Enshrined: Women of Power

I am reposting this post for Seth Apter's Buried Treasure 2011. Enjoy.

In a place where sex-selective abortions are a fact of life across all segments of society, the latest general elections in India has produced four female chief ministers governing over a combined population of 400 million people. As if that is not enough, an Italian-born woman is the head of the historic party that led India's independence movement, the President of India ( non-elective position) is a woman and so is the speaker of the Indian parliament. Middle aged or older, widowed, single, never married or "married" to a woman, these top-dog politicians are not hot babes. (They will never make it to the style section of the Huffington Post.) Their ascension to top positions has less to do with gender politics than with the caste politics. Skilled politicians all of them, they can play dirty as well as any of their male counterparts. Yet, their popular nicknames ground them in the typical Indian family structure: one is called "bahu" (daughter-in-law), another is known as "amma" (mother), a couple of them are referred as "didi", "behenji" (sister), yet another is known as "auntieji" (aunt).

The mixed media art above is a tribute to these women as well as to the system that produced these remarkable politicians. Mimicking the grimy, tacky and the garish nature of Indian politics, the background is a wall graffitied with election slogans. Acknowledging the fact that Indians can create a sacred space anywhere, the shrine is a hole in the wall decorated with plastic and paper flower garlands. The image is and could be of any woman seeking political power and the thin screen covering the shrine can be pulled back anytime by her to step up to the podium.

If you are interested in knowing more about these female politicians, here is a link to an excellent article by the Globe Mail of Canada

The fun part is  of doing this piece is that every material used in this art came from the members of the Etsy melange swap (canvas and paints excepted), consisting of images, embellishments, vintage papers, die cuts and scrabble tiles from Artsnark, Whyte, Elenamary, Midwestielady, JBguess, LDphotography. Thanks ladies!

Handmade Journal

I absolutely loved making this journal. The covers were made from Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper dyed into a warm and rich brown using a concentrated solution of tea decoction. A little bit of contrast was created using gesso. The end papers on the inside were from a 1950s history book.  I bound the journal using whip stitch. Apiece of handmade paper made out of plant materials was used as the backing for this image from the Graphics Fairy.  The overall effect is one of warm earthiness.

Thanks for visiting.

Peacock Plumes Aglow

Commencing the Peacock Dance

Flamingo Garden, Ft. Lauderdale

Art and Freedom: Melange July Challenge

A quote from Albert Camus, "Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself and dies of all others" is used to create this mixed media piece which is a response to Etsy Melange's July Challenge appropriately themed Freedom. The background was created using stamps, acrylic inks and glazing. The quote was handwritten by me and as a final touch I added a Forever sticker from the USPS.  If you look carefully, there is a lot of red, white and blue here but the sentiment expressed in the quote is universal.

Thanks for visiting.

Tag Art: Colors of Summer

Lately I have been working to improve my skills at making tag art. To make the tags above, I used left over printed paper (with Buddhist text in Chinese) from another project. I painted over the paper with lovely Dr. Ph. Martin India inks. On one of the tags, I drew the design using white gel pen (love them!). On the other, I colllaged a tree and a bird using hand made lokta papers. Finished off both with a layer of transparency and chip board letters. I like the way they have turned out.

Etsy Melange June Challenge: Grow

This matchbox collage is created as a response to Etsy Melange June Challenge. To complete this piece I used several of the materials I received from the Melange swap. To know about the swap read here and here.

Thanks for visiting.

Carving a Stamp: Auspicious

What do you do when it is chilly and raining outside and you are cooped up inside? Try a new skill perhaps? That was what I did yesterday. I tried my hand at rubber stamp carving.   This being my first attempt  I wanted to create a stamp with the OM symbol (which I do not find in the craft stores). A few days ago I had purchased a Speed ball lino cutter and a carving block. I watched two videos online (both were only slightly helpful for what I wanted to do).  After three attempts I got something that was moderately satisfactory. It might have been easier if I had started with a large image like a leaf instead of a symbol in high relief. But then, it would not have been an "auspicious" way to learn something new. Next project: a stamp with Om in Tamil script.