Under the Mid-day Sun

Under the Mid-day Sun watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015

To work under hot mid day sun is just plain hard work.  These two ladies were making plaster cast and clay statues for sale by a busy road side. They are migrants who traveled from northern states  to south in search for a better living. They had taken over the sidewalk, set up tents and a business. It is a difficult ethical problem - shouldn't the city evict them for blocking the roads for pedestrians like me who now have to walk on the edge of the road  with traffic whizzing by or do you applaud them because they are entrepreneurs  trying to make a decent wage by working and producing. For now, the only solution I saw was to capture them in my sketchbook.


Under the Mid-day sun 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

    

Water for Today

Water for Today watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015

When you see water in a stream

you say: oh, this is stream

water; 

When you see water in the river

you say: oh, this is water

of the river; 

When you see ocean

water

you say: This is the ocean's

water! 

But actually water is always

only itself

and does not belong

to any of these containers

though it creates them.

And so it is with you. 

Alice Walker

Water for Today 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

A Colorful Cover-up

A Colorful Cover-up watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015

It looked like a giant colorful caterpillar from a distance making me stop in my tracks. A long multicolored striped cotton floor mat (jamkane in local Kannada language) covering a vehicle protecting it from the hot sun and any mess dropped by birds sitting in the near by tree! It was by the front door of a school and my guess is that the car belonged to some 'important' visitor.  A dog was happily lying down by it too. 

I had sketched those mats a few times before - it was covering the stage platform and risers in a 'Yakshagana' performance  where the musicians were seated. Those mats come in different sizes and are workhorses - spread on the floor at functions for people to sit on, at many homes and on most train journeys they are the base layer for bedding for people to sleep on, for covering a pile of boxes or suitcases to keep dust away in some homes, as yoga mats etc.. 

A Colorful Cover-up, 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Evening Shadows

Evening Shadows watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Sunday evenings the roads are relatively empty and I was fortunate to come across this scene on my daily walk.  The beauty of this play of light and shadow will remain etched in my memory even if I may not have done justice to the original scenery.   

I have realized over the years that, my vision is always ahead of what really ends up on the paper ! Here is a story from the book Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland :  More often, though, fears rise in those entirely appropriate (and frequently recurring) moments when vision races ahead of execution. Consider the story of the young student – well, David Bayles, to be exact – who began piano studies with a Master. After a few months’ practice, David lamented to his teacher, “But I can hear the music so much better in my head than I can get out of my fingers.”

To which the Master replied, “What makes you think that ever changes?”

That’s why they’re called Masters. When he raised David’s discovery from an expression of self-doubt to a simple observation of reality, uncertainty became an asset. Lesson for the day: vision is always ahead of execution — and it should be. Vision, Uncertainty, and Knowledge of Materials are inevitabilities that all artists must acknowledge and learn from: vision is always ahead of execution, knowledge of materials is your contact with reality, and uncertainty is a virtue.

To quote Ira Glass about the 'gap' in taste and skill:  It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. 

So on to marching towards my 10,000 sketches...... 

Evening Shadows 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Ironing The Wrinkles Out

Ironing the Wrinkles Out watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

I have sketched a neighbourhood ironing lady before in 2013 and a young boy ironing in 2012.  This man had his 'shop' in a tiny little structure with a board to iron on and a shelf to stack up the finished items. There was a small tin box outside the shack where he was tending coals for the iron. All are enterprising people who fill a heavy iron with hot coals and iron out the wrinkles from shirts, pants, kids uniforms and ladies sarees to make a living. They pick up the laundered clothes from their customers and drop them off later crisply ironed, folded and ready to wear. Most of the vendors keep a rotating schedule of certain days and times during the week in a couple different neighborhoods. They have bare bones set up and work diligently. The young lady had proudly told me how careful she is to avoid any burn holes from hot coals in the clothes she is ironing.   

For many among us ironing is a dreaded chore but it is 'work' for these people. And to Pablo Naruda, it is poetry  :

In Praise of Ironing

by Pablo Neruda

translated by Alastair Reid

Poetry is pure white.

It emerges from water covered with drops,

is wrinkled, all in a heap.

It has to be spread out, the skin of this planet,

has to be ironed out, the sea's whiteness;

and the hands keep moving, moving,

the holy surfaces are smoothed out,

and that is how things are accomplished.

Every day, hands are creating the world,

fire is married to steel,

and canvas, linen, and cotton come back

from the skirmishings of the laundries,

and out of light a dove is born -

pure innocence returns out of the swirl.

Ironing the Wrinkles Out 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Daily Chores

Daily Chore  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

This is the story of many women all around the world - gathering water is a daily chore.  The technological advances are in the background but have not fully touched the daily life yet for these two girls. They are part of migrant worker families that lived by the street in illegally propped up tents. To get a candid shot I photographed this from a distance when I happened on the scene while out on my daily errands.  I liked how the streaming light and bright colors highlight the beauty in this mundane activity. I loved the movement of the fabric  billowing in the wind, the motorcycles zooming away as ladies carefully made their way across the street. 

I got curious as to how much water do we need to survive and how much water we actually use. Here are some facts I discovered in my search :

From www.waterinfo.org : Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water, yet 98 percent is salt water and not fit for consumption.

Less than one percent of all the water on Earth is freshwater available for human consumption.

The human body is more than 60 percent water. Blood is 92 percent water, the brain and muscles are 75 percent water, and bones are about 22 percent water.

A human can survive for a month or more without eating food, but only a week or so without drinking water.

From http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html : An average person in US uses about 80-100 gallons a day, largest use is for flushing the toilets!  On average a bath can use around 36 gallons while showers need 2-5 gallons/minute. So showers are better only if you take short ones!  Please check out the table in the link to see the water consumption for daily chores like brushing teeth, washing dishes, clothes, and watering lawns etc and tips for water conservation. 

http://wecalc.org/calc/#  This website WECalc, has a Water-Energy-Climate Calculator that you can check out to estimate your average consumption. 

Daily Chores 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Flying Jewel

White Throated Kingfisher watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Everyday at the same time this kingfisher perched conspicuously on a thick cable wire by my window. With a clear view of the road below and all the neighboring yards, it could look for its pray of small rodents, earthworms, large insects, snakes, fish and frogs, but I never saw it catch anything.  Mostly it looked like the bird stopped to rest for just a few minutes on its way from or to someplace else - probably to the huge Kukkare Halli Lake a few miles away. With its brilliant colors of teal, chestnut, and white body with a red beak it looks like a flying jewel! Here is a link for the Kingfisher calls if you want to listen how it sounds like :) I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the bird flying off so I could see how the teal wings looked like but never managed that :( 

This is one of the subjects I had to sketch more than once - as I was never satisfied with how the colors looked on the paper. The brilliant beautiful shimmering colors of the bird are a sight to behold.  

White Throated Kingfisher 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Showing Tricolor Pride

Showing Tricolor Pride watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Come festival or national holiday, the tiny Mom and Pop stores that line the narrow roads near the local market come to life with the colors of nick knacks and sundry items for the occasion.  On this particular day the tricolor flags and banners and streamers were flapping in the wind in this little store in anticipation of the Independence Day celebrations. The little girl was looking at the items for a long time - I am not sure if she bought anything in the end! Cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, tiny tricycles, rickshaws  doorways and storefronts are all decorated with flags or banners celebrating the day. Even though a holiday, this store was open for business for last minute shoppers !

Showing the Tricolor Pride 8x5.5" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Threads that Connect

Threads that Connect watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

I was attracted to the orange cloth glowing in the sunlight and all the shadow play I encountered at the top of the Chamundi Hill (Mysuru) near temple premises.  There were a few others who were also selling these threads(Mauli) but only one was in the traditional sacred orange clothing and working diligently organizing his threads of different colors. Each color sacred thread has significance of its own in Hinduism. They are usually tied to right wrist (usually for both genders) or left(certain occasions for women) to ward off evil eye or for prosperity and good health and for smooth completion or progression of any important ceremony.  The threads are used during pooja by the devotees, by bride and groom during wedding, and for "rakhi bandan' by sister on brother's wrist  as a talisman - for protection and well being. The threads tether us to other humans, to the sacred spirits; to the yearning for a universal connection. 

In my research I discovered that this custom is followed by others as well - around the globe, across cultures and religions: From wikipedia : Wearing a thin scarlet or crimson string (Hebrew: חוט השני) as a type of talisman is a Jewish folk custom as a way to ward off misfortune brought about by the "evil eye" (Hebrew: עין הרע). The tradition is popularly thought to be associated with Kabbalah and religious forms of Judaism.

More interesting information from Sean Doyle's article on Sacred Thread: 

"Throughout Indian history the exchange of a thin cotton, wool or silk thread tied kingdoms together and sealed political alliances.  In one recount of the Battle of the Hydaspes River, it is said that the King Porus refrained from striking Alexander the Great, because the Alexander’s wife had tied a scared thread to Porus’ hand, urging him not to hurt her husband.

A scarlet or red thread runs through many cultures.

The red string of fate or the thread of destiny appears in both Chinese and Japanese legends. According to myth, the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of those that are destined to meet each other or help each other in a certain way.  In one myth, two people connected by the red thread are destined to be lovers, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The cord may stretch or tangle across the years, but it will never break.

In traditional Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies, the tying on of holy cotton threads restores the natural order of things and brings people closer together. The red thread is specifically associated with bravery.

And this sacred tie is not limited to East Asia.

In Greek mythology, Theseus rescued himself out from the labyrinth of the Minotaur by following a red thread that was given to him by Ariadne.  Nikos Kazantzakis, in making myths modern again, points to the scarlet tread that runs through and connects all people, friends and strangers, regardless of culture.  It is our common humanity.

In Judaism, wearing a thin red string on the left wrist is an old custom thought to ward off misfortune brought about by the “evil eye”.  Rahab tied scarlet rope to two scouts so they could enter Jericho unseen.  Jabob’s wife Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, wrapped a red thread around her son’s wrist to protect him from evil.  Still today, we tie a long red string around her burial stone.  This sacred symbol recalls Rachel’s selflessness, reminding us to emulate her modest ways of consideration and compassion for others, while giving charity to the poor and needy.  More than a way to protect one from evil or harm, the crimson thread is an internal reflection that inspires good deeds and kindness."

Measuring and Selling 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Water Break

Water Break watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Selling fresh betel leaves directly to the customers at the street market, this lady seems to have a good business sense for displaying her goods and controlling her expenses. All she needed was a small blue stool to sit on and a big basket  of fresh leaves stacked in neat piles! Behind her were clay pots balanced carefully and the rickety table held small clay pots etc. The Betel leaves are important in Hindu religious ceremonies, a main ingredient in 'pan' for chewing pleasure, and also used for medicinal purposes. So the business is usually brisk for leaves and the pots as it’s much simpler to stop by a stand while commuting to work or running errands than to plan a special trip to the store.   

Water Break  5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal