Happy Sunday everybody! I hope that you are all doing well! Today will be one of my last few posts for this year. I thought that I would share a deeper side of me in this one. I hope that you all enjoy it! One thing that I have learned by growing up in a strict traditional household practicing a different culture is that people who are not like you want to hold you back, make you more like them. Both of my parents were born and raised in India, coming to the United States for their education and building a great life for my brother and me. I grew up practicing Hinduism, taking part in incredible traditional Indian festivals, and when compared to my friends, I was generally sheltered and not allowed to partake in as much. Initially, it used to bother me when I felt that I was being held back by my culture and religion, feeling as if I was not allowed to do everything I wanted, not allowed to be like the other kids around me. This caused me to resent my culture and religion and run away from it for many years… However, what I have come to understand as I have grown and matured is that my culture and the core values that my parents have imparted me with are what have made me who I truly am. Growing up in a primarily Caucasian society, I would be constantly berated and belittled for being different. I became used to hearing, “What are you eating?” “What are you wearing?” “Why aren’t you allowed to do this?” Now, I understand that I was not held back by my family nor my culture, or religion. Rather, I was held back by the belief that I had to be like everybody else around me. I was held back by the belief that being different was wrong. I was held back thinking that my culture, something that I am now so proud of, was holding me back from doing the same things my friends were doing. I have come to learn time and time again how important it is to pull against anybody or anything that holds you back, even when that person is yourself. My own thoughts, perpetuated by the actions and words of others around me, held me back from embracing a beautiful culture that has made me who I am today. I have learned how important it is to stay true to yourself and your roots. In this piece, done in colored pencil and gold leafing, I demonstrate being held back literally. I show a depiction of myself reaching out to the viewer, dressed in a traditional sari, attempting to pull against the two hands on either side of me trying to hold me back. By wearing the sari I am embracing my culture, adding a layer of traditional Indian heritage with the gold leafing and garb. The hands represent the various forces that are holding me back from embracing myself. This piece was so cathartic to create both in its message as well as through the technique of foreshortening. I have been meaning to write this post for some time but was wary of sharing and did not completely know how to put my thoughts into words. I hope that everything I talked about made some type of sense and that you all enjoyed reading some of my realizations and epiphanies. Thank you all so much for taking the time out of your day to read my words. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya Please feel free to support me on Instagram @riya_aggarwal.art
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Happy Sunday everybody! I hope that you are all doing well. I realized right after I posted last week that I sorely missed an opportunity. Being that last Sunday was Holi and I remembered a little too late, I decided that this week I would talk about the beautiful and wonderous holiday that is the Festival of Colors. Enjoy! Holi is the ancient Hindu festival, also known as the “Festival of Love” or the “Festival of Colors”. This beautiful and fun festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha and Krishna, whom I have talked about extensively in a few of my past posts. It also signifies the triumph of good over evil and signifies ridding oneself of past errors, ending conflicts by meeting others, and forgetting and forgiving. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives. Holi also marks the start of spring, an occasion for people to enjoy the changing seasons and make new friends. On the eve of the festival, large pyres are lit in many parts of India to signify the burning away of evil spirits. People often throw wood, dried leaves, and twigs into bonfires. On the day of Holi, streets and towns turn incredible hues of red, green, pink, blue, and yellow as people throw colored powder into the air and splash them on others in a fun game that is traditional for Holi. These colors generally carry meaning. For instance, red symbolizes love and fertility while green stands for new beginnings. People will dress in white to make the experience of exploding colors more enjoyable and noticeable, wearing the bright hues as medallions or badges of honor after the festival is over. People also splash water on each other during the celebration. Water guns are used to squirt water while balloons filled with colored water are also flung from rooftops. As common with any Indian festival, food plays a significant role as families gather together for festive meals and distribute sweets among neighbors and friends. This incredibly colorful festival is my absolute favorite. “Playing” Holi with friends and family is essentially like a giant game of tag that involves bombarding each other with fistfuls of colored powder. It is a lot of fun and overall a beautiful experience. As an artist, the aftermath of Holi celebrations is a sight to behold and a work of art in itself. I plan on doing an art piece in the future inspired by the wonderful Festival of Colors, which I hope to be able to share with you all soon! I know that this was a bit of a different post, but I thought, even from the name of the holiday, it was incredibly fitting for an art blog. I hope that you all enjoyed this week’s post and perhaps learned something new about Indian culture! Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi https://time.com/5799354/what-is-holi/ As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out, or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya Hello everybody! I hope that you are all doing well! I wanted to share one of my favorite artists that I came across during quarantine last year. During a year of terrible hardship and pain, as it was for so many around the world, coming across this artist opened my eyes to a new way of expression and truly mesmerizing and beautiful artwork. Enjoy! Bijay Biswaal is a self-taught Indian artist of national and international repute who has made his mark by encapsulating the beauty that is Indian scenery, culture, people, and religion. What I love most about Biswaal as an artist is that he does not limit himself to mediums. Though he does excel in acrylic paintings and ink sketches, he ventures beyond, using watercolor, oil pastel, collage, cartoon, and caricature. I fell in love with the way that he captures his subjects when I first came across him on Instagram. The way in which he can manipulate acrylic paint to behave like watercolor while maintaining opacity and shine is incredible to witness. He has a way of bringing out so much dimension, movement, and dynamics in his work. I have myself tried replicating some of his work, particularly his ink drawings of Ganesha the Elephant God, Goddess Lakshmi, and Radha Krishna. I find that using the work of other artists as study pieces, learning how they use lines to create beautiful art, is very rewarding and educational. Just from understanding his linework, I can say that I have a better understanding of how to capture movement in figures and portraits, attributes that I plan to implement in my own way when I create. Bijay Biswaal has grown a following that spans the world. He is the Indian brand ambassador for Windsor and Newton and has collections in many places internationally including Mumbai, Chicago, Australia, Istanbul, Turkey, London, and China. This incredible artist has provided me with so much joy, and during a time when it was very difficult to grow artistically and find inspiration, Biswaal was able to provide that for me. He has really worked towards redefining realism and creating such a unique method of rendering. I implore all of you to seek out this incredible artist. I have attached all of Bijay Biswaal’s links below including his Instagram and website. https://www.instagram.com/biswaal/ https://www.biswaal.in/home As I say every week, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out, or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and midterm exams were successful for you all! I took a break last week but I am back to the regularly scheduled program. This week I wanted to share a very personal piece and the story behind it with all of you. Interestingly, oil paint is the one medium that has always intimidated me and that I have shied away from. However, this piece, done in oil paint, is one of my favorite pieces and very close to my heart. Just as the Plum Blossom pushes through the snow and the ice, flourishing, permeating the air with its beautiful smelling perfume, so has my father. Exuding an air of perseverance, endurance, strength, and commitment, my father has pushed back against many obstacles, whether internal or external, and has thrived. Facing depression and family conflicts, he has learned to push back harder when times get tough. In my piece, I portray a tree growing in a climate of darkness and turmoil. Despite the pain and adversity surrounding the tree, it is in full bloom and flourishes in a harsh environment. My father was born and raised in India and lost his mother at a very young age. Through hard work and perseverance, my father made his way to the United States on a full scholarship for college and graduate school. He started a family and has, against many odds and difficulties, keeps us intact. Growing up in a family with strict traditional ideals and rules and personal misgivings, I have overcome my own inner challenges. I have devoted myself to becoming better while using my father as a role model. I have dedicated this piece to my father, the one who understands me and pushes me to be better, the one who understands pain and empathizes with everyone around him, the one who has lost so much but made so much out of it. Like the Plum Tree, the harsher the conditions the more buds come into bloom. I have pushed through my personal adversity to blossom, following my father’s lead. Through his guidance and love, I have come to find the beauty in adversity, the beauty in my culture and religion, and the strength to push through a sometimes difficult personal life. This piece, done with oil paint on canvas board with dimensions of 18″x24″ mimics the nature of a flower blooming in the winter… a lotus floating atop muddy water. It is a piece very close to my heart and holds such an important message that I keep with me always. My father is my hero and has taught me so much. I hope that you all enjoyed this week’s post! As always if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya I have been very busy these past few weeks as I am sure many of you have been as well. So I wanted to keep it short and share a quick post this week regarding one of my favorite techniques in my drawings. Enjoy! I was introduced to foreshortening as a technique in all forms of art in early high school. Foreshortening is used not only in drawing and painting but also in photography to add interest and visual pleasure. Foreshortening plays purely on perspective and vision, portraying an object as having less distance or depth than it does. In general, foreshortening refers to depicting an object or human body in a picture so as to produce an illusion of projection or extension in space and can be a difficult effect to achieve. As soon as I tried foreshortening in my artwork for the first time I fell in love with the technique. As a lover of drawing portraits, I found that using foreshortening creates great interest in a piece and makes for a wide arena of creative availability and agency. In my first foreshortening piece titled Reaching Out For You, I created a portrait of my brother in a stylistic first attempt at the technique. I found that I could keep the rest of my portrait relatively simple and demonstrative with the inclusion of foreshortening. Rather than using very tight methods of rendering, I left the majority of the piece stylistic, focusing primarily on the hand reaching out to the viewer. Let me know what you think of the piece and what you would have done differently! As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya From a young age, something I always found interesting was the difference between my culture from that of others around me. I would mostly compare my experiences with the anecdotes of my friends, many of whom practiced some sect of Christianity and attended church. One thing that I thought was noteworthy was the emphasis on shoes and either their removal before entering a place of worship or not. Being Hindhu and growing up in a religious family, we attended the temple, or mandir, decently often. As we would enter, we were expected to remove our shoes and wash our hands before proceeding into the main prayer hall where the statues of deities stood and everybody paid their respects. This is the custom in all Indian temples and mosques around the world. My mother grew up attending Catholic schools so we weren’t strangers to the customs at a traditional church either. There, the removal of shoes is not required nor enforced. This difference was something that stood out to me. This very basic and completely harmless difference in cultures is something that I love about religion. The multi-faceted and wide range of traditions ranging from the simplest to the most complex is what makes religion and the practice of different cultures so beautiful. I wanted to capture this small element of my culture in a piece of mine. This piece done entirely in ink with accents of red and gold leafing, two colors that are dominant in Indian garb and decoration, is titled My Temple. It is a simple yet self-sufficient name, requiring no further explanation. I wanted to do this piece merely as a rendition of traditional temples in India rather than something deeply conceptual such as some of my other work. I wished to capture the simplicity of the ideals of the Hindu religion: respect, and grounded devotion. Removing shoes outside of a temple before entering is both a symbolic and conscious desire to leave behind the outer world and dirt before entering the house of the lord. The same goes for any home. Hindus remove their shoes before entering their own homes and the homes of friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones. Seeing as shoes carry the dirt and germs from the outside world, we make sure that we do not bring it into any place of living with us. The thought is that we want to treat the temple as we would treat our own homes. In other traditions where shoes are allowed in places of worship, their reasonings are completely sound as well. Providing means of hygiene, sanitary purpose, and modesty, reasons for wearing shoes also stand. Wearing shoes inside of places of worship for other cultures by no means a lack of importance and respect. Rather, it is a beautiful thing that emphasizes how so many types of people with so many beliefs, and ways of living exist in our world. We oftentimes forget to accept diversity and equity with open arms but it is an essential aspect of building a better world for ourselves and our future. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya I'm not going to lie, getting inspiration for writing and art these past few weeks has been especially difficult. I could not really give you a proper reason either if you were to ask me why. It seems that with the monotonous ebb of school and combined with mundane life, I have felt removed from my creative side, something which disturbed me greatly when I realized what was happening. So, to try to make my way back slowly into the marvelous world of creation and art, I thought that this week I would dive into a few of my favorite mediums, styles, and techniques that I use in my own work. Enjoy! As I discussed in one of my first few posts on my column, I grew up scouring over the work of my favorite artists, trying to replicate them detail by detail. I got my start through observation and replication. However, as I grew older and came into my own, it pained me that I did not have a distinct "style" of art that I could call mine. I didn't have a mode of creation that was unique and original to me. It wasn't until later on in high school that I truly found the mediums that I could get lost in, a style of creating that felt most representative of me. I like to say now that I am a "mixed media artist", that I don't limit myself, and that I like to use a bit of everything. For me, this means using a mixture of ink, watercolor, and gold/silver leafing. Though I never hold myself back from trying different mediums of art such as oil paint, pastel, printmaking, and diluted henna even, I feel that this combination has provided me with a wide arena of freedom that is almost liberating while not going too crazy. I am a person that likes form and structure, that's the scientific part of my brain really coming into play, the same reason that abstract art and avant-garde material tend to upset me greatly. However, being able to create a distinct shape and line structure with ink and pen and then using watercolor, a characteristically loose medium, overtop provides such a cathartic release. If one were to look at the art I have done where I use this combination of mediums, he or she would notice that I love to use circles as well, especially concentric or overlapping circles of different sizes. I don't have an explanation for this per se, but if I were to gander, I think these small carefully lined-out details give my work some more verisimilitude, some extra authenticity, and interest while adding an element of control and brevity (if such a word can be used to describe art). I use a lot of these methods in one of my favorite pieces I have ever done, American Dhulan. I also have two small corresponding studies that I did call Her Majesty and Birds of a Feather that really solidified this combination as my favorite. These were very simple pieces that I did on the back of a handmade book because I was bored one day and felt a deep yearning to paint. But I truly believe that it was because of these two drawings that I really found my favorite style of art, something that I love employing in many of my pieces now. The cautiously rendered forms with the smoky overlays of color seem to combine both sides of me perfectly. The streaks of leafing work alongside the circular accents and pops of white create an amalgamation of symbolic aspects of myself. I love diving into the unique styles and forms of many artists. I thought that it would be interesting to share one of my favorite vehicles of creation with you all this week! If you have not tried laying down a puddle of the right watercolor and lightly blowing to create a beautiful splatter of paint, I highly recommend you try it! As I say every week, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya In light of a very stressful week for me full of exams and papers, I thought that I would do a short and sweet post today sharing with all of you another incredible artist that I found. Enjoy! Hannah Jensen is a multidisciplinary artist most well-known for her carved work. She achieves her incredibly unique and bespoke artwork by applying layers of paint to a board before using printmaking carving techniques to create breathtaking renderings. The resulting artwork features images rendered in negative relief that emphasizes tonality between the different layers of paint she uses. Jensen uses anywhere from 40 – 80 layers of paint for each one of her carvings, creating pieces so deeply right in color and texture. As someone who has dabbled in printmaking and absolutely obsessed with the process, the moment I saw Jensen’s work I was in love. I hope to spread this same beauty and love with all of you! Especially in times such as these where I am sure many of you are stressed and feeling the strains of online classes and COVID-19, I wanted to take a moment to share some art that made me smile. I have linked Hannah Jensen’s Instagram below and some of her incredible work here as well. Please feel free to check her out! https://www.instagram.com/hannahjensenart/ https://hannahjensen.co.nz/ As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. ~ Riya Please support me on Instagram @riya_aggarwal.art In honor of National Cancer Prevention Month, I thought that I would take a break from my regularly scheduled program of cultural stories to share a recent piece that I did commemorating one aspect of the difficulties that come with cancer. For many people, hair can be a large part of their identity, image, and self-expression. Hair has a way of instilling confidence as well as portraying good health and hygiene. According to the Mayo Clinic, “You might not think about how important your hair is until you face losing it. And if you have cancer and are about to undergo chemotherapy, the chance of hair loss is very real. Both men and women report hair loss as one of the side effects they fear most after being diagnosed with cancer.” In my recent art piece done in graphite and colored pencil, I wanted to capture this extremely painful aspect of cancer. Titled Stands of Me, the piece reflects on this challenging side effect of cancer treatments, personifying the emotional toll that it can play on anybody facing it. In this piece, I show a woman looking down at a hand full of her fallen out hair with tears streaming from her eyes. Wrapped around her is a pink ribbon symbolizing the universal symbol for breast cancer, adding not only interest to the piece but also charging the true meaning behind it. For many, the loss of hair is a symbol to the world that you have cancer. It is a very difficult thing that many people facing cancer have had to deal with. Facing already a physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing condition, changes in appearance due to cancer treatment can further perpetuate loss and pain. I wanted to capture this in my artistic representation of cancer. Though cosmetic, the loss of hair has implications that travel much deeper than the surface. It no longer becomes about appearance. The hair loss is a constant reminder of the internal struggle that so many face. There are many of us with people in our lives who have cancer, and the aspect of hair loss is something so emotional and in and of itself symbolic that I wanted to portray it in a raw way that hopefully strikes a chord in anybody who sees it. To anybody whose loved ones have or had cancer in any form, I pray for you all and my deepest condolences. Having family struggling with cancer myself, this piece was extremely impactful for me to make. Though one of my simpler pieces, a lot of meaning went into it and I hope that any of you who are reading this felt something different from this week’s post. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. ~ Riya “A work of art that did not begin in emotion is not art” ~ Paul Cezanne The true reason why I have always been drawn to art, regardless of its form, is the depth of emotion that can be delivered. We have all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. For me, this adage is one that I make sure to always keep in mind when I am creating a piece. This is why I have always felt a strong disconnect from abstract, suggestive, and nonobjective modes of art. Rather, I divulge in conceptual art that strikes a different chord in every person. For me, I feel connected to a creation when I am caught in the moment and experience something so visceral and real that I have to take another look, that I have to stare for just a minute longer. For me, this comes from art that has deep meaning and intent behind it. This pertains to any form of art whether it be music, dance, or painting. Something that is done with intention and feeling, that is something that deserves to be celebrated. Art needs to be felt, not only seen… Bête Noire is an original piece of mine done in ink, with dimensions of 8″x 11″. It was my dive into a literal form of expressive art. Dictated by a prompt given to me in my high school art course, I wanted to take my fear of spiders to a different level, a place where the viewer cringes and feels something deep within themselves. My goal in this piece was to not only develop my technical skills but also to create work that can evoke emotion. My mother hates looking at this drawing and recoils, while my best friend winces but never diverts her gaze. As odd as it may sound, I have never rejoiced so much to have people look away when I showed them my art. How do you feel when you look at the drawing? Do you think that I succeeded in my goal? As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! ~ Riya 5000 years ago, Krishna, whom you have all heard of at this point, lived in a beautiful town called Vrindavan. He descended from Vishnu to cleanse the Earth of all evil. These stories from Krishna’s childhood teach us to be pious, brave, and to stand up for what is right. Enjoy!! Kaliya was a terrifying, many-headed serpent who was sent away from the mountain of Vishnu. As it turns out, he chose the banks of the Yamuna River near Krishna’s home, Vrindavan. Kaliya was so venomous that his presence turned the water toxic, causing it to churn and bubble, turning black and killing every flora and fauna. Nobody in Vrindavan dared to visit the river or go near for fear of dying. One day, Krishna and his friends were playing near the banks of the river. While playing, their ball fell into the river. Krishna jumped into the water after the ball. His friends tried to call after him, warning him about the terrifying serpent. Krishna ignored all of their warnings and cries, making sure that he could retrieve the ball for his friends. Everybody in the village rushed to the river, terrified for Krishna, but nobody could go into the water. Under the water, Kaliya attacked Krishna. He tried to dig his fangs into the Krishna and eject him with his poison. But Krishna, being all-powerful dispelled the venom. Kaliya wrapped his body around Krishna and dragged him deeper into the river, trying to crush him. Krishna grew to be giant, forcing his release. Krishna dragged the serpent to the river surface, started playing his flute, and danced on the head of the monster. He assumed the weight of the entire universe in his lotus feet. Kaliya started to die, vomiting venom and blood. Kaliya’s wives came to Krishna to beg for his life. Krishna granted mercy after Kaliya understood the error of his ways, he begged for forgiveness and left, never tormenting anybody else ever again. The waters cleared up as Krishna walked through them. Every living thing came back to life, blossoming with the beautiful power of Krishna. I captured this story in a recent piece of mine done in mixed media ranging from ink and colored pencil, for the foreground, to acrylic for the background. I hope you enjoyed this week’s story and art!! As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! References:https://www.tell-a-tale.com/kaliya-daman-krishna-tames-serpent-kaliya-indian-mythological-story/ ~ Riya The thing that I have always loved the most about art is how many forms it can take. Art can be timeless, shifting, ever-adapting. Today, I learned about another form of art, an ancient Indian method of adornment, a mode that I found was incredibly cathartic and peaceful to create. In the Hindu culture, today is Lori, a festival marking the end of the winter season in India and bringing in the new year. Traditionally, during this holiday, homes and temples are decorated with beautiful mandalas on the pavement and tiled floors called Rangoli. This art form is traditionally created using materials such as colored rice, colored sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and colored rocks. Generally, natural and pure products are used to create these beautiful designs. Today, I used a paste made by mixing rice flour and water to create a bright white rangoli design on the tiled floor of my local temple. The ancient Hindu texts explain that families should wake up every morning to wash the pavement in front of their homes and adorn the ground with rangoli, welcoming the new day and good fortune. This is still done in India today. The purpose of rangoli is to bring strength, good luck, and generosity. Design depictions may also vary as they reflect traditions, folklore, and practices that are unique to different regions. Rangoli designs can be simple geometric shapes, deity impressions, or floral designs, but they can also be very elaborate designs created by numerous people. The type of rangoli that I did is called Kolum Rangoli, a type of design that is purely white without the colors that are generally associated with the art form. I’ve shown a picture of my first ever attempt at rangoli on the side and a few other designs I thought up as well. I think that it turned out pretty well! What do you think? I will always love art for its ability to be so expressive and powerful, effective, and multi-faceted. Today I learned about a new art form, something that I knew existed but never partook in until now. I encourage everyone to try new forms of art without any expectations or preconceived notions. You may be surprised by the result… As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed this week’s look into the breadth of art! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya Hi everyone! Happy New Year! After my two week hiatus, I decided to provide a quick update and story before the start of the new semester. I have a few new pieces in the work that I look forward to sharing with you all in the coming weeks. In this post, I wanted to share another tale… Now that I have told you a few stories, I’m going to share something much greater and more beautiful than anything you have ever heard before. The proper way to pronounce it is Radha and Krishna; however, because they are just so deeply in love, their names are often combined into one. Incredible. I know. Radha and Krishna were one soul, soulmates if you may. When Krishna was young, he would sit under the Banyan Tree and play his flute for the grazing cows. When Krishna played the flute, everyone and everything was put in a trance. All of the women would stop what they were doing, find Krishna, and start dancing around him in his love. Thousands of girls would run up to Krishna while he played the flute, trying to woo him. He was the best-looking man in the world. He had monsoon-blue skin, almond-shaped eyes, lotus-pink lips, curly black hair, a chiseled body, and a few peacock feathers in his hair to tie up the look. Krishna was also very naughty. He would flirt back with the girls and fulfill their desires. However, one girl, Radha, truly captivated him. The whole universe yearned for Krishna but he yearned for Radha. She was gorgeous, she had the purest heart, and the way she danced when he played the flute put him in a trance. The problem was that Radha was married. The worst barrier that could have risen! She tried to submerge any feelings for Krishna and love her husband but it was no use. Eventually, she accepted her devotion to Krishna. She thought about Krishna every second of the day. However, Krishna was a King and had duties to fulfill so he was never able to marry Radha. Radha and Krishna’s love wasn’t about being married, it was about being completely connected. They thought about each other every moment of their lives that they became one being in two bodies. Whenever you hear the flute play or see a dance, Radha and Krishna are there invisibly enjoying themselves, too. You cannot say Krishna without saying Radha, and you cannot say Radha without thinking of Krishna. Any picture you see of Krishna will never be complete without Radha. Their love is an undying flame that will continue to burn. So, as always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed this week’s story! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya So I was perusing my Instagram feed the other day (as I know that we all do now and again) and I came across an incredible artist that I wanted to share with all of you. This week’s post does not have anything to do with Indian culture, but rather, something festive that is still related to art and just in time for the holidays! Maarit Hänninen is an artist and linocut printmaker based in Amsterdam and her beautiful paper ornaments really caught my eye, inspiring me to make my own. She uses linoleum blocks to carve out intricate designs and then applies them to create three-dimensional sculptural ornaments that are a perfect fit for the holiday season. She has clear instructions laid out on her Instagram, pdf templates free for anyone to print out, as well as videos detailing how she puts everything together. I made one the other night and it turned out wonderfully! I wanted to share this with all of you in case anybody is interested in a fun and easy way to spruce up their bedroom. I have attached the links below, feel free to comment if any of you try it out! I know this week’s post was very short, but I wanted to make sure that I took the time to share something that made me smile. During these trying times, all we can do is share a little joy. I hope that you all have a restful and incredible winter break and enjoy the holidays. Stay safe and as always, see you next Sunday! https://www.instagram.com/maarit.hanninen/ https://maarithanninen.com/pages/downloads ~ Riya How about another story this week? With the stresses of exams and the end of the semester, I thought that it would be a fun post! This is the story of the Goddess Lakshmi and how she came to be. The drawing shown this week is my recreation of one by Bijay Biswaal, done completely in ink. Enjoy! Each and every deity in Hinduism has significant importance. The Goddess Lakshmi symbolizes good luck and is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The story begins with a meeting between Sage Durvasa and Lord Indra, the God of weather. Sage Durvasa offered a garland of flowers to Lord Indra who took the garland and placed it on the forehead of his flying elephant, Airavat. The elephant took the beautiful garland of flowers and threw it down on the earth. Durvasa got angry at this disrespectful treatment of his gift and cursed Lord Indra, saying that his kingdom would be ruined in the same way that the flower garland was ruined when it was thrown. At this point in the story, it is important to understand that these sages were very easily angered and often times full of excessive pride. Following this encounter, Sage Durvasa walks away and Lord Indra returns to his kingdom where changes have already started to take place. The gods and people are losing their energy and vigor, the crops and plants are starting to die, citizens are foregoing any charity work, their minds are becoming corrupted by darker forces. With the Gods getting weak in the kingdom, the demons and demonic forces invade, defeating them. It is said that this is the reason that good and evil reside in us all. After being defeated, the Gods went to Lord Vishnu, the ruler of the universe, to ask for help. He suggested that the churning of the ocean would restore the power back to the Gods by providing them with the antidote that would make them immortal once again. Thus, the churning of the ocean began. Think of this as a literal game of tug of war between the Gods and Demons. From this churning, the Goddess Lakshmi rose out of the waves seated on a full-blown lotus. The Gods got their power back and fought the demons again, and this time, they were successful. I hope that each of you has a great end of the semester and may the Goddess Lakshmi grant a bit of luck on all of your exams. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya From a young age, I have always taken inspiration from artists that I admired. I would spend hours on end scouring through their works, mimicking them, committing their intricacies and details to memory, learning from how they presented such deep and complex emotions. This week, I decided that I would talk about one artist I discovered in high school, someone who’s art has spoken to me and has inspired me in my own work as well. Kehinde Wiley is a Los Angeles native and New York-based visual artist who is known for his incredible portrait paintings. Wiley’s imagery creates a sense of ambiguity and provocative perplexity. By juxtaposing his subjects with the style of the piece, applying the visual vocabulary of glorification, history, wealth, and prestige to the portrayed figure, Wiley creates images that become larger than life. His work has a way of pervading into a realm that is both hyper-realistic while also creating an air of vague mystique. Initially, Wiley’s portraits were created based on photographs taken of young men from the streets of Harlem. As time went on, he grew to exhibit more of an international view, including models found in landscapes throughout the world. He was even the artist to create the presidential portrait for Barack Obama. The models that he captures are dressed in their everyday clothing, assuming poses found in paintings or sculptures representative of the history of their surroundings. This juxtaposition of the “old” with the “new” is so visually potent and is what captured me when I first saw his work. His paintings evoke conversation and awaken complex issues that many would rather not be discussed.Wiley’s exploration of the human form against incredibly beautiful backgrounds is what I took inspiration from and channeled in some of my artwork as well. One of my pieces piece, titled The Modern Brahma, done in mixed media ranging from watercolor, gold leafing, and acrylic has a background inspired by Wiley’s. In the piece, I create a rendition of Brahma, the four-headed God of Creation in Hinduism. The subject displays various heads, each holding a different expression. It is clear as well that the subject of the painting is not Indian, but rather Caucasian. This choice was to show the internal struggle that I have always had between staying true to my roots and culture versus wanting to fit within the American society that I have grown up in. That feeling of being an outcast and alienated is demonstrated through the countenance of the foremost face, while pride for my culture is shown in the smile on the other. The faces also all adorn a bindi on their foreheads, juxtaposing my traditional background and culture with my modern American society and upbringing. As I’m sure many other artists do, I love taking inspiration from the works of other artists. I hope that I brought to light an incredible artist who is a leader in his craft and someone that I truly admire. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya Vishnu is one of the most important deities in the Hindu religion. He is known as the preserver and protector of the universes and Hinduism teaches that when humanity is threatened by chaos or evil, Vishnu will descend to Earth his incarnations to restore righteousness. These incarnations of Vishnu are called avatars and it is said in the scriptures that there are ten avatars total. Each of these avatars has a different form and purpose. When an individual is faced with a challenge, a particular avatar shows up to address the issue. In a recent piece done in mixed media from colored pencil, ink, and acrylic, I demonstrate the avatars of Vishnu. For this week’s post, I thought that I would briefly talk about each avatar! 1) Matsya the Fish: Matsya is said to be the avatar that rescued the first man, as well as other creatures of the earth, from a great flood. Matsya is sometimes depicted as a great fish or as a human torso connected to the tail of a fish. It is said that Matsya forewarned man about the coming flood and ordered humans to preserve all the grains and living creatures in a boat. This story is similar to many stories found in other cultures. Can you think of any? 2) Kurma the Tortoise: Kurma is seen in a mixed human-animal form. The tortoise incarnation relates to a classic Hindu myth where he churns the ocean of milk to obtain treasures dissolved within. In this myth, Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to support the churning stick on his back. 3) Varaha the Boar: Varaha, depicted as either a full boar form or as a boar head on a human body, raised the earth from the bottom of the sea after the demon Hiranyaksha dragged it to the bottom of the sea. After a battle of 1,000 years, Varaha raised the earth out of the water with his tusks. 4) Narasimha the Lion: As the legend goes, the demon Hiranyakashipiu obtained a blessing that he could not be killed or harmed by any means, making him virtually invincible. Arrogant in his security, Hiranyakshipiu began to cause trouble both in heaven and on earth. To put a stop to this, Vishnu emerged in the form of a man-lion known as Narasimha to slay the demon. 5) Vamana the Dwarf: Vamana appeared when the demon king Bali ruled the universe and the gods lost their power. One day, Vamana visited the court of Bali and begged for as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing at the dwarf, Bali granted the wish. The dwarf then assumed the form of a giant. He took the whole earth with the first step and the entire middle world with the second step. With the third step, Vamana sent Bali down to rule the underworld. 6) Parasurama: In his form, Vishnu appears as a priest who comes to the world to kill bad kings and protect humanity from danger. He appears in the form of a man carrying an ax, sometimes referred to as Rama with an ax. 7) Lord Rama: As you may remember from my story about Diwali, Rama was sent by the gods to do battle with the multi-headed demon Ravana when he was sent to the forest with his wife and brother for 14 years. He a major deity in the Hindu religion and even considered the supreme lord in some traditions. 8) Lord Krishna: Krishna is one of the most widely revered deities in Hinduism. He was a cowherd who was notoriously known to be a troublemaker in his youth. Krishna is depicted in a variety of forms because there are so many stories surrounding him. Krishna often has blue skin and wears a crown of peacock feathers with a golden loincloth. 9) Balarama, Krishna’s Brother: Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, engaged in many adventures alongside his brother. Stories of Balarama always focus on his prodigious strength. In visual representations, he is usually shown with pale skin in contrast to Krishna’s blue skin. 10) Kalki the Mighty Warrior: Kalki is the last incarnation of Vishnu. He is not expected to appear until the end of Kali Yuga, the current time period we are in right now. Kalki will come, it is believed, to rid the world of oppression by unrighteous rulers riding a white horse and carrying a fiery sword. I hope that you all enjoyed reading these brief descriptions and stories of each of Vishnu’s avatars. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya I thought that this week I would tell a story that I loved hearing when I was growing up. This is the story of the Ganesha, and how he came to be known as the Elephant God. Enjoy! Shiva’s wife Parvati disliked being disturbed when she was bathing but for some reason, Shiva never seemed to remember. He strode in whenever he wished oftentimes really annoying Parvati. One day when Shiva was away meditating in the forest, Parvati went into her bathing chamber full of determinations and a mischievous glint in her eyes. ‘Today I will not be disturbed,” she thought as she massaged herself with jasmine oil and sandalwood paste. Picking up a flat wooden knife she scraped the scented paste off her body and kneaded it into a lump, mixing it with the pure, fine soil from the ground. When it was firm enough, she fashioned the clay into the figure of a boy, perfect in every limb. She held the beautiful sculpture of the boy up to her face and poured her life’s breath into him. In the twinkling of an eye, a young boy stood before her, handsome, alive, eyes bright with love. Parvati hugged him. “Now look, I want you to do something for me. I’m going to have a bath and no one is to enter this chamber. You will be my little guard.” A piece that I did in ink inspired by a beautiful drawing of Ganesha by Bijay BiswaalThe boy bowed, hands folded, “Of course, Mother.” Parvati went into her bathing chambers and shut the door. The boy posted himself outside and stood with legs apart, hands folded, the spitting image of a little knight. Shiva returned from his meditative retreat and looked around for Parvati. When he didn’t see her, he made straight for the bathroom but came to an abrupt halt. In front of the door, blocking his passage, stood a strange young boy. Shiva moved forward, with purpose, but the boy didn’t budge. “I will not,” said the boy coolly, without a trace of fear. “My mother said no one must enter, so I will not let anybody in until she says so.” “I am not interested in what your mother said. Move out of my way!” Shiva roared, and his terrible anger erupted. In a flash, his sword was out and fell on the boy’s tender neck. The young boy cried as he fell, and his severed head rolled on the ground. Parvati sprang up and flung the door open. Her eyes widened in pain and anguish when she saw the headless body of her son. She turned on Shiva like a lioness, angry tears pouring down her face. “You’ve killed my son, you heartless brute,” she stormed. “How could you kill a young boy unequal in strength and years? And they call you a Great God! Some Great God you are! I’ll never forgive you for this.” Shiva looked at her in blank astonishment, bewildered and appalled. “I’m truly sorry, my dear, just don’t be angry with me,” Shiva tried to soothe his wife in his most calming voice. “I will bring him back to life, I promise.” Parvati threw him a smoldering look and turned away. Shiva summoned his faithful attendants and spoke with power, “Bring me the head of the first dead creature you see,’ Shiva ordered. The servants left and almost immediately saw a beautiful elephant down the path. They cut off its head and quickly took it to Shiva. Shiva knelt by the headless body of the boy and placed the elephant’s head on the raw, bleeding neck. The head merged seamlessly into the torso of the boy and a moment later the little eyes flickered open. Shiva picked him up and embraced him. “You, my son, will be the leader of my servants and the world will know you as Ganesha”’ he pronounced with a loving smile. “No god or man will dare begin a venture without first invoking you. In you shall be the power to remove every obstacle in the path of man, and in you shall lie the wisdom of the ages.” This week was a little different, but if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya Seeing as yesterday was Diwali, I thought that it would be appropriate to do this week’s post on the festival of lights. Diwali is one of the most important festivals in Hindu culture and symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, power of good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. A classic image of a rangoli design done with powdered pigments. During times of Diwali, which most traditionally is a five-day affair, families adorn and clean their houses, decorating it with beautiful flowers and ornaments. On the days leading up to the holiday and the day of, the entire home is lit up with candles and diyas. Diyas are small oil lamps that are generally made from clay. The wicks are made out of cotton and fueled by some type of oil or ghee. These Diyas or oil lamps are lit for deities and to bring light to the house and ward off any darkness. Another part of custom adornment is something called rangoli, a personal favorite of mine. Rangoli is created from either chalk or pigmented powders and used to create beautiful designs on pavements as well as home entrances. The lighting of candles and oil lamps is a welcome to the Goddess of Fortune and Prosperity, Lakshmi. It lights a path, welcoming her into blessing the home with good fortune, prosperity, and health. The holiday celebrates new beginnings and the start of the Indian fiscal year. The Goddess Lakshmi sitting on a lotus with wealth and prosperity flowing from her armsThe story of Diwali is long and well-loved. Diwali is said to be the commemoration of the return of Lord Rama and his wife Sita (Reincarnation of Goddess Lakshmi) and brother from a 14-year exile into the forest. While on their exile, Sita is taken by the demon Ravana. Lord Rama and his brother travel with an army far and wide, eventually conquering Ravana and bringing Sita back home. Lord Rama’s return to his home kingdom is celebrated by a festival from the townspeople that last for days with music, food, singing, and dancing. From then onwards, this festival came to be known as Diwali. The day Lord Rama returned home with Goddess Lakshmi (Sita). Diwali is a time for being with family and loved ones. Families light fireworks and host large feasts and celebrations. Temples, homes, offices, and buildings are brightly illuminated inside and outside. In the days leading up to Diwali, people clean, renovate, and beautifully adorn their homes. On the final day of the celebration, people dress in their finest clothes and perform a puja (prayer) for Lakshmi. This piece titled The Festival of Lights, well-named I know, is a small depiction of Diwali and the beautiful tradition that it represents. The hands are covered in henna holding a diya lamp. The entire piece is done in colored pencil and was done early on when I started using my culture and upbringing as a topic of my art. For me, Diwali has always been a beautiful time of the year. Family and friends come together and we all sit around enjoying each other’s company and laughter. Eating delicious food and Indian cuisine, praying for one another’s health, prosperity, and happiness, we all forget the daily mundane troubles for a moment and lose ourselves in mutual companionship and love. Happy Diwali to you all. As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Looking forward to next Sunday. ~ Riya Whenever I visit my family in India for the summers, one of my favorite parts of the trip is when my grandmother takes me to the street bazaars to get my mehndi done. I sit amongst the bustling crowd on a simple plastic crate, sounds of aunties and uncles in the background, bartering over the prices of everything from spices to table cloths. In front of me sits a young man wearing worn out and baggy clothing, hands stained with mehndi, papers full of practiced designs scattered around. In no time, I have a beautiful design of flowers and vines laid out on my hands in the deep, rich paste. I take immense care in making sure that I keep my hands perfectly still, bumping into nothing and nobody, never disrupting the design. When I get home, I carefully apply a mixture of lemon juice and eucalyptus oil in hopes of ensuring and dark and long-lasting stain. Mehndi is a beautiful part of Indian and South Asian culture and a form of art in its own right. From a young age, I have always been fascinated with the art of mehndi, the intricacies of the designs, the possibilities with a single cone. How about a little history? Henna, the plant itself, has been around for about 5,000 years. The plant, which is found in many parts of the world, is a small four-petaled flower ranging from yellow to pink. Twice a year the leaves are harvested, dried, and ground into a fine powder. This powder is used to dye hair and for the ancient eastern art of mehndi. Powder from the henna plant can be fine or coarse and pure natural henna powder can be bright to deep green, khaki, or brown. These powders render stains that are orange, red, burgundy, cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate brown, burgundy-black, black cherry, and near-black in color. Colloquially, mehndi and henna have become the same, referring to the method of applying body art with a smooth silky paste. It is most commonly applied to the hands and feet during times of joy and celebrations. No Indian wedding is ever complete without a Mehndi ceremony. One thing that always fascinated me about the art of mehndi was the divide between genders. Historically in many places around the world, America included, women were reserved for the “artsy” jobs. While men went off to work in factories and mechanical plants, girls were trained in the arts, learning how to cook and embroider. However, this seemed to be flipped in regards to henna artists. On the streets where you could get a full design done in under ten minutes for 50-60 rupees (not even a dollar), only men dominate. In the professional arena, where bridal henna can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars, take hours on end to complete, and require appointments in advance, there only seem to be female artists in the business. This parallel interested me deeply and was something that I wished to capture in a recent piece of mine. This piece titled The Art Between Genders captures a male street artist applying henna to the hand of a higher-class woman, as witnessed commonly in India. The foreground is done entirely in mehndi paste, diluted to behave like watercolor. The background is done in acrylic paint and is meant to depict common and traditional henna designs. Through this piece, I hope to spark conversation about the interesting dichotomy I witnessed and spread love for the beautiful art form that is mehndi. Henna will continue to be a topic of future posts where I will dive into my own experience as a henna artist, building my business, and even tutorials on how common designs can be created. If anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Looking forward to next Sunday! ~ Riya |
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