Ants in seeds

Ants made using seeds. This was made totally from memory...As a kid I remembered eating ants which was in the sugar..my sister told me that I supposedly taught her to eat it too :P
This was made for People Tree... and there are many many insects on their way.
I will post pics as soon as production is on it's way!!!
What fun!!!!!

Mermaid from West Bengal

The head is made of hand painted terracotta. She made her way to us all the way from Kolkata, West Bengal. Since she is from the land of fishes...the mermaid seemed the best form for her to take. We have more heads..more characters will be coming to life soon. She is part of a limited handmade doll collectible range for people tree. She is 14" tall with the headgear. I somehow feel she is still incomplete..dont know why! I might be making her a nice stand so that she can stand and also a background ambience for her to blend in. Packaging and story also...lets see how it goes!

Chhau mask from India

This is my interpretation of Chhau masks. This a beautiful folk dance form from Eastern Part of India. (West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand). They tell stories of wars between Durga and other Gods. It is an intensely acrobatic, atlethic and dynamic dance form. Folk dances, masks and costumes have always fascinated me. I feel proud to come from a country of such rich heritage, stories and culture.

The mask is hand painted and everthing else is made of fabric.

The last two images are of me and my sister goofing around.

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More alien women

As usual I love to make women...both have been made years apart. Strangely enough I have nothing to write about them...Will write soon....

Dracula inspired Headgear

People see a blue face these days and assume you were inspired by Avatar...truth is I love making blue faces and have been doing it years before the film released!!
Now that, that is off my chest :P (very subtle)
I want to make a headgear like that. I was actually inspired by Bram Stroker's Dracula hair shape in the film.

 I love this film and Eiko Ishioka..who did awesome costumes for tons of films...I think I'm in love with her too!!!

Wish my hair would grow out like that

Women always long for good quality lustrous hair....I wish my hair would grow out like this...
Each person should have personality suiting plants and colours.
If one could extend one's personality into one's hair like this...what fun it would be!!!
(of course I'm not even thinking about it practically)
Special hair fertilizers and colour enhancing products, people would figure out ways to create artificial or personalised plants also.....hahahaaa....seems someone mixed something in my coffee today morning!!!! Morning Maddness!!!!

Feeshies on Papier Mache

Papier Mache bowls hand painted using drawing inks and coated with diluted fevicol.
I love goldfishes and have used these fishes in a screen print that I have made.
I wanted to give the bowl a graphic..slightly Japonaise look on the top and the base I wanted to make it look like glaze....
Was fun to make!!! 

There's something about lines

These have been done many years apart from each other....I have some sort of mind block as to what to post today...maybe some coffee will help my brain start functioning today....

My Workspace

Where I let my mind, heart and soul free.....

Hand painted T-shirt

In Tibetan Buddhism, The Chitipati or the Lord of the Cemetery are a symbol of eternal dance of death and perfect awareness. They are invoked as wrathful deities. They are protectors and appear as fierce beings with a demonic appearance.

This is an extension of my love for Skulls and Tibetan Buddhism. This was on a T-shirt for People Tree..I have used diluted acrylic paints.

I am slowly leaning to detach from my work...this sold to someone.
Like the paintings that I leave behind in rented houses I have lived in..My work and love for things that I sell..finally is taken and worn by people who love the subject too..so I feel a part of me belongs to them. At least someone else other than me will enjoy it too!

The Powerful Dark Goddess

I am from Kalimpong and that falls in West Bengal...also having lived in Calcutta...have been conditioned to seeing Kali all around. (from temples to posters, to pandals)

Kālikā in Sanskrit, is the Hindu Goddess associated with empowerment. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death. Kali means "the black one".

Since Shiva is called Kāla—the eternal time—Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). Hence, Kāli is considered the goddess of time and change. She is presented as dark and violent, and her earliest incarnation is a figure of annihilation.

What also fascinates me are strong women characters, this Goddess is also dark...so all things packed together made a subject that needed to be created in fabric...

This sample has been booked by Orijit Sen (http://peopletreeonline.com/50/sc-orjit.htm) as I was making it...so I am super happy!!!
Cant wait to start on the next one!!!!

Kathakali dancer Mask

My fascination for masks is never ending....here is my inperpretation of the Kathakali Face.
I usually like to make my own sample..then get it reproduced for production. I can spend hours and days just sewing and cutting away. The first image is he original and the others have been made by a beautiful and talented woman called Prema. Will put pics of her soon.
Its amazing how another person creates different characters out of the same sample reference...the expressions are just sooooo fun!

"Somersault"

Did not know what to write..so here are the lyrics of a song of Zero 7 I really like a lot

"Somersault"

You're the prince to my ballerina
You feed other people's parking meters
You encourage the eating of ice cream
You would somersault in sand with me

You talk to loners, you ask how's your week
You give love to all and give love to me
You're obsessed with hiding the sticks and stones
When I fear the unknown
You feel like home, you feel like home

You put my feet back on the ground
Did you know you brought me around
You were sweet and you were sound
You saved me

You're the warmth in my summer breeze
You're the ivory to my ebony keys
You would share your last jelly bean
You would somersault in sand with me

You put my feet back on the ground
Did you know you brought me around
You were sweet and you were sound
You saved me

You put my feet back on the ground
Did you know you brought me around
You were sweet and you were sound
See I had shrunk yet still you wore me around
And 'round and 'round

Women of the night

Women of the night...dont know why I wrote that! I guess it's just a feeling that I get when I see these sketches.

I noticed very few of the women I make actually smile.

Lamp Explorations

General timepass lamp explorations....I think I will upload a better picture of the fish lamp..the picture does not do justice to the 3d texturing on it.

3D Tree that grows above the door

This tree was made in collaboration with a craftsperson called Sushant for People Tree store in Hauz Khas Village. I dont have very good pics of this...but you get the idea....
Wire branches and fabric and felt mouldable leaves..

Dollies

Not really into very girly sketches..but I happen to have these from a couple of years ago. I do make dolls sometimes...It's a fascination I have.. For people who love dolls these two websites are really awesome.. http://dubuhdudesigns.typepad.com/
and http://www.enchanteddoll.com/