London Diary: British Museum

Ten-Armed Ravana (carved ivory image from Tanjore, India)

If one is able to move past the harsh realization that  most of the artifacts in the Asian and African sections of the British Museum are ill-gotten booties of British colonialism, it is easy to appreciate their beauty, artistry and the craftsmanship and see why the English coveted them so much. On a recent visit to the British Museum, I managed to capture some of them on camera. Here is a look.

Srilankan Ivory

Jade Book, China

Bronze Images, Tibet

Engraved Prayer Table, Tibet

Ornate work depicting Buddha's Life Story fron Tibet

Gold and gemstone work. Thailand

Thanks for visiting.

Elementary My Dear Watson (Holmes did not say it)

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were the first English language fiction I read that was purely fun. I discovered Sherlock Holmes in my first year of college. The principal of my college was an English professor and she, very wisely, decided that the English language reading for non-native speakers did not have to be confined to the novels of Charles Dickens. She stocked the English fiction shelves with the complete works of Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, P.G. Wodehouse, Conan Doyle and many more. It was like dipping into a bottom-less well. No matter how much water was drawn out, more was available to quench the thirst. And I was thirsty. I fell in love with the characters, especially Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to be a sleuth like Sherlock Holmes. It was my dream to go to London and meet him. I knew his address by heart. I wanted to dazzle him with my wit and intelligence exactly like Irene Adler in Scandal in Bohemia. Eventually, I grew out of my infatuation and moved on. (So, I thought.)

Last year I happened to catch an episode of Sherlock played by the dishy Benedict Cumberbatch. This post-modern Sherlock revived the long dormant love for  Doyle's hero and I ended up downloading the Complete Sherlock Holmes on my Kindle for 99 cents. Although many of the mysteries now seem quite far-fetched, they still fascinate.

Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes

So, on a recent visit to London, I made the trip  to 221 B Baker Street, where the fictional Holmes made his home. Baker Street of the old  no longer exists but the residence itself has been memorialized as a museum.As cars and buses whizzed by in the evening rush hour traffic, I bought  ice cream from Baskin Robbins and walked around the neighborhood snapping pictures of various landmarks. As I made my way back to my hotel at Paddington via the Bakerloo line, it felt like a perfect ending.

.

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Tangling with (Found) Stencil

This week's challenge at I am the Diva is tangling with a stencil. I really don't have any commercial stencil. So I "found" one. What I used as the stencil was the hollowed space left on a paper after a tag has been punched out. Recently, I have been creating tags from old manila folders. Once the tags have been punched out, the hollows resembled like the windows of medieval castles. So, I kept a few of them hoping for a creative use for them. Diva's challenge #126 gave the perfect opportunity!

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Travel Journals!

Travelling has been on my mind lately as I will be travelling abroad for more than 3 weeks, starting this Friday, first to the U.K and then to India.  As I was putting together a travel journal for myself, I made a few for my shop too. These are more like kits. Each travel kit has two mini jotters, one matchbook jotter, an envelope and postcard from David Sibley's backyard birds collection. All these goodies are packed in a folder made with an old atlas map page. I made five of them and all of them are available here. I really love how these have turned out!

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DIY: Repurposed Tin into Handmade Clock

I am a big tea drinker. I make my tea the Indian way, which is to brew loose tea in boiling water and adding milk and sugar to the filtered brew. Occasionally, the tea comes packaged in a nice tin canister. After the tea is all used up, I keep the empty containers hoping to reuse them. Here, I have re-purposed one into a desktop clock as well as a storage container. It is quite easy to do. I got the clock unit from a local craft store. I drilled a hole into the box and attached the watch unit. I wanted to keep the logo and the product information. But, one can alter it with alcohol ink which might be quite lovely. I might try it on the next one.
It will also make a nice gift for a tea lover.

You will need:

1. An empty tin canister, at least 6" tall (you can pick one from a flea market)
2. A clock unit (available in any craft store)
3. Alcohol inks (optional)
4. Electric drill and bits

Instructions

1. Choose a proper bit to drill a hole big enough for the clock unit to insert. Drill the hole from outside of the tin. Drill only on side.
2. Insert the base unit from the inside through the drilled hole. Before inserting the base, fit it in with the battery.
3. Assemble the clock face and the hands.

You are done!. If you choose, you can alter the tin with alcohol inks and make it pretty.

Here is another of my DIY wall clock.

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Azores: A Virual Paintout

We visit the Azores archipelago for plein air painting at the Virtual Paintout. For some reason, whenever an European location is chosen, I tend to gravitate towards church buildings as the subject of my painting. I have already done a few for other challenges. Azores is a pretty place with lots of interesting sites to choose from. I chose this little church at a place called Altares in Azores.

Thanks for visiting.

Illustrated Recipe with Yoga Art

I created this illustration of my original recipe for They Draw and Cook a few months ago.(You will find the full step-by-step instructions with photos here  I finally got around to creating a print version for sale in my Etsy shop. This is the first time I have done an illustrated recipe and combining my signature yoga art with vegetarian cooking and it is an exciting new path. I hope to do more.

Thanks for visiting.

(Republished as a new post as part of Seth Apter's 2013 Treasure Time)