Travalogue 2018- Gandikota, Andhra Pradesh.

This was the year I wanted to travel to atleast 12 places ( which I technically did). I ended up visiting Belum and Ganditkota twice, both in the winter. This is by far the best time to visit since it is a very rocky terrain and even in winter the temperatures were high enough during the day. Since the fort would take anything between 2 hours to 6 hours depending on how seriously you are exploring, good weather is a necessity rather than an attraction. 

January 2018: Gandikota

Nov 2018: Gandikota 

#Ganditkota is a (sand) fort in Andhra Pradesh. You will find small community of people still living there in and around the fort. At one end of the fort there is a mosque, next to it a temple ruin and at the very end of that same trail you get to the best view of the Canyon!!! The fort has an elaborate entrance, and from atop the entrance you can see the entire expanse of the fort. Near the entrance you have a pigeon tower and to the left of the tower is a huge granary and a little ahead of the granary is a temple and a water tank. If you explore you'll see some farming and hear namaz. The little hustle and bustle added to the over all vibe of the place. The last time I was there, the fort was still being developed as a tourist attraction.

Different views in and around Gandikota Fort- Andhra Pradesh

 

I went to Belum caves and Gandikota twice in 2018. Who knew 2020 would make me feel nostalgic. With this lockdown amid Covid fears travel seems like a distant dream, but not every year can be perfect. Although I have visited only twice, somehow, slowly it has creeped into my top ten places to visit. I still have a trip to make for some adventure sports, especially rafting. I got a little taste of what could be in store when I walked along the edge of the gorge, here in my last trip. 2 years already seems far too long ago to me. I know that words are not enough to express the beauty and allure of Gandikota. There are so many things to enjoy here apart form the Canyon. The view of rolling mountains spotted with windmills, the walls of the fort bathed in the rays of the rising sun.That’s why, I definitely recommend an overnight stay at the Haritha Resorts (APTDC). If you are in Bangalore, a weekend trip would be perfect teamed up with Belum Caves as well, only 60 kms away.  

Both times I have been by private vehicle, so I am clueless about how to go there by public transport. I missed staying overnight on my first visit but I was determined to stay there for the second one. 

The first visit I chose to stay in Kurnool which was 100 kms away from Belum and another 60 from Gandikota. My first Gandikota visit was a bit rushed, Belum caves and Gandikota both in one day. Honestly I don’t remember much except the little photos I took at the viewpoint of the Canyon. So I promised myself the next time I will be here for the sunset and sunrise and everything in between. Oh boy! Am I glad I could keep the promise to myself. 

Gandikota at the Canyon viewpoint, January 2018 

     

I am a firm believer in the Government run accommodation, they are economical and almost always close to the attractions. They help with arranging tours too. Online booking is available, sometimes only booking online is an option. The downside being, they aren't as luxurious or at times don't even make good first impressions.

I missed staying overnight on my first visit but I was determined to stay there for the second one.

APTDC also has accommodation available here. It's within walking distance from the fort ( less than or about 1km). The APTDC also has camping facilities. One can camp there with their own tent as well as rent a tent to stay. The AC tents are placed a little further, near the fort walls, along the valley while their rooms are in a different place. They have a restaurant which provides simple fare, when I last visited this was the only place for miles that provided any food ( apart from the locals, who I am not sure about). A small trek down the cliff into the Canyon and there you can do river rafting in the Pennar River as well as stay in tents along the banks.

Gandikota Nov 2018

Near the APTDC tents, at sunrise.

I was lucky enough to view both a sunrise and sunset here. Well more than lucky, it was by design. I got caught in the rain on the evening before, so although it wasn't an ideal sunset, the atmosphere was truly romantic. We were at the fort when we spotted the rain clouds closing in on us. I remember looking at the Dam ( not sure which one) from the ruins of a temple and seeing the rain. We ran, but within 5 minutes we were soaked as we made our way back to the hotel.

Sunset : top pic
Sunrise bottom Pic

Leaving some foot prints behind that got entangled in my memory.

Reference Websites : 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandikota

https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g9596249-d3203584-Reviews-Gandikota_Fort-Gandikota_Kadapa_District_Andhra_Pradesh.html

Travelogue 2018- January, Mysuru, Karnataka

Coming today to an intrinsic part of my life goals is travel. Every year I just renew them at new year. Although I have never really sat down and thought them out I have monthly budgets for them this year. In January alone I managed to do a bit of local travel which wasn't really much by design but by accident. There are only a certain caliber of travelers who can achieve this. 
I sat one evening chatting with my flatmate and generally talking about making a trip to Goa. She is one of those who loves to have a standard measurement to travel and luxury, is a key component in it. Yes in most cases luxury is important but in the past I have planned a non luxurious holiday as well, which have not only brought me joy but also a bucket loads of memories.  I have lived Goa in resorts with my family at 5000Rs a night and at 70 Rs a night with my friends in the same year. I have enjoyed both holidays in their own element. I haven't placed myself in any category as yet. I enjoy them for their own elements. Although I am not sure how much roughing it I can manage, so yet to see. Last year alone I had been bungee jumping and trekking in Manali. A year of adventure and loss and regaining fitness goals. If I at any point, want to do it this year, fitness has to be a year round goal. And I am lazy about it. One thing is for sure I wont be able to do it with the way I am right now. 

 I have set a goal for myself to do 12 places in 12 months, travel can be erratic so I have to try harder every single time. In January , as I mentioned before I managed to do a fair bit of local sight seeing, very touristy. Traveled by car and went to see these places from "view points".

Starting with Mysore, where I was exactly on the 1st of Jan. 

On the 1st of January 2018, I was in Mysuru with Pritesh, we went walking around and sought out some sights there... but the one where we spent the most amount of time on the last night of 2017! Priya joined us just as we reached one of the entrances of the palace. From here we went to the sand sculpture museum, the sea shell museum, walked along the Mysuru Zoo and came to the Musuru Palace just as it was lit in all its glory. There were to be fireworks here, but we had walked around 15 kms that night and were dead tired! I remember seeing 3 entrances to the Palace ( there may be more). On two ends there are temples which add to the glamour of the whole Palace. We were lucky enough to be at the Palace on New year's eve so it was lit all evening! We walked in at around 7 and were there till 10pm or so.

For more information follow the link to their official page

https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in

Priya has her own travel blog/ page which you can follow called backpack n brushes.

Mysuru -2

In the earlier part of the post, I mentioned having visited the Sand sculpture museum. Here is one of my best photos from that entire collection. It is one of the lesser known attractions of the city near Chamundi Hills. It isn't too big but they probably have 150 odd sculptures there over a varied range of topics, like cartoons, cars, figurines from different cultures, sea world, Indian mythology, made with only sand and water surprisingly.They have an entry fee , which is meager and worth it. It may take an hour or so to weave yourself through the entire museum. There is information about the artist, MN Gowri at the gate. They are open during the day from 8:30 to 18:30.

Follow the link below for more information.
https://www.museumsofindia.org/…/mysore-sand-sculpture-muse…

After the Sand museum, we went to the Sea shell museum which is right on the opposite side of the road. Its a must must must visit. Entry is almost 20 Rs or so but oh my god the amount of work the Artist has put into collecting, buying shells and then making them into artifacts is mindblowing. The artist herself is present at the museum , she may even show you around if you ask her to. She has used all kinds of shells in her work. She also holds a Guinness book world record for the tallest structure made with shells, which although an impressive feat is not her best work! You will see a Philomena Church, Tajmahal which is so intricate , one would be astounded. Also interestingly she has created art with a whole other host of materials as well. It is a good browse! 

Radha Mallappa : Artist.
have a look at this simple youtube documentary for a virtual tour. ( not my video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aluxrcBzrxM

While walking back from the sea shell museum we came across this structure bathed in green light! At the time I didnt know what it was except that it looked wonderful. It's a Gazebo in Kupanna Park ( Nishant Bagh). It seems there are plans to start a musical fountain show here ( it may have already started) . Right next to it was a glass house being built when I visited.

Here is some background information about Kupanna Park
http://mysore.ind.in/nishat-bagh

Another Gem in Mysuru... Hardinge Circle also known to the locals as Aru Gate. Six major roads converge at this circle , hence the name Aru gate.This is also located just around the corner from The Palace. The gazebo like structure houses a Life size statue of the last Wadiyar King, Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

This Hindu Article surmises the work that went on for the Statue

http://www.thehindu.com/…/a-tribute-to-m…/article6779800.ece  

An early morning #Lakewalk gave us some nice energy that carried us into the evening. We walked around #Lingambudhi lake with a couple of dogs and then eventually came out the entrance   surprisingly it was quite lonely, which was quite enjoyable.

https://www.karnataka.com/mysore/lingambudhi-lake/

This brings me to end of my little fairy tale in Mysuru. Lastly I would like to add the route we took, and adding a little details in the very end, we covered a fair bit on foot. A good 15 kms or so of walking. I am sure you have visited a lot more places.... this is just my touch.

<3 Rich

A Painful encounter with health

So this last week I have been in the throes of pain. It feels so crippling. Cannot sit, cannot stand, cannot sleep comfortably, cannot bend, cannot walk. Its like a small part of my back can make life absolutely unbearable. Blood tests determined that I have vitamin B12 and D deficiency. My doctor also said be ready for x-rays, ortho visits because it could very well be something more sinister. My future work and travel plans feel so threatened right now. One whole week, I haven't touched clay and I can already feel my ideas slipping away, my chance at making my art.

But, I got a lot of time on my hands, which is a good thing. I was thinking up of challenges for the next few weeks for other clay artists. I sat and drew literally 5 minute drawings of what I can try to make. Squeezing in 5 minute stretches to strengthen my back while trying to find 15 minutes of sun for my vit D :). Reading self motivation articles and looking at ideas online.
 

With pain brought a realization that my body reacts to everything. The food we eat, the sun light we expose ourselves to, the exercises we do, the laughter we induce. My mind takes swipes at me sometimes, trying to rear ugly pictures of what I might have to give up, quickly followed by depressing thoughts, which I crawl out of, not alone, never by myself. I have found my anchors who help me rise up out of these dark thoughts. I have learnt to understand though, that I will do whatever it takes to stay happy and content, but that does not mean I don't have weaknesses or sadness. I give in to them occasionally with the hope that I will rise out of them a changed person. Only time will tell if I have grown stronger or weaker. 

P.S : Since then my back issues have reduced tremendously firstly due to my doctor's advice to bring my VIT levels up. Secondly to a year of Yoga that has not only made me stronger, more flexible but also thankful to my instructor for being a constant source of inspiration.  I want to continue yoga, when time permits. I only wish that don't become lazy again, due to this prolonged break from it. It's the year 2020 , where COVID 19 has wreaked havoc worldwide. 

<3 Rich

Making Jewellery is easy, but being a entrepreneur is not!!!!

While making jewellery itself is quite simple, one always needs to make an informed choice about it. Jewellery making stands on a three legged milk stool. I believe, and this is just my opinion , that most handmade jewellery fares low to high range based on these three main factors.

1. Innovation & Skill
2. Raw Material
3. Budget

INNOVATION

My reason for putting innovation on the top is, that creativity, artistic freedom everything stems from this one main point. If you want to try something new, you have to give it the extra push irrespective of money. One never escapes learning and what better way to understand your work than trials. You will need to be extra critical of your work, there is no two ways about that. If you want to learn and grow in designing handmade articles you must realise your own shortcomings and try to fix them. My shortfall is symmetry, how much ever I try, what people thinks look good, looks asymmetric to me and that's what I work on the most.

Important Note:
In the world of creativity, the term "inspiration" has been twisted into suiting people's needs. Ethics is too plays an important part of innovation. But if one must recreate, take the needed permissions and give credit to the original artist. Someday you might be someone's "inspiration" and get due credit as well. Do onto others what you would want done onto you. An idea is worth a lot more than it looks. I have faced ire at supposedly having "copied" someone's work (where in the idea was my own from almost a year ago which I revisited in a slightly different way). My page and I both suffered, its horrible because a public spat not only damages your image but definitely loses you clients. People take sides and it creates fodder for some others to reign on.

RAW MATERIALS

Since this forms the biggest part of your expenditure and savings, take utmost care while buying. There is nothing like buying from the source. Find a market nearest to you and buy material with money set aside from previous sales. It's an important reinvestment. Start with what you think is different , fits your budget and you can buy repeatedly if need be. Once you and your customers are comfortable with your material, start to upgrade to better material. for eg: start with buying acrylic beads  but aim to moving into glass beads and eventually semiprecious stones. The transition may be long or short, judge your own skills and customer demands and only then make a change to better material. But once at better material DONOT turn back. You can afford to keep a range from cheap to expensive only if you are a shop that caters to a variety of consumers, a handmade jewellery artist does not necessarily have that advantage.
I personally go to Mumbai, once a year and walk around the market scourging for new things and yes good quality things too. I need to start saving and putting aside money during the year to make this trip. It helps as well to meet the sellers, this helps build a rapport with them. If they know you, they are more willing to cater to your needs whenever you need help. They may even go out of their way to supply material to you.

Online sources are good for convenience ,but the draw back is that you cannot do a quality check from photos and sometimes is a risk, which you need to be ready for.
I once bought Rs 2000/- worth polymer clay online and it turned out to be bad and dry lot, since this was my very first investment it hurt a lot. I was a beginner and could not afford to have "bad" material to waste money on. I blacklisted that seller and had to buck up, refuse orders and lose money, both incoming and outgoing. Even today if my bill is over Rs1000/- from an online buyer, my heart starts pounding and reminding me of my bad experience. Now I only buy from reputed sellers even if they are a tad more expensive.

BUDGET

Once you are running a business (so to speak) money is an integral part of it. You have to assign budget for material, your time and designs and overheads like couriers or delivery, packaging, giftwrap, marketing, online selling cut, card payments or paypal commission,tools, stationary, exhibitions and sales etc. Everything today costs money, and it would do well to charge for your time accordingly as well. When you are designing for someone, it is the best practice to ask you client for their budget. It sounds rude, but you can only bear so many losses in trials. You can always go an extra little step to go beyond the expectations of your clients, and in turn gain their trust. You never know, you might end up as friends later! A new business needs time to set up, so expect slow sales in the beginning but start socialising for your business. It's marketing at grassroot level- word of mouth and needs less to no money. Once you have a footing in the market, invest in marketing , do exhibitions / pop up stalls/ promotional events.

Making some art
~Richa

P.S
I have an upcoming Jewellery making workshop in Pune, India
follow the event link below for info.

https://www.facebook.com/events/527651930754926

Artzire ++ Nakshatram ++ Nama:II

Our newest Polymer clay designs begin with the ideas - Indian Traditional, wedding (occasion) and GRAND!!!

The ins and outs of the Nakshatram piece can be found at 

http://artzire.blogspot.in/2015/12/pouring-our-blood-into-polymer-clay.html

The number two grand piece Nama:|| 

When the idea was formulating, again, with a traditional main theme, we contemplated mixing it with paper at first! Then came the idea of creating a third dimension in a pendant, and then we added symmetry to it!
Next came the few trials for making the Ganesha as the central piece, it took me at-least 3 tries before I was satisfied with the figurine. We baked it separately so as to avoid distorting it. Then painstakingly we outlined the flower in the 2nd layer of clay with a flower, so as to make it look like the Ganesha, sat in the centre of a Lotus. The matching Sari had the colours: Yellow-gold and Magenta, Since we could not include yellow in the pendant and earring ( because it lacked the contrast with the gold base), we incorporated it into the stringing with citrines and agates, which complimented each other completely!!! I decided to blend Magenta, Pearl and Purple clay together, to get a colour changing effect ( just like a Sari, that changes colour with the light). Once the outlines of the flower were in place, we filled in the channel created with minute clay balls, all cut to the measurement of 2mm each!!! Remember to do it, only when you are up for some brain numbing cutting and rolling! Trust me it takes hours! Once that was in place, we baked the 2nd part. The final layer, which included our veins for attaching the bead strings to the pendant came last. Once the base was created, we joined it together with the 2nd layer and an outline of clay and then merging the outline, such that it looked seamless! The biggest advantage of Polymer clay is that it can be baked as many times as you need  as long as it is within its core baking temperature.

Personal Note

I am lucky that Art'zire ropes me in for some juicy work. These projects I have never even considered doing, mainly because I doubt my own skills, but Pritesh is always there to help and give honest feedback. She sometimes thinks she is being very picky, and sometimes I think so too, and that's what makes all the difference between grand and "Grandeur". It's the exact measurement, mathematical precision and ideas that make the results worth everything. Sometimes it is mistaken for 'digitally printed designs'. In a manner of speaking we are glad for it! When people mistake our work for digital copies, it's a huge compliment to us!

So please let the love pour in! 

~Richa  

Quillography + Resin :)

Hellllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooo

A veryyy veryy late post.
Finally after doing numerous trials on Resin, I am, almost happy with my piece.

Here I have tried to mix a lot of different mediums like colour pencils on sketching paper, Quilling Outlines and finally Resin.
Although I must admit that I did require a lot of help from youtube on this occasion ... especially paperlace princess for her tips on shading with pencil colours. (Do look at her zentangle colouring for an easy to follow tutorial, of-course do it alongside so you can make adjustments and corrections to your own work, because there is nothing like self learning).
I cannot stress the point, that do a couple of practice trials before you can figure out the best way it works for you. I have used Staedler Colour Pencils ( Faber Castell  I think would be a better option, but I didn't want to buy a new set of colour pencils), some local resin mixture, black Quillography strips from Art'zire & glitter from Colour Conceptions.

After making this I came to the following conclusions  ( picture of a trial gone wrong in all possible ways, to highlight my points below.)

1. The need to be more careful about the kind of paper to use as the base for the drawing, or your resin will soak through giving your design a transparent look. So all that colouring that you have spent an hour doing, get's lost somewhere. The other option to give a protective coating on both the top and bottom of your painting with maybe varnish, or a transparent drying glue.( In the above picture there is clearer spot towards the centre.... that was the original paper colour) If you are using pigmented colouring techniques, like colour pencils, charcoal colours etc which can dislodge and form streaks as they come loose. It involves a two part process, varnish (preferably spray), the coloured area to prevent the colour pigments transfer while applying the layer of glue. The glue creates a film between the porous paper and the resin leaving your colours intact and original.

2. While Quilling outlines, perfection is everything. The strips should be able to act as walls to keep the resin within the design. If there is even a little crack, it's going to leak through on to the outside and spread, pretty much spoiling the effect you are aiming to get.

3. If you want to add a little something extra... say like glitter, mix it in the resin. If you put it on after you have poured the resin into your design it does not sink to the bottom, so you get an uneven surface and at times it will cover part of the design that you have worked so hard on. ( Part of my drawing above is hidden because I sprinkled glitter on the top)

4. Air bubbles is resin designs biggest enemy, it will make your design go blotchy and/ or uneven (above picture , the spot of clearer design that you can see is because of an air bubble that was caught under the paper while inserting it into the resin). 

5. If you want a doming effect the key is layering the resin. In effect it means that you will need to work the resin in batches, atleast 3 hours apart. With paper, especially where you have non uniform shapes , mix in resin, let it cure for half an hour ( please decide what the right time is with trials, the outside temperature makes a lot of difference to the curing time)

6. Dust is hell on earth. Living in India , it can be anything from dirt particles, threads from clothes, residue particles from whatever craft you do on your table. Keep it covered! Make sure its not air tight or you will have condensation inside, which may fall into the resin ( if it forms a big enough droplet).

7. Any imperfections in drawing, leaving behind pencil marks that you have used as guidelines, settled dust particles, uneven grooves, WILL BE ENHANCED! The clear concave effect acts like a tiny lens where it zooms a little. So things you thought were insignificant once will definitely enlarge and become obvious. Sometimes if you are using a darker background ( for example black) all the little tiny air bubbles will cause disturbance in the otherwise plain black background.

8. Working with 3D surfaces lends itself to trapped air bubbles. Its not something you can get rid of 100% , but it makes it easier if you try and reduce the straight edges into sloping ones, using transparent drying glue. Basically you fill up the crevices that may cause these air spaces to be created within. Secondly pour the resin slowly, if required use the stirring ice cream sticks to apply resin.


I also did a series of free video tutorials along with Pritesh, from Art'zire, follow the link below for a live demonstration.

http://artzire.blogspot.in/2015/07/handling-casting-resin-series-of-free.html


Do leave me feedback... and if you try something similar, I hope, I have inspired you and helped you a little in the right direction and you will be kind enough to acknowledge my hard work.

~ Richa





 

Decked up and nowhere to go ;)

Heyloo peoples!!!

Today I thought, why not put some goodwill out there and spread the word about some of 

ROCK PAPER & SCISSOR

 Collections in Jewellery. 

I am proud of the fact that everything is handmade , hand crafted and sometimes handpicked ( very rare times, those). Even when I buy ready made earrings, they lie in my cupboard begging to be worn, but they end up being part of my RPS collection at some point. :P.

My entire collection is displayed on facebook at the below link. 

https://www.facebook.com/rockpaperandscissor

Most of these are possible to be re-made on order, if you email me on customrps@gmail.com for placing an order, we can work things from there.

I had customised it for a Deep Blue dress, in the end it ended up being too big for the girl in question and it came back into my stock. I still love it though. Its perfect to wear stand alone, it had a lovely jingle to it ( and that is what is most important to me)

One of my most sought after designs, using semi precious nuggets in their natural handcrafted form. I named it Aparna after one of my best friends even before I knew it would be a hit.

My very first attempt at trying tubular netting. I decided to pick a more traditional colour, teamed it with bronze and Gold. It looks like a bangle, I called it a Boxette- Mistress Red!

The new Addition to my ever growing list of things that can be made are Rings, hairbands and Fridge magnets!

Made to Order, sunflower ring was one of the first in the range of polymer clay products I introduced in the RPS wine. 

My very first trial with hairbands using polymer clay. and it turned out pretty funky and strong as opposed to what I had initially thought. 

 *** Disclaimer:  Beading techniques are easily found online and as such I have seen pictures online and with my then colleague figured out the beading best suited to us, with raw material found in India. These are by no means my original beading techniques. ***

Paper, Seattle and Working with the best!

Hello fellow art junkies,

What better way to shake me up into posting ... than showcasing a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Seattle... 

A city that will remain etched in my mind forever and ever. Before you think "Why? What's so special about Seattle?" A picture can explain it to you better than a million words.

  Let me start with a little background on the painting itself.

Subject: The Seattle City Skyline (Washington, USA)

Size: 5.5 ft x 3 ft (That's almost as big as a door!!!!!!!!)

The approximate number of papers used (A4) is close to 600 Sheets not including what we used for outlining each building and base.

FUN Fact:

 If you join all our 26000 strips used, they will take you atleast 8 kms away. So if you are ever planning to go into a maze .... 1 tight coil in your pocket to unravel and you are safe to go into it and back.

DR PRITESH (The perfectionist) DAGUR

Pritesh has been my mentor ... then a colleague, for a little while and now we share so many ideas together its actually uncanny sometimes. We end up thinking of the same thing at the same time. Maybe we are long lost sisters ;)

When P takes a project up, she sits and researches and analyses how to go about it.

Concept ---> Background score ---> Designing ------->Printing ------> Outlining ------> Finally Working.

 Even as she begins working , she is constantly re-evaluating as the painting progresses.

When she got this project, I had thought, Man this woman is crazy!!! The sheer scale and the amount of work involved within the timeline given was next to impossible for my imagination!!!

Since I was not there in the initial stages, it would fill in the gaps if you follow some chapters on the blog Quilling me Softly-  Dr Pritesh Dagur.

http://quillingmesoftlee.blogspot.in/2014/06/sleepless-for-seattle-world-record-of.html

THE PAST

I worked with her for a short while of 5 months during which we worked on 2 big projects namely the Peacock and Rapunsel and several smaller ones as well as Jewellery. I must admit that from P ,I learnt how each process works when you take up a quilling project. Although my projects are in no way on the same scale, I have been tarnished by the perfectionist brush.

BANGALORE

Just when Pritesh moved to Bangalore, I knew there was a project under discussion with Suchitra, but I could never have imagined what they finalised on eventually. I made 2 trips to Bangalore for helping with the painting and ended up only working on it on my second trip. The sight of the huge Plywood looming in the background itself was so daunting. ( the ply took up almost half of the space in her workroom) Just when I came back to Pune on the 1st of May, then Pritesh dropped a bomb that she needed to complete the painting in 25 days and that she was going to try for a WORLD RECORD and then she asked me if I would help her. You see I was used to her quilling standards and  all that mattered was, "If Pritesh has asked for my help, then she trusts me to do a great job." She has said many a times that she doesn't generally expect people to meet her standards. She had asked me, ME! I was (super- duper) happy. When she asked me to come to Bangalore, it didn't even enter my mind to think about it. I just said OKAY, I can come after the 13th of May and suddenly I was part of this project. We worked on 70% of the painting between 17th and 27th May.

  

I don't think the magnitude really struck me, until, I for the first time, sat in front of the Painting and started doing the beehive. Initially I only helped with tight coils, I was scared of not being upto the mark, so I didn't offer to do anything on the painting. I saw her work relentlessly on this project, working 10 hours ( which gradually went up to 20 hours towards the end)  in a day. On the 2nd day, out of the corner of my eye I could see Pritesh's intense face and the realisation hit me, I have to buck up and volunteer to do the beehive. I kept telling myself, if Pritesh can do it so can I!!! If she doesn't take a break... how can I? After a while our rhythm just fit in, Pritesh would layer, give it base and outline and I would sit and beehive. Once I got confident we switched roles to relieve each other. Pasting the tight coils was a pain in the neck (Literally). Your hands and neck would just start locking up after a while. On the other hand, beehiving would numb the fingers. Later on it didn't matter who did what, everything was paining, on top of that we were sleep deprived. We were counting down 10 days.... 5 days.... 96 hours. Then another obstacle hit, we were quickly consuming the tight coils, so one of us had to do that in addition to our preset jobs. Now we had to swap between , beehiving, cutting- making and sticking tight coils, completing our buildings. We must have cursed each and every architect who contributed to making the Seattle Skyline. Each building was a new shape and size and a new layer. 

 It was slow and challenging, but WE DID IT! After all what is a world record if we could achieve it easily. Now, if and when we do achieve that goal it will be that much sweeter.

LITTLE COMFORTS:

We resorted to doing crazy things to keep ourselves alive. We giggled on endlessly, anything and everything was funny. Pritesh's son and his antics were such a fuel to our fast slowing brains. He would totter into the room with a naughty expression in his big round eyes and a smile on his face. It was like he would come around for 2 minutes, lift our spirits and run away ( usually with something from the worktable in his hand). Ananth Krishnan (Pritesh's husband) despite his heavy work schedule, he kept us supplied with coffee and food. I wish I had gotten to thank them before I left.

Another noteable mention would be Radio Indigo... they played our songs all day long, "Lemme take a selfie" "whudat whudat" and we were perpetually waiting for the retro hour!!!

 We even watched some great movies like "Desi Spiderman". [ For those like me, who would revel in crappy movies, this is the best of the best. You should learn dancing from the main characters if nothing else.] I for one am indebted to it.

THANK YOU's
Firstly I would like to thank my pillars of strength, my Mom & Dad who, despite not knowing what I was going to do and why, never doubted me, encouraged me and are still very proud of me ( also my brother and his wife supporting me all the way from Singapore, my cousins in Scotland, Dubai, USA, everyone has been awesome).  Lastly Pritesh, Ananth and Anvesh ... each and everyone have been wonderful to me and are absolutely like my family.
 

NOW all I can think of is sleep and my pending work!

~Rich

Christmas Cards

A new beginning deserves a great new blaze of pictures.. so here goes my attempt at bringing to you what I can and cannot do :)
Since this was my first trial... today I do see lot of scope for improvements and innovations. I started with simple snowflake designs because I wasn't sure how I would fare with them. Once I was confident of doing better with outlines I made slightly more complicated designs. That is around the time I got bolder with typography. It was a completely new high for me.

 Our First Bulk order all the way from across continents : Christmas cards. ( Dec 2013)