest surviving terracotta figures. Its elaborate dress suggests ceremonial military attire, and it may represent a warrior allied with the Malian emperor Sundiata Keita (c. 1210-60).’  As it has happened on almost every week there has been some connection between something my life to the photo on these calendars! I will chalk it up to serendipity. 

‘All Ladies Crew’ pencil, ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

I was a small part of ‘all Ladies Crew’ of a Habitat for humanity house built at Suffolk, Va week 24 in June 2021.  I learned how to measure, hammer and wield electric saws,  drills and nail guns :)  It was a very rewarding experience and felt a good tired at the end of the day. 

Spread of upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar week 24 2021 

The photo this particular week in 2021 is Koji Enokura (1942-1995) Symptom-Sea, Body(P. W. No. 40), 1972 Japan Gelatin silver print 1316 × 16%16 in. (33.2 × 42 cm)Collection of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Enokura was a member of the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement in Japan, a group of artists who practiced "not-making" by slightly altering materials to call attention to the relationships between things. In his Symptoms series, Enokura used photography to document his own ephemeral presence within the surrounding environment. And the photo depicts opposite of what I was up to that week - making ! 

 

Preservation of History and Nature

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic Sketchbook week 23 

Parthenos sylvia Butterfly on Zinnia ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

We visited the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA with friends visiting from India. The highlight of that trip was the enclosed butterfly garden with hundreds of butterflies from all over the world. This particular butterfly is Parthenos sylvia a species from Asia and South Asia on zinnia. Seeing the beautiful creatures up close as they come and even land on your head or shoulder, definitely makes you care and want to save them from extinction! It really paired well with photo for the week in the upcycle Smithsonian Engagement Calender - ‘Front cover from 29th Annaual Catalogue, 1899 Iowa Seed co., Desmoines, IA. This lithograph print is from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. The Libraries and archives has a unique trade catalog collection that includes about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs. These publications document the history of the seed business and horticulture in the United States. Through their bold text and exuberant illustrations, they also provide a fascinating window into the history of graphic arts and advertising. 

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement calendar pandemic sketchbook 2021 week 23

Colonial Williamsburg colonial horse and buggy pen and ink by Meera Rao

At first glance the photo in the calendar and the record of a day in my life that week looks like a big contrast - and yet both are preserving the history of our country! Apollo 11 spacesuits transferred from NASA are on display at the Steven F. Unvarnished-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum.  The caption for the spacesuits reads: ‘Shown here at the Emil Buehler Conservation Lab at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center are 3 spacesuits worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic 1969 mission to the moon. From left to right are the suits of Edwin R Aldrin, Michael Collin’s, and Neil Armstrong.’ 

The quest to find different walking trails took us to Colonial Williamsburg that morning. The horses were also on a walk ! 

 

Manholes and Memories

Smithsonian Emgagement Calendar sketching the pandemic 2021 week 19 May 2-8 

Manhole Mandalas photocopy of miniature paintings from  accordion album sketchbook

The wonderful side benefit of very late postings from my 2nd and 3rd year of sketching the pandemic days is that it reminds me things I have done and places I have visited that I almost have forgotten about !!  That weekend 2021 I was inspired to pull together different manhole covers from places I had visited ( yes, I notice interesting manhole covers wherever I visit !) I sketched and painted about 20 in a mini Japanese accordion sketchbook.   I photocopied one side and put it in my Smithsonian Engagement Calendar up-cycled to my sketchbook ! Uncannily, it paired  well with Alexandra Agudelo’s ‘Molly bowl’. The bowl embodies her ‘use of pre Colombian metal working techniques of batado in which a sheet of silver is placed between two hard surfaces and struck with a hammer in order to manipulate the material without welding’. For her ‘They evoke vessels used in ancestral rituals.’ 

National Museum of the Marine corps ink and watercolor  2022 week May 1-7 

In 2022, on May 2nd we visited the National Museum of Marine corps in Quantico, Va. We pass it all the time on our trips to and back from Washington DC but never did take that exit. The magnificent building evokes the scene of soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima. An exhibition of 50 huge and absolutely stunning watercolors by the artist Mary Whyte of ‘We the people:Portraits of Veterans in America’ drew us to finally take the exit from the highway.  It was a memorable exhibit by an artist I had always admired. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic year 2022 sketchbook 

The painting the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar is by Elmer Wachtel of California spring landscape c. 1920. 

Conservation, Traditons And Imagination

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar week 18 2021, April 25-May 1

Up a tree  pen &ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

When your grandchild climbs trees and has special adventures the same week that 'the Panda on a tree' photo  (by Conner Mallon 2019) is in my upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021, - where I had been  chronicling  the second year of pandemic memories  - its a special feeling :)  As cute as the panda is, it is clear who in my eyes is the cuter one.  The panda was at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute - on loan from China- as an ambassador for conservation. 

At the Hirshhorn Museum Yayoi Kasuma exhibit ink and watercolor.by Meera Rao 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar week 18 2022, April 24- May 3

A year later, as seen in my sketch for the same week 18 in my third year of sketching the pandemic year memories -in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022, we were still wearing the masks when in crowded interiors even after having vaccinated and boosted !  The Kasuma exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC was psychedelic with colors, dots, lights and mirrors!  

The photo for week 18 in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 is of a piece by Jiyoung Chun's Joomechi art  "Whisper Romance_His Tear'" :  "Joomechi is a unique Korean traditional handmade paper technique that uses only hanji (Korean Mulberry paper),water and the artists hands. It creates  strong, textural surfaces that sometimes appear printed. This work is about the love God showed humans by sacrificing his only son on the cross."  

Both artists reach into their imagination to produce unique works! And I keep dipping into all the sketches and paintings that are tucked in my sketchbooks, and studio :) 

Doing Our Part

Black Gold  ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week 17 2022

The COP28 going on in UAE has been in the news these past few days and it is by chance that my long delayed posts on earth day found an opportune time to see the light of the day! We do try to practice 'reduce, reuse and recycle'  as the playful illustration in the commemorative poster in poster for Earth Day in New York  April 22 1990 shows. My husband is always very proud and happy to use the 'black gold' from our compost bin in our garden. All the vegetable and plant waste from my kitchen and garden go to the bin to be composted-

 something we have done for many years now.  Serendipitously it  was also the week a batch was ready for the garden and I was happy to record it in my upcycled sketchbook : the Smithsonian Engagement calendar that became my covid diary !

The caption for the calendar photo credits Seymore Chwast for the poster which is now housed in Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.   Inscribed in her tablet are the words "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" 

Iris Blooming  pen & ink  and watercolor by Meera Rao 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week 17 2021

Last week for the first time we went into the Ripley Building of the Smithsonian Museums and saw a print of the painting of Julie E Packard by Hope Gangloff hanging in the hallway.  I recognized the painting from using the 'Smithsonian engagement Calendar 2021' as my upcycled covid diary :) It reminded me that I was behind in my blogging and posting even though I have been busy painting and sketching regularly. 

 The write up in the calendar notes :" Julie Packard (b 1952) has dedicated her career to preserving ocean life. In 1984, she helped found the world -renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium."  This portrait is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.  

Introspection and New Beginnings

One Vain Line pencil by Meera Rao

These sketches and photos are from my Smithsonian Engagement Calendar upcycled to pandemic diary year 2 (2021) and year 3(2022). I am way behind in posting and now determined to pick up and continue!   

 'One Vain Line'  is a self portrait sketch done in one continuous line for a challenge in 2020 which then was in a show at the Charles Taylor Visual Arts Center in Hampton.  I decided to frame it with the torn edge of page showing.  That was the week I was assembling the matt and the frame for the show. I took the above photo to check and see if framing it like that will work - I think it does :)  For the art journal I did a reduced size photocopy of the original sketch and glued it to the page.

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week 16, 2022

April 10-16 2022

The photo in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 is "Guardian" 1990 Silver Gelatin print by Earlie Hudnall Jr. Its from Smithsonian American Art Museum.  "In 'the Guardian' a father enfolds his young daughter as they stand along a street reflected in the mirrored lenses of his glasses. The American flag tucked behind his ear suggests that in addition to warmth and affection, he is passing on a sense of community and patriotic pride."

'Visu kani"  in watercolor, ink  and silver pen By Meera Rao 

April 14th is 'Visu' celebration of the start of the 'New year' in many communities in India that follow the solar calendar.  A 'kani' is assembled in the puja room near the alter, the night before with seasonal fruits and vegetables, fresh flowers on a plate with dry uncooked rice and a mirror in the middle that is decorated with jewelry. First thing on the morning of Visu after waking up, we light the lamps and look at our own face surrounded by the abundance from nature. This is to symbolize the wealth, prosperity and health we wish upon our selves in the coming year. Looking at our face in the mirror surrounded by the fruits, flowers, vegetables and jewelry is also a reminder that we are all part of the same nature and are one with the universe.  It is also to affirm that we need to be good stewards of the nature to prosper.    

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week 16 2021

April 11-17, 2021

The work on the opposite side is the page 'Bound Console' is by Rachael David- from the Smithsonian Craft Show.  

I am hoping this post will reset a new beginning for my routines and I get back to blogging regularly !

Backyard Bird Bulletin

Camouflaged Baby Birds in the Nest watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

I have to catch up with my postings - I am a year and some months behind with posting the 2021 sketches and about 20 weeks late with 2022 sketches! But I am sketching :)  

I always get excited when the sketch of the week serendipitously matches the concept shown in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar that I have repurposed for sketching the ongoing pandemic years!! For this week it is birds and nests.  It is not a surprise that spring days means I will find a nest or two tucked away in the trees and bushes in the yard.  I am not sure if the four baby birds I saw in this nest in the holly tree are Carolina wrens or Northern Mockingbirds - both were near by chirping away. So I am sure there was another nest near by as well.   I was being very careful not to disturb the chicks or alarm the parents but hearing the birds call insistently I guess that did not work!  

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 12 March 14-20 

The hand colored lithograph shown in the Calendar is by John Gould(1804-1881) from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives: Campylopterus delattrei  Plate 42 from A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of  hummingbird, vol 2, 1849.

  

"The five volumes of Gould's 'A Monograph of Trochilidae feature breathtaking illustrations of hundreds of hummingbird species. Gould was a prolific British ornithologist known for identifying 'Darwin's finches.'  For this book Gould drew and lithographed all the plates with British printer Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902)"

I hope some day I will be able to check out the lithographs in person! 

The Osprey Returns!  Ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

I had marked on my calendar to check for Ospreys' arrival and they migrated up north a week earlier in March. They started work on their nest right away, finishing it within two days. They nest on the same post in the river every year.  They had to build the nest from scratch this year as the nest from past years had been blown away in one of the storms earlier in the year.  I was delighted to find the Osprey in its perch on the pine tree in yard where they regularly enjoy their meal of freshly caught still alive wriggly fish held securely in the claws.  (Unfortunately, we lost that tree couple of weeks ago in a storm and now his/her new perch can't be seen from my kitchen window.) 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 12 March 13-19 

The Red eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas , digital photograph by Steve Paton,  November 2019 is from the collection of Republic of Panama Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.  "Red-eyed tree frogs distract predators by flashing their bright red eyes, orange webbed feet, and blue and yellow racing stripes. whether they survive habitat destruction is another story, one in which Smithsonian research plays a leading role."  I doubt though that the fish the osprey catch get any kind of warning signs before they are scooped up!

One of a Kind

An Unlikely Hero: Noor Inayat Khan WWII uniform at the Spy Museum in Washington DC  

I was surprised to read about and see the uniform of Noor Inayat Khan at the Spy Museum in DC. which we visited with our grand daughters.  Its a treasure trove of history and innovations and surprises like Noor Inayat Khan. I learned that she was a musician, author, princess, and a secret agent for the British during World War II. 

Wanting to know more about her, I followed up later : "Perhaps best-known by her Resistance code name ‘Madeleine’, the story of Noor Inayat Khan is unfamiliar to many today, but contains so many extraordinary elements that it’s incredible she isn’t more widely recognized. A staunch pacifist regarded by her captors as a fierce and dangerously uncooperative spy, an outspoken supporter of Indian independence who gave her life fighting for the British, a children’s author, musician and princess (descended from Tipu Sultan of Mysore), Noor is also the first - and so far only – Muslim woman to be honoured with a statue in Britain." And her service as a spy was very impressive:  "In the early hours of 17 June 1943, Noor became the first woman agent to be parachuted behind enemy lines in France (previous women had been sent as couriers). Her task was to maintain radio contact between Britain and the Resistance in Paris. This was an unbelievably dangerous job – radio equipment was bulky and hard to conceal, and staying on air for more than 20 minutes at a time risked detection by the enemy. The average lifespan of a field agent was just 6 weeks. Noor evaded capture for three months, as the Paris Resistance network – which had been infiltrated by double agents more deeply than anyone had realised – began to disintegrate during the summer of 1943. In October, she was arrested at her Paris flat and taken to German security headquarters.  Noor made two immediate escape attempts (and refused to sign an agreement with her captors ruling out a third). Regarded as a particularly dangerous prisoner, she was kept in solitary confinement in Pforzheim prison for 10 months. Finally, Noor was transported to Dachau concentration camp, where she was executed in September 1944. Her last reported word was ‘Liberté’."

It was her uniform that was on display at the Spy Museum (I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area!). 

The image on the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 for that week is a Kimono c1955 japan, Cotton with shibori tied resist patterning indigo dyed from the collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Shibori is "a complex technique which selected areas are bound with with thread to resist the penetration of dye. The medium blue areas are composed of hundreds of small white circles created with kanoko shibori or tied resist while the petal like forms are nuo shibori or stitched resist. "

This page spread is dedicated to 'one of a kind' :) 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 10 Feb 27-March 5

Bald Eagle Silhouetted on Pine Tree

There is a bald eagle family in our area and the birds regularly visit our yard. They sit on the branch and eat the fish caught from the river or just take a break. That tree is in east/south east section of our yard and from my kitchen window I always see the birds in the mornings as silhouettes. The painting on the opposite page for the week in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 prompted me to paint the scene with black brush pen. That hanging scroll, ink on paper painting is by Tomioka Tessai (1836-1924)  Su Dongpo in a borrowed hat 1912, Meiji era.

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 10 Feb 28-March 6

The Power of Words and Images

Jaume Plensa’s Silver Adagio at Planet Word  pen&I know and watercolor by Meera Rao 

We went to the Planet Word museum with our 8 year old granddaughter who was excited to show off the place. It’s a really fun ‘museum where language comes to life’ and is perfect for language/book nerds :) There are unique interactive exhibits on various topics like history of English, languages around the world, language of humor, poetry, advertising, music, children’s first words, and more!  There is playful poetry written on the bathroom walls ! Our granddaughter‘s favorite was a ‘secret book room’ in the museum that is ‘hidden’ behind a wall of shelf :) 

At the entrance is a sculpture ‘Silver Adagio’  by Jaume Plensa.  It is made up of stainless steel symbols from ‘9 different language systems : Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Chinese and Assamese’.  I was impressed there were three languages from India in that sculpture! It was fun to find them ! I read that Plensa’s sculptures often focuses on what it means to be a human ‘particularly in an increasingly globalized world. The meditative pose of the figure reminds us that we are not merely bodies but spirits that use languages to express themselves and connect to others.’ 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 9 Feb 20-26

 

The photo of the pin back button ‘Black Lives Matter’ is from the ‘Million Man March 2015’  that commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first Million Man March on the National Mall in Washington DC.  It is from the collection of National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thousands gathered and marched demanding an end to violence against black Americans. The button “features the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ which has become a movement and a rallying cry against racial violence and injustice. Plensa’s sculpture ‘speaks’ to the very same issue. I could not have planned the pairing for the week - pure serendipity! 

Palm Tree Brings Nostalgia  watercolor by Meera Rao 

Sheltering at home during the pandemic has meant that I looked out the windows and door at various times during the day and saw my own yard with new eyes ! Watching the way the sun shines and wind rustles the palm fronds on the tree near our front door brings back memories of areca nut and palm trees near my childhood home. On this particular day I felt an acute tinge of nostalgia. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 9 February 21-27

In the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 for week 9, is the ‘Portrait of the Artist’  an etching by Shahzia Sikander. It is from the collection at the National Portrait gallery.  That etching spoke to me differently than the explanation given ! 

 

Colors in the Sky and Garden

Flying Colors watercolor by Meera Rao

The Great Backyard Bird count  this year was on February 18-21 and the website says 'the world comes together to watch, learn about, count and celebrate birds.'  I observed, counted and reported the birds I saw in our backyard. Over the course of four days, armed with a binoculars, I was lucky to see herons(great blue and night), an egret, ducks, ospreys, bald eagles, northern mockingbirds, cardinals, finches(purple, golden/yellow and house), pine warblers, mourning doves, Carolina wrens, sparrows, pelicans, cormorants, tufted titmouse, chickadees, woodpecker, red winged black birds and many crows. And I also heard one owl at night! I feel fortunate to have so many different kinds around our neighborhood. The birds I painted in the repurposed Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 though, are not true to what I observed - but mainly my experiments with painting them in direct watercolor without prior sketching. I am pleased how they turned out :) 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 Week 8 February 13-19

It is indeed a fantastic coincidence that the photo opposite is a different kind of colorful flyer : Boeing Stearman N2S-5 Kaydet at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and space museum. "More than 10,000 Stearman trainers were built by Boing, which had purchased the Stearman company in the late 1930s- Kaydets, along with Fairchilds and Ryans served as the backbone of US army and Navy primary flight training in World War-II. This Kaydet was used to train naval aviation cadets until 1946. 

Tasty Beauty Watercolor by Meera Rao

The 'Beautification of America' 6c block of four stamps January 16, 1969 on display at the National Postal Museum  matched well with the beautiful yellow mustard flowers from our garden during this week in February 2021. But then we grow them also for the tasty leaves for cooking :)  It is always exciting to get fresh greens in February from the backyard! 

"The stamp block, designed by Walter Dubois Richards, was part of a commemorative set in recognition of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson's 'Natural Beauty' campaign. These stamps honored the accomplishments of Mrs. Johnson's initiatives which encouraged involvement from government and local community organizations. They proved popular with the general public and the initial printing of 120 million stamps had to be increased to 170 million."

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 Week 8 February 14-20

 

Water, Earth and Sky

Watermen  watercolor by Meera Rao 

Late post! This is from February - week 7.  We see watermen in the river early morning. My research says they are harvesting oysters during February. Later it will be blue crabs and fish. As I am a vegan, until now I never bothered to look up what they were harvesting!   Their bright orange and blue outfits and yellow boat are easy to spot even when its foggy and misty. I love to watch them working and moving about in the waters. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 Week 7 February 6-12

The photo in the  Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 Week 7 February 6-12 shows "Raft used by Cuban 'balseros' in 1992" now at the Anacostia Community Museum. 'This small craft, handcrafted from scavenged materials, buoyed two men on their journey from Cuba to the US in 1992. Styrofoam blocks are adhered to a wooden substructure with tar and held together by the Tarred cloth that wraps around the hull. the two men in the raft were spotted by a Florida based non-profit during a flyover of the ocean and then rescued by the US Coast Guard.'

Discarded Fish Heads watercolor by Meera Rao

There are about 5 bald eagles and a pair of Ospreys that have claimed our backyard as a part of their territory. The bald eagles are year round residents but the Ospreys usually migrate around mid March to nest in the Chesapeake Bay area  and fly south for winter in September. The bald eagles don't eat the whole fish - they usually drop the fish heads to the ground and its feast time for the fish crows and turkey vultures that always show up as soon as the Eagles or Osprey land on the pine tree branch lunch spot with their catch. With osprey though, the crows have to contend with bits that fly off while tearing into the fish. There is always lots of drama as the crows try to steal from the Eagles or the Ospreys and the Eagles go after Osprey with the fresh wiggly fish in its talons!

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 Week 7 February 7-13

The pottery shown in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 Week 7 February 7-13, is by Jeri Redcorn (Caddo/Potawatani) and is at the National Museum of the American Indian. "Like her ancestors, Jeri Redcorn(Caddo/Potawatani) gathers clay, makes her pottery by hand, and rather than using a kiln, fires it in a pit using wood for fuel. Though many of her designs and forms draw inspiration from those her ancestors used hundreds of years ago, they are, in themselves, unique works of contemporary art."  I learned that the art of Caddo pots were lost for more than a century until Jeri Redcorn revived them after seeing the pottery exhibited in museums. These pots were used  ceremonially and may have been used to accompanied the dead to the next world.  Seems appropriate to pair them the fish heads I find in the ground around the pine tree in my backyard! 

 

Icicles and Blooms

Icicles watercolor by Meera Rao

In the last week of January this year, we saw some heavy snow fall and with it very interesting icicle formations as the snow melted slowly from the roof top.  It is indeed serendipity when I paired it with the photo of the week in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022.  Debra Baxter's Devils Horns Crystal Brass Knuckles(Lefty) 2015 made with Quartz crystals and sterling silver was exhibited at the Renwick Gallery, Washington DC. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 5 

Relief in Full Bloom  Faber Castell PITT Artist pen by Meera Rao 

Spring came early for us last year on January 27, when we received our first shot of Covid-19 vaccine! It was indeed relief in full bloom! We then waited eagerly for the second shot scheduled in three weeks :) 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 5 

Japanese flowering apricot Prunus mume 'Peggy Clarke' in the Smithsonian Engagement calendar 2021 is a digital image  by Hannele Lahti from March 2019 at the National air and space Museum, Washington DC Smithsonian Gardens. 'This deep pink, double flowered cultivar of the Japanese apricot is easily mistaken for its botanical cousin the Japanese flowering cherry. Flowering apricots are the first sign of spring, blooming before cherry blossoms have even begun to open.' 

Changing Dance of the Universe

Changing Dance of the Universe watercolor on Yupo 

My Dad breathed his last on January 21. I know death is inevitable but letting go is never easy.  The pandemic fears meant I was not with him in person. But the marvel of video call technology and my dear brother's intuition made it possible for me to be there just minutes before he slipped away.  My swirling emotions later poured out in "Changing Dance of The Universe." 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 4

The photograph for that week in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 - 'Untitled Female Dancer with Mirrors' c1950 is attributed to Robert S. Scurlock. "The Scurlock Studio was an African American family photographic business that flourished in the Shaw area of Washington, DC., from 1911-1994. Among thousands of photographs in the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History, dancers represent a frequent subject, including professional performers, Howard U students, and private dance school clients. The identity of this dancer, shown rehearsing is unknown" 

Wearing Pearls and Celebrating Kamala  watercolor on Yupo

On January 20th 2021, Kamala Harris became the first woman, first Indian American, first black and Asian American to be sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America! I wore pearls, a bright blue top that day as I watched the ceremony on TV and celebrated the historic moment. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 4

Minnijean Brown-Trickey's graduation dress,1959 graces the opposite page in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021: "Minnijean Brown-Trickey (b1941)made history by simply going to school and claiming her right to belong. In 1957, four years after 'Brown v Board of Education', she and eight classmates integrated the all white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bullied and eventually expelled, Brown graduated from Lincoln High School in New York city wearing this dress, which she designed. She later remembered 'I felt perfectly beautiful in it'."