Embroidery on Canvas Mixed Media Sari Art

Do-Something-Everyday, June 16, 2016

This mixed media art is constructed on a 8" by 10" canvas. At the center is a hand drawn and painted peacock (as you may have guessed, it is one of my favorite birds, in addition to being India's national bird). Around the bird I doodled a dense pattern that adds a great deal of texture. More texture has been given with hand embroidered stitches around the bird which has been embellished with sequins (photo below).

I must confess, it started out differently (see photos below). My original intent was to create this piece on paper (with fabric border) and then mount it on canvas. Half way through, I became dissatisfied with the paper which was too thick and hard to embroider on. So, I ditched the whole thing and started over again this time directly on canvas. I skipped the fabric and instead added doodle on four sides framing the image.

 Thanks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday and Moo Mania.

P.S. Forgot to mention that it is now available for purchase at my Etsy shop.

Wrong Season: Grand Canyon in Winter

Do-Something-Everyday, June 14, 2016

Here in the northern hemisphere it is summer and it is decidedly wacky to post wintry photos for the ABC Wednesday challenge where this week's letter is W. However, if we step out of the north-centric worldview, it is winter in southern hemisphere. These are photos I took of the Grand Canyon when I visited it one December with my friend from Phoenix. It was pretty snowy on the elevations and without doubt beautiful. This is the first time I am posting these photos.

Thanks for visiting.

Memorial

Do-Something-Everyday, June 13, 2016

Photos taken at Memorial to Japanese-American service in World War II and those held in Japanese American internment camps, Washington D.C. Sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words.

 Linked to Wordless Wednesday at Image-in-ing.

Creating Textures

For artists there are infinite number of tools and mediums available to create textures and to achieve the effect they want.  Here is a bird creating textures using the only tool in its possession on the only substrate available to him.

Thanks for visiting. Linked to Our Beautiful World.

Zen Art: Paper Cut Maps

Do-Something-Everyday, June 10, 2016

I am reposting this post from a while ago.

I spent this weekend working on my paper cutting skills. One does not normally associate cutting and knife with meditation. Yet, as one spends hours and hours cutting away thin slice after thin slice of paper, one enters the same state of mindfulness and stillness that a deep meditation produces. The effect of creating the lacy concoction above was just about the same as that of thirty minutes of meditation--freeing and relaxing.

For this project, I got a nice vintage map of Rome from the Graphics Fairy. The map was in color and came with a legend. I wanted to keep both, so I did the cut on the right side. If you look carefully, you will see the Coliseum on the bottom right and St. Peter's Basilica on the top left. I used an Exacto knife with a small blade to make the tiny cuts. To add a personal touch, I added the little message at the top.

Thanks for visiting. Linked to Art-Journal-Journey

Cut Paper Art: Cilantro

Do-Something-Everyday, June 9, 2016

 I picked up a bunch of fresh green coriander (also known as cilantro) while shopping for groceries. Coriander is heavily used in Indian cooking in pestos, sauces, dips and, as a garnish. Their fresh smell inspired me to make this paper cut.

The evergreen magnolias (magnolia grandiflora) have started blooming. This one was really huge. Each petal was about 4" wide. The petals are creamy white but in some light they look pale white. They don't make good cut flowers. Better to enjoy them them on the tree. The petals are so gorgeous that I am thinking of making a paper version of them. I think they will come out well with crepe paper. Will see.

Thanks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eve and Kristin for hosting.

V is For Vegetables

Raw Bananas

Do-Something-Everyday, June 8, 2016

It is letter V for this week on ABC Wednesday. I am choosing 'vegetables' as the word for letter V.
The photos below are of street vendors selling produce during the Pongal season in Tamilnadu. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated during the second week of January. The feast for the festival is built around vegetables, fruits, legumes, beans and rice.

Turmeric Roots

Thanks for visiting.