Eat That Frog:)!

Mark Twain said it….and then someone wrote an eponymous book sometime ago……

I’d read the quote sometime ago and then I read the book a little while ago:)!..well am still reading it….

The frog’s a metaphor fr the job that needs to be done first thing in the day,even if one finds it terrifying or revolting or….anything that enourages one to procastinate without feeling guilty…and thereby,reducing the possibility of feeling good about having done a major job that’ll take care of a fe others by virute of having been taken care of:)…

Let’s talk about my frog….it’s a whole clan:)!been croaking and staring at me with their pretty bulbous eyes ever since I began working towards getting ready to attend a Silver clay conference and a glass bead gathering in the US…

It is so difficult to choose what to do first and then sit down to do it….in my case,metaphorically,when I pick up one frog to swallow,there are others that promise me the same kind of ,or perhaps even better, nirvana were I to “eat” one of them rather than the one in my hands….” a frog in hand is worth two in the pond”??lol:)!

Some froggies I’ve made meals out of are the charms and the beads I need to take with me…today,I’ve ahad a frog feast:)!

One super sized toad that tells me it’s just a prince waiting to turn the magic on in the pictures I keep promising myself to click and put on the blog:)….still haven’t done that:)….should ,in a bit…..hopefully in a bit:)…the froggie prince will surely be released…it’s just a matter of time….or am I procastinating:)!?lol:)!!

More frogs have been promised freedom from their bodies tomorrow….and hopefully, we will celebrate the feast and the freedom here in a bit:).

Arrivederci:)!

Serenditpity?

More than a year ago,I became acutely conscious of need to keep a “journal”…I’ve been writing notes to myself forever but suddenly,just words in varied inks seemed unexciting…the expression demanded texture and more color and more energy,,,,and I thought it would all eventually help me create beautiful beads and silver clay jewelry and ohter things in quite some style….

The quest for ideas to create an ideal journal led through many sites online, many books and magazines and and many things to ponder….the desire to jot down ideas fr beads/shapes/colour/designs….anything and everything related to what I do has led me train myself to “see” and render what I see as best as I can and I have realised that this has led me into the amazing world of art journals and journalling….perhaps I will begin making my own journals very soon too…

I am excited about my next trip….for more than one reasons:)…..my journal will go with me:)…..last year,I carried a notebook after I was inspired by an artist friend who kept a separate journal for each trip…and her journal was a delightful treasure trove of notes and ideas and inspiring enough for me to awaken to the concept and magic of keeping a journal….

With time and more research,my insight into journalling has increased…and my journal,the one I use every day, has come alive..with colour and texture and more…and I can’t wait to see how I respond to everything around me when I go travelling:)….

I’m glad I ventured into this zone of creativity and am surprised at the avenues it has opened fr me…and the awareness the process has created:)…..

Yet another instance of the magic that happens when one follows one’s heart:)!

Grazie mille:)!!!

Thank God for Gesso:)!

After months of looking for ideas on creating art journals,I finally took the plunge today:).

Over the last few months,I’ve been drooling over some amazing books on creative art and art journaling:

Artists’ Journals and sketch books: Lynne Perrella

Collage Unleashed:Traci Bautista

Kaleidoscope: Suzanna Simanaitis

Journal Revolution: Linda Woods,Karen Dinino

The Decorated Journal:Gwen Diehn

A lovely artist I discovered online is Judy Wise.

Besides flipping throught these books off and on,I went around collecting stuff i’d need to create my journals..and luckily,most of it was already there in my studio-a variety of paper,an assorted collection of pens and paints and brushes..the only thing I hadn’t heard of so far was Gesso….well,I had…when i was reading about beaded beads..but that’s another story:)….

Anyways,finally,I diluted some gesso ,picked up a broad brush and went around painting sheets with it in my notepad,my diary,my art journals that I’ve out together using all the reams of fancy paper that’s been waiting for salvation fr quite some time in my studio and I’m ready for the next round:)!

The next round shd see me using acrylics and wax crayons to add layers……let’s see:)…will be here to share the experience as soon things happen:)!

Arrivederci:)!

Flower Essence Therapy

Something inside me had been nudging me to tune in to the magic of trees and flowers in a way I cdn’t quite figure out until I saw an ad fr a 2 day flower Essence Therapy course being conducted in Delhi…Of course,I signed in for the course and today was the first day:).

The course is being conducted by a well trained healer from Holland,Helena Hutte.She told us about how her teacher has a personal garden where these flowers are grown and their essence extracted and poured into bottles personally,without using machines.It just makes it all so personal,and therefore so special:)!

 

Attending the class was a very fascinating experience.We balanced and cleaned each other’s aura…..learnt how to tune in to one anoher intuitively….did a very interesting “tree” exercise…and used various flower essences intuively to heal one another.

I loved how I felt during the entire process…there was a surge of energy and well-being but there was also a mild exhaustion of sorts…there was so much to process:)!

There is so much one can learn and keep at at all times…it is overwhelming to just try and think of how much there is to learn and explore.

The Flower essences we worked with are not yet available in India….but the exposure to this relatively new realm of healing and therapy has been awesome.

Tomrrow’s a new day….and there’s quite a lot of new things to look forward to in the class…will be back with it all in the evening then:)!

 

Going with the flow

I’ve been struggling to recreate  the beads in my head into beads I can hold…and wear…and it has been quite an exercise for some days now….for some reason,the beads refused to be made like I wanted to…and today,the compulsive ‘flame and glass addict’ I’ve become,I sat down at my torch,choosing  to go with the flow…..

 What finally emerged can only be celebrated tomorrow,when I take them out of their fibre blanket home….but so far,they “feel’ good:)….mottled beads nearly square,quite a friendly shape,with squiggles in white on top….I’ll post the pictures tomorrow.

 It felt much better making  the beads as they inspired rather than fight the spirit and insist on making what “I” wanted to make…it wasn’t happening….ideally,I aspire to make beads that are a perfect shape….to me,that announces a certain mastery of the medium and expression…but to quite an extent,nature chooses otherwise:)….and by the spirit of nature,that  is perfect:)!

 For the time being then,it looks like my beads wanna have some fun:)!….happy,colored eclectic,their own shapes….and my willingness to let go and go with the flow:)!

New me:)

A new month and a new me:)!!!Not that i was waiting for the first of March to begin improvising my lifetstyle and lots around me,but it just struck me that I got to begin NOW…and anow happens to be the beginning of a month:)……

 So,off to bed early tonight,after a sound session of meditation ( I do that off and on),but from now,it’s meant to be a way of life…and yoga early in the morning…come what may:).

Will begin with this and add more to it in time:)……the idea is to fine tune the mind to a higher level of receptivity of the happy energy of the Universe:).

 Hasta la Vista:) 

And I have promises to keep

 Every day,I promise to come here and write…..think…speak aloud…and every day I go to bed regretting not having done so…not today:)…

 I’m here…and let this note be my mark for today…..I;ve been getting my picture postcards framed and they’re being put up on the walls of my studio……framed postcard collages are glamorous compared to tonnes of postcards plastered on the walls with Blue tack…that’s not too bad an option…only one must keep putting them back when they fall off…

 Anyways,happy times are here:)…..have a huge pile of books to read….ideas to toss around and explore…beads and jewelry to make…and stuff to write….and mull about….

 A friend picked up a very delicate set of earrings and a pendant on a chain today….Carnelian,dyed pearls on/in Silver:)….I am glad the pretties found a loving home….was looking fr a pic to upload here…mi dispiace,niente:(!

 ArrivederLa:)!

Of chains and weaves

Finally,I have found the Woven chain instructions that I’ve been looking for ever since I saw an artist at work at the ISGB Gathering…I’ll try my hand at weaving a copper wire chain first and then move on to Silver:)….andthat’s something to look forward to:)!

There’s the Chain maille obsession too:)!There’s wire waiting to be transformed into happy jumprings for some great bracelets and chains:)……

And then,there’s my third piece of freeform beaded embroidery that I have begun working on……it’s already announced loud and clear that it has a mind and a soul of it’s own…and that all I need to do is follow what I’m told:).

At it:)…..the pics will be here soon:)!

Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om is a riot in its own sense….Farah Khan’s soaked in and portrayed the essence of “Bollywood” in manner I find both cheeky and typical of someone who has grown on the 70’s masala…and that is interesting:)….SRK’s entertaining in his own SRK style……I like the conviction with which he does whatever he does and I think to a great extent that’s what lets him get away with nearly everything he does and says…the supporting cast is good too…Kirron Kher and Shreyas Talpade are delightful ,while Arjun Rampal is a revelation of sorts…Deepika Padukone was an effortless watch….”Omoshiroi” ,as they say in Japanese…..which means “interesting”….

OSO could well be a cult of sorts…with an understanding of the feel of the Bollywood of the seventies on various planes along with the spunky sensibility to put together a collage that sparkles with oodles of talent on nearly all fronts of what it takes to make a masala film that’s a thorough entertainer and a potential hit, and the audacity to deliberately include scenes and lyrics which defy logic with the ‘in your face’ attitude, the film flaunts with panache moments that are hysterically funny,heartwarmingly sensitive,lyrically musical and only,purely “Bollywoodly” dramatic.

However,given the ‘ who’s who” involved in making the film and therefore the resource and thought pool they thus cd have generated ,a finer movie on similar lines would have been more appealing to the sensibilites….the effect would then have been of nostalgia as opposed to the “laugh a moment’ references that are a mockery rather than a celebration of the 70’s and onwards….wonder what SRK’s six pack abs contributed to the story in the making….they were obviously most effective for marketing:)!But that’s that!

Saawariya

Saawariya,to me,is a mindscape that cd have even more beautifully and authentically projected…a director’s endeavour to project on the screen what he sees in his mind’s eye when he reads a beautiful story….not all the way,unfortunately…

Why did Sanjay Leela Bhansali have to give Ranbir’s character deliberate shades of Raj Kapoor? Why would he,a director with his own distinct style of expression and communication need to patronise anybody, and insist on obvious allusions like calling the bar in the film,RK Bar???And why on earth would he borrow an entire sequence from the RK archives??It only mars the authenticity and the timeless feel of the story and adds strings of reference one could very well do without….Ranbir could be any happy hearted yokel who does justice to his role sans the RK lineage context.

Sonam’s been done up a la Waheeda Rehman with hair like Rekha’s…she cd have looked good as herself…and one wishes her laughter was not so contrived in so many scenes…why did they dress her up like Marjina(Ali Baba Chaalis Chor) in some places…..and kudos to her fr weaving that gorgeous carpet all by herself:)!
There is a lyrical quality to the film …but then the “okay bye” s mar the spirit of the scenes more than once.The blues might be too much to handle at times but then,it comes close to how I would ‘feel’ the story in my head as I read it in a book,curled up on a cold winter night,in a room warmly lit,and a hot mug of coffee close by.Wonder the characters never did anything the the day,though!

Zohra Sehgal is a treat and inspiration personified.She is an actor par excellence.Her portrayal of her character is the most natural and effortless of the entire cast…but almost a misfit,in the social context of the film.

Rani Mukherjee as Gulabji….beautiful in her own way,she tries to add to the “magic” of Saawariya….but kills it well with her “I don’t likes….”

Salman Khan as Imaan was who he was asked to be and do.

Begum Para and her aide and the safety pin and the asides!Fairy tale inclusions morphed with scenes out of Rehmaan-Guru Dutt movies??

Apparently,SLB followed his heart and communicatedto his audience his vision of what he read when he read Dostoevsky’s White Nights….the sets try to be surreal and fascinating if you view them frm a theatrical perspective,but these kinds of sets and even more interesting ones,and live, are already being used in even better style in”Siam Niramit“,a brilliantly executed show one can see in Bangkok,Thailand.And….that’s just where the inspiration for the beautiful Saawariya scroll seems to have come from too…..check this out:http://www.siamniramit.com/index.php

There was ample potential to explore and communicate a contemporary feel of timelessness sans one that that pans across the continents through European hoardings in the backdrop …and I wish his characters could be themselves so they could be celebrated on merit of their talent ,the strength of the story and the director’s calibre to project his own,unadulterated vision on the silverscreen.