'Girl is Not a 4 letter Word'

                                        

Ukrainian Soldier with blue and yellow sunflower in her hair

sketch by Meera Rao from a twitter photo

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week of March 6-12 2022 Week 11

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Ukrainian Ministry of  Foreign Affairs noted on twitter that more than 15%of the regular Ukrainian Army are women. Girl is not a 4 letter word!!! How true - these women are taking their unique feminine qualities to a tough fight. Who knew then there is going to be so much destruction and blood shed ? I pray for a peaceful resolution for Ukraine and for the rest of the world.  

The skateboard is a prototype designed by Cindy whitehead in 2013. "Professional skater Cindy Whitehead designed this skateboard with just the right blend of edginess and bling, showcasing her original artwork as the signature product for her 'Girl is not a 4 letter word'  brand. Geared toward women and girls, her products were among the first from a woman-owned company to offer inclusion in the male-dominated sport of skateboarding."

Phyllis Wheatley pencil drawing -copy by Meera Rao 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Week of March 7-13 2021 Week 11

When I saw the photo of 'Poems of Phyllis Wheatley'  I realized I had never read any of her poems and knew very little about her. So I went googling her and her poetry. This is probably the first time, my entry in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar is not by chance but by design. I also found a drawing of her done 50 years after her death at the National Museum of African American History and Culture- I used that sketch as my reference wondering the whole time if it was really her! The Poems of Phyllis Wheatley is from 1909 and is displayed in the museum. "In 1773, Wheatley became the first African American to publish a volume of poetry, which she did while enslaved in Boston. A version of the poet's portrait by enslaved artist Scipio Morehead(active 1770s) is depicted on the cover of this 1909 edition of her poems."

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

Paradise on Earth

Bird of Paradise  watercolor by Meera Rao 

These stunning beauties belonging to genus Sterlitzia bloom every February in our sun room bringing joy and color in the middle of winter !  They look like birds in flight as their name suggests. As a matter of fact, they are also known as ‘crane flower.’ They symbolize in loyalty, success, royalty, and of course, paradise on earth in various cultures around the globe. 

 As luck would have it, in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar that has been up-cycled into a sketch book / art journal chronicling my images of these pandemic times, the photo for the week is the equally colorful ‘Earth Spirit Tomb Guardian -zhenmushou.’   It is a late 7th to mid 8th century Earthenware from Tang Dynesty in China with three color lead glaze.

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 6 January 30-February 5 2022

According to the write up : ‘During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), pairs of these fearsome composite creatures known as earth spirits were interned in tombs of elites. Charged with preventing the deceased’s soul from leaving the tomb to wander among the living, these ceramic beasts also warded off tomb robbers  and evil spirits. Chinese potters exploited the random patterns of the runny glazes in cream, brown and green to accentuate an aura of supernatural energy and crafted the plinth to resemble a mountain top, the abode of protective deities.’ 

Winter Lines  watercolor by Meera Rao 

Week 6 photo in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 was an untitled work by Avery Singer. ‘Pushing the limits of painting Avery builds compositions with 3-D modeling software and then uses computer-controlled, industrial-scale printers to airbrush them on to canvas.’  After checking the photograph, I went through my camera roll for the week zeroed in on a shot. When I looked up, outside my window was the same image: beautiful lines created by the winter branches of the trees. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 6 :January 31-February 6 2021 

 

A Fleeting Moment

A Fleeting Moment Ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

A fleeting moment 

impermanent

transient 

suspended

in time

 a memory floating

in a watery image 

~Meera Rao~

We were early and not knowing how long the wait will be I took out my sketch book to keep me occupied. I was assessing the stained wall, the broom, two red and green lanterns and other miscellaneous items  on the low long storage shelf. And then, a person stopped right in the beam of sunlight at the far end to check his phone long enough for me to capture the moment on my phone.  I knew then what to sketch. I always find it challenging to balance the book and draw while standing but I managed to I sketched the scene in front of me. Months later I added the person using the reference photo and finished the sketch with watercolor! 

Entering the Gate of Blessed Space

 Passing Thru the Temple Gates, SriRangam by Meera Rao

watercolor 

The many gates in the Temple Complex at Sri Rangam are massive, ornate, tall and wide. Lot goes on under the beautiful arches. Venders crowd the space by the walls, a few temple offices are tucked between the walls and gate. People, two wheelers and animals pass thru freely. Every single building and object in the temple complex harps on the beauty, majesty, creativity, talent that is beyond awe inspiring. It is indeed a tribute to the Universe and transports one to the spiritual realm.

Sketching and painting the scene is a challenge. It is daunting to show in a few lines and colors on 10x7" paper the beautiful sculptures on the wall, the engineering wizardry in the majestic arches and the very high walls, doors, as well as  all who pass thru those gates. And the morning light was streaming in from both ends of the gate. I was glad I was there early in the day when it was relatively empty and quiet with time and space to admire the surroundings. . 

Some See A Weed, Some See A Wish !

Dandilion graphite and color pencil sketches by Meera Rao 

What a wonderfully complex world is in there on our lawn! We have always let the yard stay 'green', not really bothered by the 'weeds' and have admired the tiny colorful flowers that show up voluntarily. They bring with them many birds, butterflies and bees. The lawn does get mowed but we avoid weed killers or insecticides. When our daughter was a little girl, she would ask her Dad not to mow down the pink clover flowers and he always obliged by mowing around them! Blowing the fluffy seed heads of the dandelion was always a favorite pastime for her too ! 

I look up the names of the different plants every so often and admire the flowers but had never really checked each flower and plant carefully until now.  I take my time with these nature journal pages now for what I have dubbed as 'covid diary' .  Each page covers days and months and I sketch and add pieces as time goes on.  It has been about 8 weeks now and I have had about that many pages going in various stages at the same time :) The page above has been assigned #4.  

Dandelion journal page by Meera Rao 

I learnt some interesting things about dandelions in my research:  "Dandelions tend to flower most abundantly in spring, but can re-flower in the fall, too. Flowers open in the morning and tend to close up at night. After a couple of days in flower they close and the seeds develop inside the closed head. The seeds, technically a fruit called a "cypselae" are produced on the flower stalk with each seed representing one of the florets in the flower head. Each has a pappus, a set of feathery bristles that act as a sail or parachute ensuring distribution of the seed by the wind. (What kid doesn't know that?) As the seeds mature the flower stalk elongates greatly, raising the fluffy seed head up into the breeze."

Ken Willis, head of horticulture at the U of Alberta Botanic Garden says "Dandelions were brought to North America from Europe and Asia as a vegetable, so they have many culinary uses. They are high in vitamins and the leaves are good in salads, the taproot can be ground into a coffee substitute and the flowers make wine. Grow it like lettuce and harvest it before the flowers bloom,"  

I am yet to try it in my coffee, wine or salad though!!!

The Fire Burns Blue

The Fire Burns Blue watercolor with pen and ink by Meera Rao 

Last week my brother informed me that the book 'The Fire Burns Blue - A History of Women's Cricket in India' co-written by my niece Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Patnaik is among the five books short listed for Best Non-fiction work 2019 in India!  Proud Aunt suddenly remembered that  she  had sketched the book soon after Karunya gave it her in January during visit to India :)  I had shared a photo of the sketch with her,  but had somehow missed posting any of the sketches from that sketchbook on my blog. 

 

We are all incredibly proud of Karunya and that her book is vying for honors with the likes of Ramachandra Guha, Rajmohan Gandhi, Raghuram Rajan and Shantha Gokhale! Go get your copy from Amazon and read all about the stories of extraordinary women who while competing in 'the gentleman's game' made history. And all the while as one of the players said : "We play because we love this game"

Sketchbook Time

Chrysler Building  pen and ink by Meera Rao

I have too many sketchbooks going on at the same time, and I have sketches tucked away in them that I have missed posting. These three are from my Pentalic traveler 5x8".  

We were in NYC first Sunday in  November cheering our daughter's NYC marathon run! A clear view from hotel room window of the iconic Chrysler Building was hard to resist sketching.  I pulled out the sketchbook onto the windowsill and took my time drawing.  From the 34th floor window of the hotel I could clearly see the sculptures on the 61st floor of the Chrysler building which I had not noticed as eagles till I started sketching ! I was reminded of this quote by Frederick Frank : 

Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly discover the world. 

I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen, 

and that when  start drawing an ordinary thing, 

I realize how extraordinary it is, 

sheer miracle!

~ Frederick Frank~

Pirate Days watercolor and pen Meera Rao

These two sketches are from Arrrtober Fest at the Mariner's Museum in October. While volunteering for the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist booth, I sketched this little totally adorable kid in his pirate costume. He was determined to put the rings on the boat 'masts', and made his own luck by slinging it from all around the game mat :) 

Aaartober Fest Lady Pirates watercolor and Pen Meera Rao

The ladies in the next booth were also dressed up for the occasion and I quickly sketched them  before the gates opened for the festival goers. I think I am getting a little more comfortable sketching in the public these days :) 

Bone-afide Good Story!

My Gucci Boot!  watercolor and ink By Meera Rao 

Change afoot 

Bone-afide good story

Even with a Kneerover,

fractures are still what they are cracked up to be!

Brace-ing myself for a few more days 

before I am

foot-loose and fancy free

Till then Lame  jokes & puns 

keep me hopping around! 

Funny bone and humerus acting up ;) 

It is has been almost six weeks since the 5th metatarsal on my left leg broke - a "dancers' fracture"(it doesn't care that I am not a dancer!) I keep busy sketching, painting, reading, surfing the net, napping and coming up with puns! So far I have done two sketches recording my status- one of my 'kneerover'  and yesterday of my feet in their respective 'boots'. I am walking with 'boot' more and more now- using the kneerover  only when I get tired. 

My New Wheels pen and ink by Meera Rao 

London Days Part 7 : A Whole Lot More Than Crumpets and Tea

A Whole lot More than Tea and Crumpets  watercolor and ink  Meera Rao 

London surprised me with its wonderful offerings of Vegan and Vegetarian food. That made our outings so much more enjoyable. Of course, there was Indian food but almost every restaurant had vegan and vegetarian options. Even a Fish and chip place near Westminster had a delicious vegan dish to order! Street food wise, 'Horn OK Please' near London Eye had yummy vegan/vegetarian options and very tasty south Indian Masala Dosa :) I was amused to find Karma Cola as a drink option most everywhere - had not encountered that brand before.  The red Coca Cola bucket with condiments was at a Pizza place that happily for me had vegan Pizza on the menu. Supermarkets too had many ready to eat vegan and vegetarian selections in their aisles. So, at-least in London, British food was definitely eclectic. 

Ni Hao Part 13 Shanghai By Night

Shanghai Skyline Financial District At Night View from the River  Watercolor&Ink by Meera Rao  

 

Bund Old Shanghai Skyline Night view from River  Watercolor and Ink by Meera Rao

The 2-page spread of Night View 

The Night River Cruise was a wonderful light show! Our guide informed us that all the buildings are required to participate and show their loyalty. It is a big tourist draw and thousands fill hundreds of  lavishly decorated cruise boats.  The ride started at dusk and lasted close to two hours. We oohed and ahed at the magic of millions of colored blinking and dancing lights that changed and morphed every other second ! 

Buddhist monks checking their  phones at the Financial district  Sketch by Meera Rao 

Earlier in the evening we walked around the area where I saw many buddhist monks enjoying the city lights and scenes just like us.  A couple of chefs taking a break down an alley near the Food Mall caught my eye as we were searching for a place to eat. 

Pause In The Day #DirectWatercolor #nosketching by Meera Rao 

Below is a straggler sketch of an Incense burner from Imperial city at Beijing- one of our very first stops during this china trip. I painted it much later as a part of the #30x30directwatercolor challenge and therefore got left out of the earlier post on Beijing. I decided to include it in this last post on my  travel sketchbook.  

Incense Burner At The Imperial city, Beijing #30x30directwatercolor #nosketching By Meera Rao 

I had a couple of really beautiful ticket stubs that I decided were the just the right thing to grace the front and back covers of my sketchbook.  The front cover is the part of the ticket to the silk museum in Shanghai.  I used gold gel pen to write the title. 

Cover of China Travel Sketchbook Journal By Meera Rao 

The outside back cover is the ticket stub from the Sun Moon Temple at Guillin. 

Back Cover of China Travel Sketchbook Journal  by Meera Rao 

I decorated the back  inside cover with the business card for the resturant where we enjoyed delicious fresh hot Dim sums and a couple of beautiful wrappers from some chocolates I bought and enjoyed :)  

Inside Back Cover of Sketchbook Journal.  By Meera Rao 

Thats the end of my journal sketches but I hope to paint a few more full scale paintings in the next few months :) 

再見中國  Zaijian zhongguo- bye bye China  for now!!

Ni Hao Part 11 Some Everyday Scenes

Rental Bike with a solar panel ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

I noticed little things affected welfare of mind, body and daily living. There were dozens of bikes or some places just a solitary one with QR codes on the handles parked on the sidewalks. They are easy to rent  with just an app on the smart phone. People ride them to their destination and leave them by the sidewalks when they are done. The bikes are then ready for the next person (with an App on the phone) ! 

Country is Home ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

There are panels with cute illustrations and sayings on walls along the sidewalks all around the cities. I wondered if they were advertisements. We were told that they are government sponspored and convey pride for the nation and civic duties of the citizens. Once again I used my translation app to read this panel.   

Buddhist Lamas at Temple Gate  #directwatercolor #nosketching by Meera Rao

Buddhist temples are oasis of beauty, calm and quiet in the middle of the buzzing cities.  We saw groups of monks, visitors and devotees paying respects, praying or just enjoying the premises.  

Daily Tai Chi Practice #directwatercolor #nosketching by Meera Rao

Daily Tai Chi Practice #directwatercolor #nosketching by Meera Rao

The parks and gardens are lush and lovely. In all the parks in every city, many people - mostly retirees, get-together in groups or singly to practice Tai Chi or other martial arts, exercise to music,  give mini concerts, enjoy ballroom dancing,  take care of babies and children, play board games, walk and talk or meditate!  

Ni Hao Part 8 Xi'an

Cheering the Runners at Xi'an   ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

Xi'an City Wall Marathon ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

After a sumptuous breakfast, we set out early to explore Xian. Xi'an, an ancient capital of China has the oldest, largest and most well preserved fortifications.  Our guide was excited and flipped our itinerary a bit.  She drove us to city wall and gate (built in the 14th century) much earlier than planned because it was Xian City Wall Marathon day ! We too climbed up the city wall to watch and cheer as the runners went by. It was the very festive and Chinese version of the Rock and Roll marathon - with mostly retired elderly ( and mainly women) drumming and leading the cheers with ribbons, flags and colorful scarves as the runners breezed through.  We also had a great view of the city from the wall.  

China Post ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Among the things that caught my attention during our trip to China were the green Chinese post boxes, mail vans and post offices. The mail delivery and pick up vehicles especially in the cities were all small and  three wheeled.  This one had a big basket on top.  

Umbrella for Motorcycle ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Electric scoters with covers ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

To tackle transportation and  environmental problems, China has millions of electric motorbikes and scooters - electric are the only ones allowed on the roads now. I saw a number of them being charged by the curbside with electric wires running from stores or houses.  They run very quiet and walkers have to be vigilant and  watch out for fast moving vehicles that sneak up suddenly in their path! Many of the bikes and scooters I saw had colorful umbrellas or covers to protect them from rain and sun :) 

Another interesting feature was how they used coats/jackets or special covers for their hand and vehicle handles but not the rest of the body!  

Ni Hao Part 3 Tian'anmen Square and Forbidden City

Tian'anmen Square  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao 

Tian'anmen is in the center of Beijing and it's name means "Gate of Heavenly Peace." It was designed and built in 1415 during Ming Dynasty. The area around it, Tian'anmen Square, was designed and built in 1651 and enlarged four times its original size in 1950s. At 109 acres, Tian'anmen Square  now is considered one of the biggest city squares in the world and is lined on four sides by the Monument to the People's Heros, The Great wall of the People, National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong - all of which we checked out from outside only. 

The square was packed with thousands and thousands of people -our guide informed us that there is a cap of about 80,000 visitors a day! Our guide expertly ushered us past the crowds and whisked us past security and ID checks. There was very heavy security and I was impressed with crowd control ! I felt really eerie to stand around the square as a tourist with the memory of the most recent massive show of military force and the resulting massacre there.  

Tian'anmen Gate Entrance to Forbidden City by Meera Rao 

The Forbidden city is a HUGE Palace complex of the Ming and Qing dynasty 1420-1912 and is now the Palace Museum. Even though it was crowded with long lines of tourists to get in, once inside the crowds got dispersed in that massive, sprawling place! The Palace Museum complex highlights the unique architecture of the palaces, beautiful gardens(only at the edges of the complex - no plants, trees inside!), colorful and decorated Temples, Royal Court Halls, art and artifacts, and Chinese history.  There are also 10 meter high walls and a moat around the complex :)  This is also an UNESCO designated World Heritage site.  

It was awesome to get a glimpse into a world of wealth and power of Emperors that was off-limits to all but a few for  over  500 years. We walked around the complex for 3-4 hours, put in over 3 miles and barely scratched the surface of things to see - especially since there are close to 9000 rooms covering  an area of 74 hectares.  I had read about Forbidden city in novels and history books, seen the complex in movies but it is absolutely impressive in person with regard to scale and imagination! 

Rows of water sprout and One Spout in detail by Meera Rao

Fantastic creatures on walls, doors, and Grills by Meera Rao 

There was no time to sketch inside the complex but  I hope to someday paint more images from this iconic place.  

Sketching on the Go

Unisphere, Queens NY watercolor and pen sketch 5x7" by Meera Rao 

It was a beautiful sunny day after the snowfall from the first day of spring Nor'easter.  But it was too cold  for me to sketch outside so I resorted to taking photos with my phone and did this much later.  I plan to paint another larger one that has big vast  sky and smaller Unisphere because thats what I was attracted to in the first place. 

I recently bought Escoda Versatil #8  and a set of unknown brand #4,8,12 synthetic sable (this is a set that also came with a bamboo brush holder that was a surprise! ) watercolor travel brushes that I am very happy with.  I have ruined a couple of brushes that were in my travel kit when I lost the plastic brush protectors very early on and wanted these brushes whose caps act as long handles when screwed on :)  I still like my waterbrushes best for sketching away from home - no water containers to juggle!

Coffee Shop  Queens NY watercolor sketch 4x6"by Meera Rao 

I think this is my first sketch in a coffee shop with pen and ink and watercolor --the whole deal with no pencil sketches at all!! I realized too late the gel pen is not waterproof. It took me about 30 minutes or so to finish the sketch. I also sketched the barista on my Sketchclub app - will have to pull it out of the app one of these days :) 

Subway Commute  NY,  Gelpen 4x6" sketch by Meera Rao 

On our way to the Unisphere and the Queen's museum I sketched these two fellow passengers. This was a breakthrough for me to sketch in pen, in public and complete it before my stop came - about 15 mins or so.  I always hesitate to sketch people openly in public as I am not sure how I would feel about being sketched by someone ! But I think I am seeing the benefits of those #oneweek100people challenge - I am a bit more faster and confident in committing to mark making.  Working on more polished look of the pages is my next goal.

I have been doing more sketching these days because all the traveling means not been much studio painting time.  Hoping all this practice will show up when I take up my regular brushes again!