“Mahathanda – cooling oil”

Mahathanda cooling oil campaign by Siddhi Yadav, an awesome project where the Madhubani illustration style has been used prominently. I Like the way they have given it a grungy background and warm indian feel to it. Really proud of our Indian products which stands out and makes it such a big difference. Love the human figures style. The campaign was recognized with three Silvers at the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival 2009(Adfest 2009) in Pattaya, Thailand for Print Craft – Best use of Illustration category. Truly worth every bit.

Gods Of India

Love the series of Indian gods and goddesses illustration by Pedro Melo's. The Brazilian artist has created lovely illustration that truly is inspiring and has a very Indian feel to it. What is more interesting is the usage if colors which is so Desi. The quirky figures make the gods look different and very attractive. This sets a very good contrast from Sanjay Patel's Ghee Happy and Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues Indian gods illustration.

MAAD - Hand Made Goodness

Maad, the market for artists and designers had their first bazzar of the year in Red Dot Design museum singapore. The only thing that I was keen about doing this sat was going there and was totally happy after I did. The place was all set with pure hand made lovelies and the local artists had gathered to make the place very colorful. Met and spoke to a few craftsmen who had created absolutely stunning jewelry, hand sewn bags, pouches, key holders, hand made books, coasters, buttons and lots & lots more......

The place was so warm and what made it interesting was the "Portrait Day" which was happening there, made me feel nostalgic. Reminded me of my college classes where a person poses and we had to sketch the model ....

"Kariton" a earth friendly store had a very good range of recycled products. The lovely hand matted coasters, mats, hand made books with illustration on them, book marks, photo frames and lot more. The artist was friendly enough to let me take a photo at his stall ........

Beautiful Indian Designs by Patricia Fernandes

Here are some elegant Porcelain fashion accessories handcrafted by Patricia Fernandes who is based in Australia. All these are created by layering 100 year old traditional Indian Patterns and designs on crisp white porcelain which is a lengthy process . She creates a stunning range of broaches, ear rings, scarf holders, pendents, buttons. All of these look absolutely great and will surely go with any outfit.

Air India Vintage Timetable Design

Happy new year :)...... Here is a splash of awesome vintage timetable designs of Air India (1950 - 1970). These timetables are from the collection of Germain Mentgen collected by

Björn Larsson. For more details visit their website here

. loved them totally. Typical Indian designs which are so rich and nice to collect them. I wish they still had the similar stuff even today. I am very proud of our county's diversity.

Retrospection

It has truly been a retrospective day for me and I feel so happy after seeing the original works of Andywarhol. Being a great fan of him, was disappointed when the collector dint allow me to take pictures ....... was even more disappointed by hearing the price of one of the works I admire the most (volkswagen screen print on lenox museum board). I am sure sometime down the line I can afford to buy one of them.

Well rainy day, after a lot of walking, I came across this really awesome lane of stores and cafes that dint make me feel like I was in Singapore for a second. I was all set to get inspired again.

"Books actually" a book store that has a good range of books in the discipline of philosophy, art, photography, history, psychology, science etc. Interesting part was the hand stitched books, they were adorable, books apart ;) I was zapped by their awesome range of vintage products. The old typewriters, polaroids, campbell soup bowls, old radios, oh god I went crazy looking at each corner, lovely makes me feel that I should start collecting them too. Here is a sneak peak of what I saw

Pottery Jungle

On my way back from the 100th scout celebration we happened to see pots lined up by the road and a board that said "way to pottery jungle", which obviously made me curious to visit and we followed the directions. Well it was along walk outskirts but was totally worth it. The entrance had lines and lines of colorful ceramic pots stacked up on both the sides which gave us a warm welcome. There were pots of every size and color this was what I could see outside but there was a building with tons andtons of them which drew myattention quickly.

There was a huge maze of pottery and ceramics. Traditional blue and white constrasts with modern swirls of vibrant reds and yellow; ginger jars and rice pots drew my attention. Modern vases and abstract decorative pieces. Figurines, platters, bowls, fountains, foot stools, animals, wall panels, vases, urns and even complete outdoor picnic table and chair sets...all made from pottery in a thousand different hues. As we wandered from one open-sided barn to the next we start to wonder if the collection will ever end. No wonder this place is 45 years old. They have a incredible collection.

Piled up ceramic pots at the entrance.

In the middle of all this place there is a huge kiln The "Dragon Kiln". he dragon kiln in Jalan Bahar Clay Studios (JBCS) known as Guan Huat Dragon Kiln was built by Mr. Lee Yong Lee and his friends in 1958. Although it is considered the longest dragon kiln in Singapore today, measuring 43 metres long, 2.2 metres high and 2.5 metres wide. This is the biggest kiln I have ever come across. The friendly staff there said the the next firing would happen is Jan and I would surely take an other trip there. We bought few pretty ceramic containers and got back home. loved the adventure.

Entrance of the kiln.

The huge kiln, a view inside.

There were few artists working on their wheel and making beautiful pots. The artist's studio was by the river and had a beautiful view which is connected to the nature. There was a small classroom with heaps of pots in every corner and made the place look even more interesting.

Artist at work.The studio by the river.

A beautiful lamp.