Violet - Roy G Biv 2014

 St. Anthony's Church, Coonoor all lit up for the feast of St.Anthony I think.

A Jacaranda tree in bloom in Coonoor.

Fruit seller on the street in Bangalore.          

Morning Glory.

A purple house in my neighbourhood. Purple houses dot the landscape and you can read more about this trend here. 

Lacquered bangles from Chennapatna.  

Violet was discovered in both the natural and manmade world this month. 

Julie and Jennifer will have a list of participants this month and you can go on a blog hop to discover the violets each participant has discovered.

Roy G Biv doesn't end with Violet, Julie and Jennifer has extended the fun until the end of the year

August 21: Pink

September 18: Black
October 16: White
November 20: Brown
December 18: Blogger's Choice 

So here's your chance to join in the fun and keep a look out for Pink, Black, White and Brown in the coming months.

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English Tamil Slang - i, j, k, l

i, j, k and l make up the next instalment of the Tamil English slang.

i - item number - a song and dance sequence in a tamil movie done by a voluptuous young woman who is dressed provocatively. All movies include an item number its part of the formula.    

j- jacket - the blouse worn with a saree. All women go to a tailor to have their blouses ( jackets!) stitched.

k - I haven't found a word for the letter k as yet.

l - leg pees -  The most coveted piece of chicken is the leg pees known to the rest of us as the drumstick.

If you missed out on the English Tamil slang words associated with  a, b, c, d, e, f, g,and h click here and here.
 Have a good week.

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Yarn bombing of a religious sort

Yarn bombing is not a new phenomena in India I've discovered.

There's a Banyan tree in the apartment complex where I live and on its prop roots are wound threads dyed yellow and red. The tree itself is smeared with turmeric and kum kum both have significant roles to play in Hindu religious rituals.

 My curiosity and some preliminary research on the net reveals that  childless women worship the banyan tree but I haven't been able to find out if this wrapping of thread around the banyan tree is part of the ritual.

Another story from the Mahabharath tells the story of Savitri who lost her husband one year after their wedding near a banyan tree. She followed the god of death Yama to the land of the dead and managed to get her husband his life.In memory of this event hindu women go around the banyan tree and tie seven threads or strings around it.By doing this the women are trying to bind immortality to their married life and protecting themselves from widowhood which is probably the worst fate imaginable for a large proportion of Indian women.

I like this thread which has these fluffy bead like bits. Never seen it before or come across trees wrapped with thread and decorated with turmeric, kum kum and marigold flowers.

While searching for information on the net I came across this inspiring story.

Indigo - Roy G Biv 2014

Indigo coloured tiles in the centre of a table at a popular restaurant.

This is the only Indigo I could find. Such a beautiful colour yet so difficult to find.

Julie and Jennifer will have a list of all the Indigo hunters. The tour of the participating blogs should be very enjoyable.

Are you following the World Cup Football in Brazil and watching the football matches on television? Half way round the world in India these unearthly hours leaves me yawning all day long. Once in four years, one simply can't complain :)

Simply love the Google doodles for the World Cup 2014 and look there's some indigo there as well!

Tamil English Slang - e,f,g and h

The Tamil English alphabet is progressing well.

The next four letters of Tamil English slang.

e - is for empty. - adjective. \ yemp-tee\
definition - as in empty biryani. Biryani rice without pieces of chicken or mutton.

f - is for figure - noun. \fig-er\
definition - a beautifulor sexy girl.

g - is for gym body - phrase. \Jimbaadi\
definition - usually pronounced as a single word, 'jimbaadi', refers to someone whose physique is relatively well honed. If you are stout but not fat and do not have a very visible paunch then a tight t-shirt will also do the trick.

h- is for hot drinks.
definition -an alcoholic beverage.

Missed out on a,b, c, and d then click here.
To view more exciting interpretations of the alphabet in ALAW 2014 click here.


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Folk textiles - Kaudi - a hand stitched patchwork quilt

While doing chores in the neighbourhood I spied these two patchwork kaudis or quilts spread out on a low wall.   

They must belong to families of migrant construction workers building a house close by. The quilts are put out to air in the sun.   

The women have pieced together old sarees, bits and pieces from other old clothing and probably cutting waste from the local tailor. 

 They usually have two or more layers of fabric. Running stitch done with white thread holds the layers of fabric together.

Neat lines of running stitch are worked in concentric rectangles. At the corners the stitches are a bit more haphazard,I wonder why? Must find out.

 This ones has patches which must come from old sarees.The orange pieces of fabric have a border of paisleys in maroon, yellow and white. Old sarees made soft with wash and wear make soft kaudis.

 There's a hole in this one.Will it be patched to extend the use of the quilt?

The cotton is worn to shreds and there's just a tangle of cotton fibers held down for the time being with running stitch.

Read more about kaudi's here and about Kantha which is another folk textile and a thrift craft click here.
If you would like to buy a kaudi I'm selling kaudi throws at Studio Ebony in Whitefiled, Bangalore, if you would like to buy a kaudi.
Studio Ebony

• Lake View Farm, Varthur Main Road, 
• Ramagondanahalli, WhiteField
• Bangalore, India 560066
• Open : Tue - Sun 10.30 -18.00

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Going in circles to make spheres

A bead is a sphere.

 Working in circles, connecting small circles made of beads.

 Small individual circles connect to make a sphere.

 A module emblematic of a larger entity.

I followed instructions from this video to make these gorgeous beaded spheres.

Click here to read about a beaded amulet bag I made in 2009.

Have a good week.


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A Letter A Week2014 - Tamil English Slang

I'm starting on the second set A Letter A Week 2014. This set of the alphabet can be interpreted by each one personally. I've chosen to represent English words which have become a part of the Tamil language. That's the one sentence explanation,now let me elaborate.

Tamil is a Dravidian language and one of the oldest surviving classical languages. Tamil is the official language of the state of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the Andamans and Nicobar islands in India besides being an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is alive and spoken in Malaysia, Mauritius and I was surprised to discover on the island of Reunion! The Tamil diaspora has in turn taken it to all corners of the globe, as we discovered when we went to Paris and much to my husband's delight he could buy Tamil movie DVD's. 

The Tamil I am familiar with and conversant in, is peppered with words from the English language.      

Language is greatly influenced by the booming Tamil movie industry and vice versa. Like in the movies, everything is over the top - bright contrasting colours, incongruous mix of modern and ancient or western and eastern,larger than life superstars who have a cult following, its a unique form of pop culture a bit like this bus. 

You might recognise the English words but they don't always have the same meaning that they have in English.It's slang which is unique.   

 I photographed this bus in Coimbatore.Bus art is another one of my projects.

The first four alphabets.

I've cut out 5cm x 5cm pieces of paper from Tamil magazines and stuck them on cartridge paper.it's the visual representation of the mix of Tamil and English.

I've then stitched sequins onto the paper squares in the shape of the lower case of the alphabet and used a marker to give the alphabet a bit more 'presence'.

a - is for assaulta.  \ah-saal-ta\

definition - casually ... without a care. Nothing to do with actually assaulting or bashing someone.

b - is for blade.\blay -aid\

definition - used widely to refer to anything that causes a combination of boredom and pain.

c - is for colour.

definition - soft drinks, Fanta, Pepsi etc.

d - is for dress. 

definiton - "outfit" including men's apparel!

These definitions are from Samosapedia.

Related posts

ALAW 2014 Place + Alphabet book.

To see all the interpretations of the alphabet in ALAW 2014 click here. 

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Blue - Roy G Biv 2014

Pine tree with pine cones silhouetted against the incredible blue winter sky in the Nilgiris.

Tram in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

 Krishna - the blue god. Krishna is the eighth incarnation of the Vishnu in Hinduism.

Temples in South India are painted in bright colours.The distinctive blue of Krishna caught my eye.

The days are slipping by very quickly. I can't believe its the third Thursday in May already.Looking forward to the blog hop to view what everybody else has to show. Jennifer and Julie who are co- ordinating this year long challenge have links to all those who are participating.

Have a good week. I'm getting started looking for Indigo, last year it was the most elusive colour.

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ALAW 2014 - Place+Alphabet book

The first set of alphabets for A letter A Week 2014 which incorporates 'place' into the 26 letters of the English alphabet. I've put all the letters together as an accordion fold book.

I've cut out the alphabets from maps found in inflight magazines and mounted them on red or purple paper. Red for the cities or places I have visited or lived in and Purple for the places I would love to visit. A wish list.

On the back of the accordion fold book I've written the map co-ordinates of the city or town which is on the other side.

Another view of the accordion fold book.

I need a name for this little book. I thought of 'Footprints and a Wishlist'. the other one was 'Journeys and a Wishlist'. I'm going to mull over these and other possibilities,suggestions are welcome.
This little book is not perfect from a book makers point of view but its very precious and the journey has been an interesting one. The book is 11cms x 11cms.
Click on the links below to see more of the journey.
A Letter A Week - ALAW 2014
ALAW - Catching Up
ALAW - An Update  

I'm starting on the second set of alphabets for ALAW.


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Pay It Forward Art-making Project 2014

About a month back I came across the pay it Forward Art-making Project 2014 on Jack Oudyn's blog and since five people hadn't signed up by the time I got there, I decided I had to be a part of the project.

Would you like to be a part of this project? Read on. I've shamelessly copied most of what follows from Jack's blog but then I was just following directions :)

Step 1
Copy and paste this (see below) as your latest entry on your favourite social website. ( your blog, facebook page perhaps?)

*Pay It Forward Art-making Project for 2014*

I promise to make a small piece of art for the first five people who comment on this post and say "Yes, I want in". A 'like' alone is not enough of a commitment, nor is a comment about thinking Pay it Forward is a great idea.

You must in turn post this as your status update and make something for the first five who comment on your status.

The rules are simple;

-It has to be your work, made by you, and the recipient must receive it before 2014 ends.

 - It can be anything art-based: a drawing/illustration or a conceptual work of art, a photograph, a knitted item, cross-stitch, paper mache - or anything in between.

I'm paying this forward thanks to Jack Oudyn. 

Yes, you can be on each other's pay it forward lists.

PS. It doesn't matter if you aren't an artist, try something out, goggle/YouTube how to make stuff, step out of those boundaries.

Step 2 - For the first five people who comment on your blog entry saying they want to participate, you will do an art trade with them that must be completed by December 31st 2014. I would count as the first person technically so you only need another four. if you find your friends are keen you can do as many as you want.

Step 3 - All forms of art count including creative writing, photography, digital, anything goes!  

Which brings me to the piece of art I will be sending to the first five people who make a commitment to participate in the pay it Forward Art Project 2014.

I'm going to attempt my first zine. I'm waiting for Jack's zine to get to me before I start.

India is not a place where zines are common place so this will be the first one I'll get to examine.

If the zine fails then I'll embroider a little quote or make a little cross stitch sampler which you can frame and put on your wall to inspire you.

Have a good week.

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Thanks to the first person who made a purchase through Amazon and for all the clicks to browse the offerings on Amazon and Flipkart .

Blast from the Past

Going through the photographs in my archives I came across these pictures from the very first show of my work . It was a collaborative show. Garments by Plantation House and scarves and stoles by MAYA.

Plantation House garments and my scarves and stoles.( some pics are a bit blurry, sorry about that)

What's fascinating is the way in which we worked. We decided to do the show, then we both worked independently for a couple of months. There was no theme or colour palette we chose to work with.

 Day before the opening we both arrived at the venue and surprisingly there were scarves to compliment most of the garments.

Detail of a reversable tussar silk scarf.

It was a wonderful show and my scarves and stoles were well received and I also sold my work which was a bonus.
This was before I started this blog.

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Green - Roy G Biv 2014

Its that time of the month once again when the visual accompanying a number of blogs on my blog list will all be green and you know its time for Roy G Biv.

Here are my finds

A door with stickers stuck on it. There are layers, some have been torn off. The stickers have something in Chinese on them. This was in Hong Kong.

 Tea growing on the slopes of hills in Coonoor,Tamilnadu.

 Food in India is traditionally served on a banana leaf. Chow Chow Baath is available at restaurants in Karnataka for breakfast.You get a serving of sweet semolina and a serving of savoury semolina which has vegetables like tomato and peas in it.

 Syzygium samarangene is a fruit known by many names - bell fruit, love apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple. Never known a fruit to have so many names.

The General Elections are underway in India and the people in Bangalore and the rest of the state of Karnataka go to the polls today.
Go forth and rock the vote or else don't crib about the government. Be the change you want to see in India!

Happy Easter to all who will be celebrating this weekend.