Unveil the Other Side

 Nestled in the heart of New South Wales, the art museum stands as a testament to the power of creativity and culture. My recent visit to this iconic institution was a journey through time and imagination, offering an experience that was both enriching and inspiring. As I walked through the grand entrance, the first thing that struck me was the architectural brilliance of the building itself. The blend of classic and modern design elements created a welcoming yet awe-inspiring atmosphere. The high ceilings and spacious galleries provided the perfect backdrop for the stunning array of artworks on display. The museum's collection is a harmonious blend of the old and the new, featuring everything from classical masterpieces to contemporary creations. Each gallery had its own unique charm, drawing me into different eras and artistic movements. The delicate brushstrokes of the Renaissance paintings contrasted beautifully with the bold and provocative modern pieces, creating a dynamic an...

From childhood I have an inclination towards creative activities or a piece of artistic work that can be regarded as a medium of artistic expression. In short, I have a liking to art, whatever form it may be. Here are some of my artistic ventures or atleast the ones I have captured. 1)Diya Art from the past. The year 2008, we decided to give a kind of makeover to the age old DeepavaLi diyas. With not having gone to any school of fine-arts I try putting up a design that just spurt out of my head. My sis and my cousin took the thick brush and painted the diyas in colors of blue and yellow. Once the paint dried I made those delicate curvy strokes using a thin brush. The end product is what you see in the picture below. We use them as decorative pieces in the yearly flower rangoli hosted for DeepavaLi. Take a look at some of our designs.:) Glad to have the collection intact. 2) Glass Painting: Most of you who have been a regular on my blog definitely have an idea as to w...

Budai in folklore is admired for his happiness, plenitude, and wisdom of contentment. One belief popular in folklore maintains that rubbing his belly brings wealth, good luck, and prosperity. Budai is traditionally depicted as a fat bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but content. He is often depicted entertaining or being followed by adoring children. His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment.His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the Laughing Buddha. Here is my version of Budai:

Kasnau, Rajasthan Late November evening, a lively couple ,Keya and Ratan, in the remote village of Kasnau were celebrating the joy of the new arrival in the family. Friends,family and well wishers from the entire village had gathered around their old rustic home aiding moral support and to be a part of celebrations. As Ratan held his daughter for the first time, he exclaimed " This encounter is magical ". Ratan was beyond himself with happiness as congratulations poured in from every corner of the village. The baby was no doubt an angel with lovely inquisitive little eyes. Keya was not able to pull off her eyes from those cute chubby pink cheeks, tiny little fingers , soft and tender skin. The happy couple, Keya and Ratan named their bundle of joy - Pari. Pari was perpetually sweet and obedient, even to those who abused her of being unlucky and a bad omen. Yes you read it right. Soon after Pari was born, in about a month's time, Ratan's paddy fields had been infected,...

Vakratunda mahakaya surya koti samaprabha| Nirvignyam kurume deva. Sarva karyeshu sarvada|| Gajaanana he shubhanana , parvati puthra Gajaanana... I was brought up hearing these wonderful Ganesha stotras(prayers). The inspiration to do anything in life comes from him and I talk to him literally in times of loneliness. Sometimes I have got a weirdo look from people when they see me talking to myself(actually my innerself - that's where Ganesha resides according to me).. Too much a philosophy in this space makes the write up very boring I guess. So before it gets there let me post the Mahaganapathi painting .

3 beautiful ladies - A concept that I chose to start my glass painting hobby. In a day where beauty is given such high an importance the thought of throwing this idea on the glass was my aim. "Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." ~ Ashley Smith I craved for happiness and here is what I saw after an hour of splashing colors. This is the one I'd cherish for my lifetime. Happy Deepavali friends. Be safe!

A story goes like this: There was a village with a happy family. The father and mother had two little pearls thats the two lovely daughters. The surroundings in green and a river nearby was the perfect place for the two sisters to spend a lovely evening. The below picture describes the storyline I just narrated. Hope you like it. The painting left out to dry: After the framing it looked like this. During dasara this year I was inspired by Maa Durga and this is the outcome of the inspiration. Jai Maatadi!

How about some bright colors to bring a smile on your face. Flowers act as a catalyst for those gentle smiles. Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made. People say Earth laughs in flowers and I feel that is the absolute truth. As I started with this painting happiness was the only feeling in my heart. Presenting a vase filled with bright colored flowers. How about a closer look at the picture: "Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. ~Gerard de Nerval"

Underwater activities has always amused me. I consider myself lucky for the fact that I got a chance to snorkel in Hawaii (in 2009)and see the world that lives under water. The experience was so beautiful that I am running short of words to explain it here. The best I could think of for a start of this glass painting as an activity was a simple plain under sea look or even better I'd say an aquarium look. A few fishes and weeds made the start. It was more a childish art, but this was created to check the flow of the paint and to check the colors. This was how it looked once finished. First I thought of not framing it but then when I saw the final framed picture I was happy with my choice to go get it framed with the rest of them. For the next one in the series .. Visit again.

Glass painting has become a popular feature and is catching up as a hobby due to its awesome results and easy availability of glass painting equipment. I used solvent based glass paint for my work. First in the series of "Unveil my creation" is Krishna Ganapathi - The lord Ganesh who inspires me in doing anything and everything in life along with Krishna the eternal Guru - I thought this blend would the best idea to work on. Though first in the posting it was the third one I painted. As the belief goes lets start new stuff with the blessing of the Lord. Here is how it looked after I painted and left it for drying. After the framing, it goes on the wall and here is how he looks. I loved the final outcome. For the next in the series check this space tomorrow.

G l a s s P a i n t i n g ! I am obsessed with a new art work of-late and that's of course kept me pretty much occupied over the last couple weeks . I dont repent about it as I know my precious time was spent in something really useful. Before I proceed further I'd like to share with you some research I made to find out the origin of the Art of Glass painting. "The origins of the first stained glass windows are lost in history. The technique probably came from jewelry making, cloisonné and mosaics. Stained glass windows as we know them, seemed to arise when substantial church building began. Before recorded history, man learned to make glass and color it by adding metallic salts and oxides. These minerals within the glass capture specific portions from the spectrum of white light allowing the human eye to see various colors. Gothic stained glass windows are a complex mosaic of bits of colored glass joined with lead into an intricate pattern illustrating biblical stories a...

I will not bore you all with the facts about this festival cause there is plenty of information about it on the net( Wiki ). Here I like to describe how Onam was for me this year. Though had heard a lot about Onam from my Mallu friends, I witnessed the real spirit of Onam at office this year. Main highlights - officially declared to be a traditional day and a competition for vegetable carving . Well before you guess anything more. No I did not participate. Now that I have seen so many great artists , glad that I did not compete :). Some pictures I'd love to share(some captured by me and some not) . They are very interesting ,have a look. This was the welcome each employee recieved at the reception in office - Pookolam(Rangoli of flowers). The first prize winner - A beautifully carved "Eco system"! The typical Kerala Onam scene - Boat race won the 2nd place Another Carving of a pookolam out of vegetables An interesting scene from Kerala. It was fun to watch ...

Say primary school or exams - it brings back memories of lot of fun filled activities along with the normal syllabus. Languages, Basic math,science and social studies are the ones included in the normal stream. The ones out of this are - General Knowledge, moral science, story telling, project work - these become the building block for a child's growth in a complete way. Last week an evening as I returned home, a neighbour's kid was waiting for me the enitre afternoon for help.He needed guidance to complete his project work. The school had come up with a concept to bring the creativity out of a child's mind.It goes this way - use the waste materials and create something useful - Socially useful and productive work(SUPW). SUPW is another learning area falling under the non-scholatic domain - This ensures that the students develop better understanding of their social and environmental issues. It also encourages students to take up varities of activities,which are productive a...