Ideal Husband

As children of the 70's and 80's growing up in India, my husband and I fondly reminisce over instructional school charts that expound good and bad habits such as "Do not talk while sharpening your pencils", "No playing with electricity", "Do not throw garbage on strangers" and my personal favorite "Do not fall off the balcony while flying a kite"! On the occasion of my husband's birthday, inspired by these charming portraits of our past, I set out to recreate a poster that would take us down memory lane. Below are the results. Enjoy!(Images are subject to copyright)

Days 6 -25 Days of Christmas trees

MERRY CHRISTMAS all!

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark." Charles Spurgeon This last week my husband and I saw Christmas trees everywhere! From the fog-filled bathroom mirror to morning coffee spills and in the potato and onion peels as we fixed dinner. We crossed the mid-way mark of our self challenge this week which was definitely a highlight.  There were days when we were super tired or relatively uninspired but part of why it's called a challenge is to plod on especially on days like that, right? In this short time, I've learned that it's not always about doing something phenomenal. Sometimes its just about persevering and to keep on keeping on.

Day 2. A Wordy Xmas!

A game of scrabble last night ended in our second Christmas tree. We really are seeing festivity everywhere!:)

25 Days of Christmas!

My husband and I have embarked on a mini project together of creating a new Christmas tree every day for the next 25 days with objects found around our home. We began our journey this evening with a tree made from Pantone postcards. Excited to see what the next 24 days bring!:)

Festive Freebies!

It's here! and one can definitely feel it in the air and in the first flakes of snow earlier today and glitter everywhere. To celebrate the holiday spirit, here are some freebies! Below are holiday cards I designed by just using different decorative fonts on Photoshop. It was a lot of fun to create this and I hope you guys will be able to put them to use. The images attached are in high-resolution and all you have to do is right-click to save and print. Enjoy!:)

Of Album Covers & dog doodles

Shakespeare famously said "If music be the food of love, play on." Recently I had the fun opportunity to design an album cover for a popular Chinese artist (also the proud owner of a rather dignified french bulldog) which will release in a few months time. She requested that the cover speak of nature and the melancholic and yet whimsical essence of her art.

Below is a tiny glimpse into some of the selected artworks and the process.  Enjoy.

Kaleidoscope

The series below are tessellations that play with basic optical grids and were created as I was reminiscing about my childhood obsession with Kaleidoscopes. There is something so absolutely riveting about the transient nature of the bursts of color and the fleeting forms encased within the hollow of a kaleidoscope akin to life itself!:)

Conversing with clouds.

As a student in Sweden, one brand that really left an indelible impact on me was the Finnish brand Marimekko which stood out in startling happy hues against the severe winter backdrop. The mural detailed below with pictures of the process has been created by re-purposing a Marimekko newsletter filled with their characteristic vibrant patterns & palette. These repositionable cut-out patterns have been commissioned by a client to be hung above a baby's crib. I can't wait to see what they look like in their final home!

Color & contrast mural mosaic.

As I begin a new project with a rather vague idea and a plan to go with the flow, I'm reminded of this quote by Nancy Willard "“I dont have a clue how my story will end, but that’s all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, that’s when you discover the stars.” Stay tuned to see how this story unfolds.

Weekend crafts.

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood.”-Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker

Below are images of art n craft projects created over this sunny weekend with my favorite 5-year-old!:) Some old magazines, a little glue and a whole lotta love = hours of color-filled play. After all, Life is about using the whole box of crayons.

The perpetual garden.

Lately, my husband and I have been obsessed with iconic mid-century furniture and embrace every excuse to go window-shopping for the same. Eero Saarinen's womb chair has been my inspiration to explore a backdrop of wall murals. The perfect chair to simply curl up in with a good book and over-sized plants that never need watering providing for a happy shade cover.

Project Print Finale

Fabric swatches printed on linen-cotton canvas that I just received from Spoonflower which can be seen on http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1900736  True to their reputation, spoonflower delivered in quality and speed and the print is now available as wallpaper, fabrics or wall decals.

Of historic blizzards and hibernation...

An excerpt from

A Snow Burial by Florence Peacock.

"Dream not of spring-tide's blossoms, They perished long ago, And all dead summer's roses Are past; the autumn's glow Has faded from the woodland; The world is white with snow."

Apartment Therapy!

Many thanks to Apartment Therapy for featuring my work on their popular blog. Click here to visit the link. Nothing quite compares to an unexpected happy surprise!:)

Snail Mail!

"What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp." Author Unknown Do you remember the last time you received a handwritten mail delivered by the Postman? Paper that someone had taken the time to choose, the texture of blotted ink and the smell of something special. Thanks to Ziggy shortcrust's marvelous blog, I do! In this age of instant gratification, it is indeed a great joy to receive an envelope of happiness (which arrived earlier today:)) that I would love to share with you.

This link details a wonderful journey of attempting to revive the lost art of letter writing (as well as quirky n beautiful elf doodles:) Thank you Ziggy! Keep up the admirable endeavor.:)

The human body.

"The body is a sacred garment- Martha Graham" Today's post is a series of tactile swatches I created several years ago. As a student of textile design in India, it struck me that most of our traditional patterns and prints revolve around floral motifs, paisleys and the occasional geometric surface. This was an attempt to look beyond the obvious.

Inspiration lies within all of us. The Human Body is a rich source of inspiration full of life, energy and love. The following patterns have been derived from red blood corpuscles as well as the thoracic ribs and neural networks.Inspired from the Red Blood Corpuscles and articulated through an Indian craft technique known as “Tritik” or “Stitch Resist.”Patterns inspired by the Thoracic or Rib Cage derived from “Batik” or “Wax Resist.”Block Print yardage created from nerve endings and neurons.

Dangers of the deep.

Some months back, I had designed these collections for a Threadless online competition (threadless.com) titled "Dangers of the Deep." I worked on the idea that the real danger of the deep is humans and all the garbage we mindlessly throw into our deep and beautiful oceans. Textures were created through handmade rubber cut stamps. The sublime deep-sea creatures swim the dangerous oceans, eating anything and everything in their path including the sea waste we create. If you are what you eat, what then is a whale?

Cubee Craft!

Made some paper cubee friends for my husband's workspace this holiday. Here's hoping they make for some fun company. How many of these popular tv characters can you recognize?

Winter Cheer!

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."- Albert Camus

Ganjifa Playing cards!

I'm pretty excited to share this project with you guys! A collaborative effort with a group of dear old friends, I created the back illustration inspired by Mughal marble inlay as seen in the Taj Mahal- Arguably, India's most iconic monument. The wonderfully festive packaging effort as well as the pictures are courtesy the company Original Copy. The idea for these circular playing cards was sparked by the craft of ‘GANJIFA’ or traditional playing cards introduced to India by the Mughals.

Please check them out at the newly launched store https://www.facebook.com/originalcopybytd