My First Children's Book Illustration - The Imp and the Strawberry by Yasmin Shubber

It is with great pleasure I present to you my first childrens' book illustration, 'The Imp and the Stawberry' by Yasmin Shubber,  a delightful tale of the lovable and gifted elf , Syrnel, and his adventures as he sets off one day to eat delicious wild strawberries. To buy the book online or simply to preview  visit here.

When I received my first hard bound copy via post from Yasmin, I was thrilled to  hold in my hands the physical manifestation of our creative efforts.  I especially loved the cover, and I'm mighty pleased with the design, and layout, a big thank you to Yasmin for all her efforts. Yasmin has also penned several books for adults including a book of poems on Ladakh. You can learn more about her at her website.

I've always enjoyed reading and collecting children's books, some of my best finds have been, 'The Other Bone' by Ed Young, a word-less story illustrated with fine drawings where the reader can tell the story in their own words,  then there is the all time classic, 'Just so stories' by Rudyard Kipling,  (I have the one illustrated by Safaya Salter), and then I have a weathered copy of 'My Father's Dragon' by Ruth Stiles Gannett, bought years ago at a second hand bookshop, and more recently I bought 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar ' by Eric Carle to gift  a friend's child.

I'm sure there are many many more authors and artist-illustrators whom you adore, I've only named a few. Do share with me if you wish some of your favourite books, I'd love to read all about them. (^_^)

If you wish to get in touch with me about doing illustrations for a story email me at turquoiseland@gmail.com. 

Have  a great week ahead.

Love + Light

Jacob Hashimoto

Slip into vapour, Jacob hashimoto, 2005,

The other day I was going through a fabulous book, Sculpture Today, and I came across Jacob Hashimoto's delicate yet durable art-works which exist between sculpture and painting. What I like best about his work is how a traditional technique such as kite-making with rice paper and bamboo frames translates into striking installations made up of myriad tiny parts which appear to float or cascade.

Here is more on his work from Artnet.
(b.1973) Jacob Hashimoto cuts rice paper into small geometric shapes and glues the shapes to delicate wooden frameworks, which he attaches to black fishing line and ties to long wooden pegs at the top and bottom of his rectangular, wall-mounted, waterfall-like hangings. The pegs are evenly spaced from side to side across the top and bottom of the piece.

The artist ties six roughly overlapping layers of shapes onto each peg, creating a dense, kaleidoscopic multi-level field in which a given shape may be visible or hidden, depending on the angle of view. The hanging seems to move as we walk past....

Slip into Vapor could almost be a landscape. Measuring five feet high and four feet wide by 7.5 inches deep, it is composed of paper ovals, each roughly four inches wide, which are mounted on X-shaped frameworks and suspended between 13 wooden pegs at the top and 13 below. White and blue ovals, suggesting clouds and sky, comprise the upper half of Slip into Vapor, while darker ovals in the lower half could be rocks, soil or vegetation. The artist collages long slices of green paper-like grass onto some ovals and puts fanciful decorative designs on others. As the viewer walks by, these peep out to surprise and amuse.

Hashimoto begins by making wooden frames from tiny sticks, tying them together with thread, and affixing translucent rice paper to them. If he wants color or a design, he collages it onto the paper shape -- nothing is painted. When a framed shape is ready, he dips it in acrylic resin for strength. After creating a large inventory of these elements, he selects shapes of different size and design, and strings them on nylon line, which he employs because it does not stretch. Now he is ready to tie the strings to the pegs.

The way of the artist

In a few days from today, I will be putting up an art installation as part of the annual Kalaghoda Arts Festival, the details of which I will post next.

Being a vipassana meditator my on-going project made me think very much of the attitude and intention of an artist. While reflecting I remembered Gurji Geonkaji's words,

" A balanced mind is very necessary. But a stage where you are totally free from ego, where the ego is totally dissolved, takes a long time. When one has reached the stage of anagami, then at the depth of the mind the ego has significantly melted away and at the stage of arahant there is no ego at all.

But for ordinary Vipassana meditators, at least they have to make sure that they have started dissolving their egos. Any artist who is pratcising Vipassana properly will see a big change in her field of art whatever it may be. The art shold be pure in the sense that it will never be used to arouse passion in the minds of others, anger or hatred. With the practise of Vipassana she will become a better artist wit the effect that through the medium of art one will be able to give people a sense of peace and harmony. One has to judge wether this wholesome direction is developing or not."
Guruji S.N.Goenkaji.

From time to time I find myself returning to these words of Guruji and often I have not been sure if I understood at the experiential level, neither did I know if my art could in someway convey a feeling of peace and harmony to people. I have never consciously tried to alter or filter my work ever but if my upcoming installation does bring delight to people then I think I came a hair-breadth of a hair-breadth closer to what Guruji is talking about.

May more and more people get a glimpse of pure dharma :)
love + light!

Poetry of artist Sarita Chouhan

It is a delight when you have friends who not only paint but also write. For a while now I've been meaning to share the art-practise/writings of dear artist and friend Sarita. Originally from Delhi, Sarita lives with her husband, a script-writer for feature films and daughter in Bombay.

Some months ago I had visited her well-lit studio which is located in a nice residential locality at Four bungalows. Over tea we discussed art, life and other interesting matters. That day while going through the artist statement of her 2001 series, I happened to read the poem, 'There is one tune. And there is one song'. I was struck by her intimate understanding of 'stillness' and ‘movement within stillness', very subtle concepts. Since then I have wanted to share it on my blog.

A little about the artist- Sarita’s works were recently part of Studio Practices at Chemould Art Gallery. She has been exhibiting her works in solo and group shows since 1998. Her fifth solo exhibition, ‘appear, re-appear’ was at Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2008, which I missed :( but made up for partly with the studio visit :)

I leave you with her poem,
as always love and light! :)

There is a one tune. And there is one song. Mix media assemblage on paper, 217 x 184 cms, 2001.

There is one tune. And there is one song.

If there is any stillness, let me feel it.
If there is stillness let me keep looking at it, till the time it makes me still.

And then both of us can come closer.
Be one and move together.
Move together and dance together.

We will go on moving till we again become still.

Now we lie still.
We are still. We are silent.
It seems nothing is moving. Everything is still. There is no sound but silence.

And then there is movement. Silence is also moving. What looks still is also moving.
Stillness is no more stillness. It is movement.

It is moving now. And with it everything around is moving.
There is one tune. And there is one song that is going on. And in its music all become one.


Sarita Chouhan, 2001