artnlight

I have been seeing Kanika Bahl's work from the time she had a blog and another and she was one of my earliest readers. Since then she has started her gorgeous line of home furnishings and accessories called Anek Designs. Then one day in March this year,out of the blue, i got a call asking if I would like to participate in an exhibition and share the stall with her (which was not to be) but both of us nevertheless participated in the Black Taxi Exhibition and that's where we met. Kanika is such a sunny happy person and that totally reflects in her work. Here's a peek at some of her work - I'm in love with her latest birdy and star mobiles.

I'm so wanting this one!

She generously gifted me one of these during the Black Taxi Exhibition :)

If you love her stuff and want to buy it, the links to click are Etsy, and the newly launched Shopo.in. She also writes this interesting blog called my big fat Indian Wedding. Its a veritable resource archive for all those getting set to wed.

There are some moments which will be turning points in your journey as an artist and when I look back, so often that moment for me has had to do with inspiration. Inspiration from a fellow artist's journey, when his or her work sweeps you off your feet and you wish to get into the head from where all this wonder came from. And if you are lucky this artist generously shares her journey and this story gives you strength in your weakest moments. I'd like to share with you the work and story of Elsa Mora. What I love about Elsa Mora apart from her gigantic talent is her voice, which is gentle and wise. She has been there, done it & leads you by hand, with love. I have never met an artist who is more generous than her with her process and her learning. She makes sure she gives as much as she gets.

"I can say that the "slower" I work, the more I get to accomplish. Slow to me means savoring what you're doing, enjoying each step along the way and being focused on the right things. If you put pressure on yourself in order to work fast, in a rush, then your hands will disconnect from your brain and they will end up in two different places. If that happens you will find yourself feeling miserable, like walking in a dark room, trying to figure out how to get out of it. That feeling is not good at all. I have been there before. But experience taught me how to stay away from it." Elsa Mora

"Each day I do the little tasks that I planned as if each one was the only thing that I had to do in my whole life. It feels really nice and light and simple, no pressure, because it's a small thing after all. When I'm done with one task then I jump into the next one. Many small tasks feel smaller than a BIG one. If I cannot take a long break between tasks then I take a short one. A short break means sometimes walking to the kitchen, drinking some water and then coming back, or tickling Natalie and Diego to make them laugh. That little break is like the dot at the end of this sentence. It helps you shape time in a way that feels relaxing. By the time my day is finished I have accomplished a lot. Sometimes more than I planned and I still had space for doing something fun with the kids." Elsa Mora

And if like me, you haven't had enough, you can read her paper-cutting blog (from where all these images are), or her handmade dolls blog or her blog about the miniature books she makes. But what really blew me was her blog on her personal style called The Hidden Seed. Today I truly feel grateful for this blog, because I do know a whole load of you will read her and be touched by her art, her magnificence and her limitless generosity.

Painting with the colour of the sun.

deep colour

proppology and hints of red (no, the word doesn't exist, i made it up)

warm sunlit rustica

Greys. And the power of simplicity.

As I write this post, Artnlight Products are getting launched in London, via the very dynamic Anita Mackenzie of Plum Chutney. A few months back Anita wrote to me saying she was interested in retailing my products out of her online shop, and I was not too sure because the cost/logistics of sending the products get prohibitive. But we worked things out and she made life really easy for me. The exhibition is at a fashion store called O'nitaa in the heart of London and showcases designers from Asia. Here's a peek at the goodies on offer at Plum Chutney.

If you happen to be in London, do drop by O'nitaa, The Asian Couture Boutique, Glentworth Street, NW1 5PG, (Near Baker Street tube) the exhibition is on till the 18th of June.

Via Dirty Laundry

Via Busy Being Fabulous

Via Etsy

Via Holdonlover

Via Mallorylucille.tumblr

Via the inspirational Jess Constable of Make under my life

Its truly happy making to get back to blogging. In my last post, turned out that I posted pictures of 2 of my friends feet without even knowing it. Happy coincidences :) Talking of happy takes me back to Rajasthan and I must share this very beautiful but strange temple we went to. The Karni Mata temple is 30 kms from Bikaner & we went huddled and cold in an autorickshaw to the place. We had heard it was a rat temple - yes, you heard right, I said rat as in the rodents and we were as curious whether we will actually get to see rats scurrying, if we will be able to handle it. Will the rats be fat from all the milk ( we had heard that one of the ways to appease the deity is to feed the rats with milk - ye mera India...) We were just so curious. We were greeted by a very normal though beautiful looking temple from the outside...

Aaah.. the 1st proof of the rat connection...

Next to the carved Shiva are carved tiny rats- making for a nice design element...hmmm...

On a more serious note, the marble carving was exquisite, here's a sample.
And now for the real point of interest. As we stepping in gingerly into the temple, mentally prepared for a multitude of rats, what we actually saw was many rats feeding from large bowls of milk & they did not look as healthy as we imagined them.

And strangely while something about the vibes in the temple calmed me it emboldened my normally docile & insect hating friend... who now only wanted to be touched by the scurrying rats in the temple (a tiny nibble by any of the temple rats is said to bring good luck to the bitten!!!) so while I was clicking from a safe distance, my friend was trying to get bitten by the rather peaceful temple mice.

Thankfully one of them scurried over her feet before long. And a debate whether it qualified to bring luck ensued.

For some reason a lot of newly wed couples also came to take the blessings of Karni Mata who is worshiped as the incarnation of the goddess Durga by her followers.

And here is the mildly aggressive devotee who insisted I take a picture of her. All in all a strange but interesting temple experience :)