Do Something Everyday: Homemade Plantain Chips

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Do-Something-Everyday: Santa Fe Folk Art Museum

Do-Something-Everyday: Day 3

Santa Fe International Folk Art Museum rightly boasts of the largest collection of folk art in the world. The museum is not huge but every inch of the museum space, from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor, back to back are covered with exhibits. The museum encourages photography but some of the exhibits are so huge and detailed that you have to take multiple photos from different directions to get the full picture. After a while, I was beginning to feel faint. I did manage to do some justice to the collection. Not all of them came out well but overall they provide good record of what was in there.

Folk art here are mostly collection of village scenes, some of them humongous, from countries around the world. The one above is a cockfight from Mexico. There are all kinds of charming details, like the donkey and its owner witnessing the cockfight from the back.

Below are a sample from India, Peru, Japan, a baptismal scene from Italy, bullfight from Spain, mariachi band from Mexico.

 

Do-Something-Everyday: Peacock Pyrography Watercolor Art

Do-Something-Everyday: Day 2 of 365

For day 2 of my DSE project, I am posting another of my pyrographic watercolor art with my favorite bird, the peacock. Peacock is the national bird of India and it pops up a lot in many of the art and crafts I do. Below are the process shots:

To see other posts on the Do-Something-Everyday challenge, click on the Do Something Everyday tab at the top of the page.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting.

Do-Something-Everyday: Pyrography Watercolor Art

Day 1 of 365

This is the first day of Do Something Everyday 365 challenge. The idea is to post something everyday on the blog. Post something means anything new I did that day, whether art, craft, photography, cooking, anything.

Birds Galore!

I had this wallpaper swatch printed from Spoonflower using my own painting of red finch, a bird commonly found in India. 

I had no need for a wallpaper but I used it to cover the switch plates in the kitchen. My kitchen walls are off-white. So, these red birds offer a touch of whimsy that is pleasing.

Speaking of birds. With the advent of early spring, my backyard has been abuzz with activity, which I was able to capture rather happily with the new 300mm lens for my Nikon D7000. Take a look.

It started with this white breasted nuthatch scampering on this tree trunk. It snowed on that day.

This robin looked rather colorful against the snow.

It started with these two Canadian geese floating by serenely one mid-afternoon on the Hackensack river.

Then it turned into this catfight!

Some ferocious action in my backyard too. This pileated woodpecker looked like he was going to chop my tree down. I have to throw stones at him to drive him away.

Big birds are magnificent but it is the small birds that make me happy to see them. 

Here is dark-eyed junco. The light was good enough to capture its bright black eyes.

And its cousin, the common sparrow.

Female and male cardinals.

Finally, this tufted titmouse on a bare pear branch.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Many thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting.

Thanks for visiting. Happy Spring!

Painted Journals

This week was spent replenishing my Etsy shop with new hand-painted canvas journals. I had a great time making them not only because of the art but also because I had finally found a way to make the covers removeable and reuseable with other journals. The art on the canvases was created using some of my favorite techniques (spray and splash paint for the background), motifs (hamsa, lotus, mandala, Sanskrit texts etc.) and colors.

Thanks for stopping by. Linked to Paint Party Friday. Many thanks to Kristen and Eva for hosting.