The Kitchen Is A Country

India Art Journal, July 10,11,12,13

Soon after I arrived my MIL gave me a tube of 'odomus' as a weapon against mosquitos, this being the monsoon season! But I have not had to use it at all.  Sadly, the monsoons are very late this year and reports of draught, spoiled crops fills the newspapers :(  

 

Since most of my time is spent in the kitchen, I think its no wonder rest of the sketches in this page are all about the most important room in the house :)  The kitchen in the house has the bare minimum essestials but fresh ingredients and vegetables from daily marketing means very tasty meals!  It has given me a new perspective of minimalism. As a quote from Grimod de la Reynière says so eloquently,  “The kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made. 

 

watercolors and Pilot G-2 Pen

Consuming Passions

India art Journal July 6,7,8,& 9  By Meera Rao 

"Food to a large extent is what holds a society together and eating is closely linked to deep spiritual experiences." Peter Farb and George Armelagos
'Consuming Passions: The Anthropology of Eating'

The first few days (and actually throughout the stay!) in India are always about eating and enjoying the delicasies. The food seems to taste different and of course better - especially when my family cooks special dishes for me :)

My Uncle and his family came to visit me soon after I left my parents' place and went to stay with my M-I-L.  Being very generous and extremely considerate, he came with catered food for all ! The food was even served traditional style- on banana leaves - again environmentally friendly with no dishes to wash! And let me tell you, everything tastes superb when served that way :) The next day I had to sketch the tiffin carriers and pails as they sat empty and shiny in the hallway waiting for the caterer. So much variety and leftovers that suffice it to say I did not have to cook for almost a week! The Jackfruit was also one of the many things he brought from his farm :)

Sketches in watercolor and Pilot G-2 pen

Blessing A Day

India Art Journal July3,4,5 By Meera Rao

One of the first things I always do when I get to India is to visit the Ganesha Temple right across from my parents' house and give my thanks for  having had a safe journey over seas and continents :)  At the temple there is always tasty 'prasada' that is distributed to the devotees. In most of the temples, leaf bowls are used to make it easier for all to either consume it right there or take it home while also being environmental fiendly- a practice that is actually very ancient.

Most all Hindu household yards have a little special 'pot' where 'tulasi' plant is grown. Tulasi is considered as sacred, used in religious services and worshipped every day. It also is proven to have potent medicinal qualities and used in traditional treatments.

The lady in the last skectch is decorating the temple entrance with rangoli - elaborate designs that are drawn free hand with rice powder. While chatting with her I found out that she does this almost every morning as a volunteer 'seva' to the Lord. I definitely did not do justice to her beautiful 'rangoli' design.

I would like to end with a quote by Mark Twain from an account of his trip to India:

"In religion, India is the only millionaire....the One land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined."

~Mark Twain.  

Daily Vignettes

India Art Journal June 30-July 2 by Meera Rao

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day,  for no matter how little it is, it will be well worthwhile, and it will do you a world of good."

~ Cennini

I am in India for next several months to take care of my M-I-L. I have decided to keep an art journal of sorts doing a vignette a day of my impressions/experience/observation etc during my time in India to force myself to set aside some painting/sketching time every day.

I have a Stathmore mixed media 5.5x8"  34 page 90 lb spiral bound visual journal. I am using Koi water color pocket field sketch box with a waterbrush, prismacolor fine line 8 marker set, pilot G-2 07 black pen and a #2 pencil for my sketching.  Dividing the paper into 4 sections and using a section a day (painting on one side only) has worked well for the past fifteen days. This way, if I keep up with my sketching I should have atleast one hundred little sketches  :)  I already feel a sense of freedom in my sketching. I am not going for perection, finished compositions, nor worry much about values.  The idea is to have a simple record of my time here, get some sketching practice and develop some discipline to sketch, draw and paint each day atleast for fifteen minutes! I hope to be able to do a few larger pieces too --please, wish me luck :)

The first page documents our dinner at the airport - vegetarian sushi, different documents used, an air line employee and finally our first happy purchase soon after reaching our destination - Fresh divine Mangoes :) I have to relearn the PC here and hope to post better photographs soon!

Surprising Beauty

Digital Photography by Meera Rao

Digitial Photography by Meera Rao

Everything is transformed in the loveliness of glorious sunrise!  

Awesome Light

Window Light watercolor 2.5x3.5" by Meera Rao

The buzz over 'Higgs boson' god particle in the past few days has been exciting. And to discover that in 1924, Satyendra Nath Bose from India sent a paper to Einstein which lead to Bose-Einstein statistics, Bose-Einstein condensate, Bose-Fermi mixtures and then to the much talked about 'god particle' was pretty amazing! I have been poring over stuff from all over the web trying to understand how physics and god particle came to be talked about in the same breath!

Turns out, the light that we artists so love to paint is also behind these amazing discoveries. It's awe inspiring to realize the mystery that is all around us!

Moment of Miracle

Light Dance watercolor 2.5x3.5" by Meera Rao

Painting miniatures is a challenge for me. I was attracted by the lines and curves of the bird, the perch the beautiful light and the shadows. It reminded me of Walt Witman's words : "Every moment of light and dark is a miracle "

Patterned View Point

Looking out from Library of Congress digital photography by Meera Rao

Textured Story

Reverie  mixed media 15x13" by Meera Rao

"Only this: if you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear peeled for the avant-garde coterie, that you are not being yourself. You don't even know yourself. For the first thing a writer should be is—excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health."  These words are by one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury from his :"Zen in the Art of Writing"   'Writer', I think, can be easily substituted by 'painter.'    

One way for me to be excited is by experimenting. I played with watercolors, gesso, stencils and collage and the resulting painting is Reverie - conjuring up the image of a serene lady I remembered from many years ago on a rainy day at the foot of a hill near what seemed like a thousand steps leading to a temple at the very top. She was making garlands for the devotees to buy and offer it as a prayer when they get to the temple but was really lost in her own world.  I added textures with gesso, stencils, and collaging torn bits of rangoli designs, tissue and handmade paper.  

As Ray Bradbury said in his essay, "And the stories began to burst, to explode from those memories, hidden in the nouns, lost in the lists." Not as eloquent as his stories, nonetheless, one all my own. 

Transcending Chaos

Transcending Chaos mixed media by Meera Rao 30x22"

"I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."

Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954)

Even though it looks like a perfect match for Kahlo's quote, I had started this painting almost 18 years ago at a workshop given by Doug Walton. The shapes and various elements were drawn to cues given. The steps also included 'spiritcard' shapes and underpainting. Unfortunately my choices somehow never jelled into a decent composition.  Over the years, I tried to unify and pull something out of the chaos that was on the paper. At one point I added a unifying background color. Most recently, it got a bit of gesso on it in places and some collage as I tried out what I had picked up in Myrna Wacknov's workshop. All I can say is that I learned a lot as I brainstormed and tried out various options.  

Here is a Doug Walton gem from my notes from that first workshop which perhaps sums up my efforts? : "Wrong is right and right is wrong. Allow your 'how' to show- not the 'what.'  Your wrongness is your difference; your difference is your significance. Be consistent. Be decisive even your wrongness. "