Desi style.

Irrespective of  occasion, scrapbooks and journals make perfect gifts. The  thought and effort that goes into making a memory book is a great way to express your  love. Above all there is no better way to preserve cherished photographs.  Have gifted scrapbooks to dear ones for a long time now.  Recently making one  for a  dear couple in the family, who had just completed  50 years of wedded bliss, I tried adding a  desi twist!


Bling Bling?

For festive occasions, weddings  and the like,  try  rich Indian layouts with the help of tikkis, Gota patti, zardosi and embroidery laces and printed wrapping papers. I tried it  for a few pictures from a wedding procession ages ago, and relived the moment in true north Indian barat  style all over again!

Go Bollywood!

When in doubt about any thing desi,  the easiest way forward is  to draw inspiration from Kitschy and colorful Bollywood. Here I reference  just the name of a popular film as a cover for a mini book for a sweet love story, but you can go the whole hog with disco colors and bolly pop layouts..

Hand Made Accents

A few pages for loving grand parents came alive with cute accents made using left over paper and embellishments.    For one of them pictured here, I used a tiny teddy bear ornament that had come off my child's hair clip. What made it really special was that the hair clip itself was a present to her  from her granny!

Vernacular Script

Some times store brought sentiments will just not do . Try handwritten script in desi vernacular for a personal touch, one which dadi/ Paati/ Bebe is sure to appreciate!  I had my kids write the same personally here:

Block Prints?

When running out of paper is a good thing. You can  then just reach for a sheet of paper in an old notebook something, and go over it with a block print stamp!  I did mine, with an office stamp pad and a tiny wooden block:

More ideas from all you avid scrapbookers out there will be appreciated. Do drop me a line!

Color studies : in brown and blue.

Launching a  line of art work  ( photo +) that deals with layers of materials and techniques,   has done a few things to me and the way I  approach my photography. It forces me to think accross disciplines. For the first time the image is also a starting point for a larger story. I am learning to see things accros a broad spectrum of things without compartmentalising. 

Images objects and stories come together to make a memory.

In 2008, I curated a small object based exhibition that appropriated household objects from expat Indian homes based in Hongkong ( pictured below). 

The experience of working with a large number of migrant  families and their stories of movement, dislocation and nesting in a foreign country was eye opening. The power of the domestic space in defining identity and  the immediacy of a possesion however small was a revelation.  My fetish for objects and material goes farther back, but this small exhibition encouraged it tremendously.

There was an intense desire on my part at that stage to work with objects and possessions. I started collecting  materials. Letters, postcards, photographs and the like.  

With Photo plus that desire to curate across media has gradually taken shape. There is a long way to go yet.

Late last year it struck me to apply a simlar approach to the blog. Talking homes, decor, interiors and lives still,  yet in different ways and definitely with more engagement with the subject.

I have made small beginings already. Today's post is yet another effort in more involved blogging. 

A series of posts will follow suit.

Today, I pick a color based modboard  for browns and blues. 

A combination of the contrasting elements of the earth and sky creates unearthly poetry..It's chic, contemporary and timeless, all at the same time. Here is a little brown and blue from  all over, other  homes, closets, the Photo+ work table, some of my photography and my own home.

Will come back with more since there is a lot more to say, until then I hope this make sense...

   

Photo credit : Pinterest. Among a lot of  wonderful oriental and Cuban interiors is also an outfit from my favourite designers, Payal Khandwala's previous collections.  A big fan of her fantastic sense of color and a very boho take on cuts and styles. 

A mood board created with an assemblage of color based objects, illustrations and photographs  from my studio and home.

Details from the mood board..

An Arastan shop in shop at Goodearth, Raghuvanshi Mills.

Arastan. The Bangalore base home and artefact label is unfortunately closing down soon. [A post about them was among a long list of to do's which never got done for one reason or the other unfortunately.]

One of Jodhpur's many blue houses. The  old quarter of the city is a symphony of blue and earth. Check out a more detailed post here.

When the dining table is off duty.

Browns and Indigo in the bedroom, plus and minus orange and rust as accent colors.

Hand built pottery in the kitchen.

Photography from Jodhpur livens up a mostly earth canvas of objects.

Finally a few images of a silk cushion I hand embroidered a while back from the archives..