Art with India Ink

Three years ago, I bought a whole set of Dr. Martin's India ink from Blick Art. I loved the vibrant colors but could not quite figure out how to use them in art. While some colors degraded eventually, many were still stable waiting to inspire me.

Recently, while doing a special project and looking for fresh ideas, I  decided to give these inks another try. It ended up being a delightful experiment with surprising discoveries. What I discovered was the India ink is permanent and not very blendable with other colors. But used individually, they produce very vibrant and intense effects. Below are a sample of my experiments.

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Lunch Box

A couple of months ago I saw this lovely unbollywood Indian movie called 'Lunchbox'. In the movie lunchbox is used as a plot device to explore themes of love and longing and is set in present day Mumbai. South Indians call it "Tiffin Carrier" and the movie evoked nostalgic memories of my mother packing more than one tiffin carrier with food for our long trains trips from Delhi to Chennai. Back then, we rarely ate food made outside of home and on long journeys, except for coffee, all the food was made at home and carried in these big tiffin boxes. Food spoilage was minimized by only making those foods that could withstand two days of train travel. 

In those days, Every South Indian household had such a tiffin carrier and my mother gave me one when I got married. I brought it all the way to the US and even used it the first few years when we took long road trips. After awhile I stopped using the tall one but ended up with several smaller ones, that I now use to take lunch to work. Somehow, I never took to using plastic containers. 

Here is my collection. I am kind of proud of it.

If you look closely you will find my initials inscribed on the side

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