Yoga Art Anantasana Reclining Posture

The word "ananta" in Sanskrit means Eternal. It also refers to the serpent bed of Vishnu, the Hindu god, lying on the ocean of eternity. In yoga, it is an asana for improving the mobility of the spine and hips and opening the groin. In this asana, the body reclines on the side, one leg extending up toward infinity. It is a relaxing pose but intense too. While the head is resting comfortably in the palm of the hand, the challenge is in stretching the other leg straight updwards while keeping the body in alignment.

I think, Lochanadevi is well-versed in doing this pose although, being an elephant she does need the help of a flower belt to keep her leg upright. Even in this pose, she looks like an Indian Queen, all bedecked in colorful jewelry!. This pose also is inviting to the Baby to curl up snugly against Mom. What do you think she is doing with the flower cord around her trunk--being mischievous or helping her mama?

The inspirations for my yoga art come from my long practice of yoga and, from raising a family with all the ups and downs that go with it. We know as parents, the joy of when our children want to be exactly like us, the puzzlement of when they absolutely do not want to be like us and the satisfaction of when they learn to find a balance.

I depict mother elephant and her calf instead of humans in my yoga art humans because elephants are matriarchal and very family oriented animals. Elephants are also the most beloved of Indian animals and they are also very agile and flexible and it was entirely possible to imagine the mother elephant doing all those yoga poses while the little one watched. Hathi means elephant in Hindi and hence the play on Hatha yoga as hatha (i) yoga.

The painting is done in Indian folk art style--the images are unidimensional but have great details. In the typical folk art style, the watercolor paper was first dyed into variegated brown shades using several natural dyes. The painting itself is done mostly with primary colors. There is also a border around the central image, also typical of this style of painting. I call the mother elephant Lochana because she has such big beautiful eyes.

The elephants are heavily decorated which is a commonly found in Indian paintings and in real life also.

Available in my Etsy shop and for more work on my yoga art series please visit my shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/DharmaKarmaArts?section_id=6511983

**Proceeds from the sale are donated to support physically handicapped children and adults. For more information, go to www.sukriti.org

Yoga Art: Warrior III

The inspirations for my yoga art come from my long practice of yoga and, from raising a family with all the ups and downs that go with it.

I named the mother elephant Lochanadevi because she has such beautiful eyes. Lochanadevi, like all modern mothers, is super busy juggling multiple roles on a daily basis. And, setting aside some personal time for yoga and meditation practice is a big challenge. Luckily for her, her young ones like to hang out with her.  The Warrior pose III or Veerabhdrasana gives both strength and balance that the mother elephant is metaphorically striving for.

I depict mother elephant and her calf instead of humans in my yoga art because elephants are matriarchal family oriented animals and, are also the most beloved of Indian animals. They are very agile and flexible. It is easy to imagine the mother elephant doing all those yoga poses while the little ones watched. I also call this yoga art Hatha(i) art. Hathi means elephant in Hindi and hence the play on Hatha yoga as Hatha(i) yoga.

The painting is done in Indian folk art style--the images are unidimensional but have great details. In the typical folk art style, the watercolor paper is first dyed using tea and coffee. The painting itself is done mostly in primary colors. In India, elephants in real life are decorated with silk, gold and silver ornaments during religious festivals, and in art too they are so depicted.

I prefer to do it this way because yoga inspires my art and my art is a source of vitality and 

All my yoga paintings are original, drawn and painted one at a time for the collector. 

energy for my yoga practice. 

For Lunch Today: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Sprinkles

THIS =

THIS +

THIS = DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY

Sari Wall Art: Summer Autumn Winter Spring

Energy. Warmth. Hope. Love. Happy. Morning. Midheaven. Sunset. Summer. Autumn. Tomorrow. Light.

These are the words that come to mind when I look at this artwork. It pulls me in and makes me want to stay in its warm glow forever. I think you will feel the same when you see it in person. The photos don't do full justice to the vibrancy of the colors.

Papers and handwoven sari silk pieces were painted, stamped, stitched, embellished to create this one of a kind mixed media art. The artwork is mounted on an 8" by 10" back stapled canvas. It can be hung as is without framing.

Available here on Etsy.

Thanks for visiting.

Four-in-one Micro Journal Tutorial

4-in-1 Micro Journal

Inside view

If you are like me, you probably have tons of bits and pieces of scrap papers left over from your other projects. The idea of converting them into four-in-one micro journals came one day when I was thumbing through Shereen LaPlantz's Cover to Cover. I tried different versions (see below): thick papers, color coordinated papers, stapling, stitching etc. The version I have chosen for the tutorial is quick and easy and can be completed in an hour. I call this four-in-one because there are four micro journals stacked together and bound into a folder folio cover.

Materials:

1. Five coordinating scrap papers of the following sizes for the covers
    12"x 6" (folder cover)
     8"x 4 1/2" (journal cover)
     7"x 4" (journal cover)
     5 1/2" x 3 1/4" (journal cover)
     4 1/2" x 2 3/4" (journal cover)

You can change the cover sizes but keep in mind that a standard stapler has a reach of only about 4".

2. 10-12 standard size  ( 8 1/2" by 11") printer paper
3. Velcro closures
4. Stapler
5. Glue stick
6. Pair of scissors

Materials

1. Take the largest scrap paper  (12"x6") and create a triple fold with the following measurements: left flap 4", center flap 4 1/2", right flap 3 1/2". This is the folio folder cover.

2. Fold the remaining cover papers in half on the wide side. These are the covers for the micro journals.

3. Now prepare the signatures. Since the journals are small, you can create multiple sheets out of a single paper by folding, cutting and trimming to fit the cover. See photos below.

When done you should have roughly twelve sheets (24 pages counting both sides) for each journal.

  
4. Now prepare each journal by matching the sheets and the journal cover and stapling them together. When done you will have four journals of four different sizes.

5. Now you need to stack the journals together and this is how you do it. Take the smallest journal and apply glue on the back cover and glue it to the top of the journal next in size and so on till all the four journals are stacked and glued together.

6. Take the journal stack and apply glue on the back of the largest journal and glue it to the center flap of the folio folder.

7. Attach velcro to the inside of the top flap and outside of the bottom flap and fold them close.

8. If you choose you may embellish the cover. Here I have added a charming bird picture from the Graphics Fairy.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you find the tutorial useful.

Note about copyright: You are welcome to create your journals using this tutorial for personal or commercial use. However, the ownership of the tutorial with all the contents and the images rests solely with the author of this post, which is me.