Indian Graphics

 One of the things I loved about India was the richness of graphics in signs and decorations.

I passed by this sign in Munnar one day in a taxi and spent the next two days trying to locate it so i could take her picture

The gleaming smile in the jewelry store

The Bollywood posters

The Raja's portrait in the City Palace in Jaipur

In tile

handpainted signs on vehicles

Hand painted signs at the deer park in Sarnath

Enigmatic works of art

Gandhi graffiti

Not graphics but wonderfully kitschy 

I love the primitive perspective on this one

On just about any surface

Don't ask me what the meaning of this is

Found on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi

I adore the richness of colors and decoration of almost every available surface in India. So much of it is still hand painted giving a richness and simplicity that evokes the soul of India for me.

I think about how many skilled sign painters that must still exist there and it surely must be a dying breed here in the west. Affordable advertising and art brilliantly executed. 

Where Do I Start?

Well I may as well jump right in and give you some tastes of India, Gem Show and my newest creations in one fell swoop.

I've been busy resizing hundreds of photos for Facebook and hope to be sharing some here.

Not all 800 I promise.

I just got this glass pendant kit from CraftFantastic at the gem show in Tucson upon our return. I've about used up all that I bought already!

I made fast work  with the little bits of graphics I picked up on the streets of India and  from some of the children's books I found. I mixed in a few images from my Moroccan morality books too.

Just glue the images to the little glass squares, I can put anraku pendant bails on these if I wish.

These images are from snuff packages, a Bollywood disc cover, a children's book and a 100 year old Tamil script religious book.

I could have gone really crazy in the sari trim shops of Mumbai so I limited myself to a few choice samples.

Even more vivid in person

An assemblage dog I met in Mumbai. Those dogs need to be tough to survive there.

This is some kind of joke for Mumbai, there is non-stop honking.

Some graphics for you

Love the rust and the old name Bombay. Too bad this wouldn't fit in our luggage!

At an art school.

We had a most incredible if not exhausting trip in India. I'll try to share bits and slices with you as I go along. Right now what I really want to be doing is putting my inspiration to work in the studio as well as catching up on blogland. I've been on a bit of a marathon since we came home jumping smack into the gem show. I managed to pick up a few choice goodies even though I swore I didn't need many more supplies. It's too tempting though and I was happy with what I picked up.

All for now...enjoy!

XOXO Kim