Arti Sandhu is a designer I have been following for a while on her flickr. But seeing this new series of illustrations by her really knocked my socks off. What fun- Madhubani meets contemporary. I love her lines, her humour and the droopy faces in interesting contexts in each of these pieces. Arti teaches design and has lived and worked in India, New Zealand and she is now in America. "Home for me is a complex notion, though on some level it will always be India. I write on the subject of Indian tastes and clothing (fashion), dabble in mix media drawings and take photographs when opportunity strikes."

"I was thinking about the notion of leaving home...or being received by dull or unwilling relatives (an experience many migrants would relate to). Also the "fresh off the boat" look - that usually takes time to lose completely"

" The ubiquitous lime (nimbo) and chilli hanging good luck charm gets some action."

" Ladies always get a seat on Delhi's local buses.... "

Artnlight: Your new series is Madhubani inspired, do tell us more about it- what made you think of it, has it been brewing in your head for a while or did it just strike you one fine moment to do it.

Arti Sandhu: Madhubani has always appealed to me – as on one hand it is extremely simple in its line quality and naïve motifs, but extremely complex through composition, fineness of detail and the use of line and repetition etc. The combination of storytelling and decorative techniques really appeals to me and also the lengths the artist goes to – to tell a story and make it visually appealing.
My new series “Mahila Moments” had been brewing in my head for a long time and I started some early doodles in Summer 08…. thats when I tried my hand at some pen drawings combined with photo collage. The pen work was initially inspired by Madhubani style borders – the use of stripes, simple geometric shapes and their repetition in particular. I also started to experiment with drawing the human figure at some point….and as I was/am also writing about modern Indian fashion….the Mahila Moments drawings started to evolve. But I really got excited this past Dec/Jan as I finally worked out a sort of style of drawing – the figures with the round heads and stocky bodies with equally awkward/pensive expressions. Since then series began and has been super exciting for me to work on as I enjoy the humour that goes with each drawing.

"This piece makes reference to Mahila Mandals (meeting/committee of women), Mandalas and the "I can make it at home for nothing" (with a small aubergine) skit in the BBC series Goodness Gracious me "

"Chaudhvi ka Chand"

I feel my work has to tell some sort of story…and I like to focus on everyday, mundane incidents in my work. In “Red on Sale” the notion of these modern women fighting over luxury fashion was my angle. So as the Mahila series is growing...new things get added to mix.
The introduction of the “small aubergine [baingan]” came from a video clip of the BBC comedy Goodness Gracious Me.

"I was looking through some images of Indian graphics when I came across a set of round [ganjifa] kamasutra playing cards. That combined with a recent trip to Gap (and their colorful boxer briefs for men) made me think of such "lunch time interruptions"... I was also thinking of an image I remember seeing years ago in the Andhra Times of Lakshmi Parvathi, wife of NTR (NT Ramarao, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) taking lunch for him in a tiffin box. It was her daily routine. " Arti Sandhu