Alice in Wonderland

When I'm not knitting, I'm drawing about knitting :)

2011-12-28T16:42:00.000+05:30

Sometimes I can trip on technology too

2011-12-06T17:11:00.001+05:30

I was at a party last night and suddenly I had an idea for a dress. Desperate to sketch before I forget it, I downloaded an app for drawing. Oh how I love technology (sometimes)!! And then the tripping started :)

An attempt to draw a dress

Tripping on more silhouettes

and random faces...

whale splash

a landscap-y thing

and the Cheshire Cat, of course!

Titli

2011-10-03T11:30:00.001+05:30

Firki

2011-09-20T22:57:00.001+05:30

That is why you should sketch!

2011-09-08T18:50:00.000+05:30

After not sketching for months together, I tried getting back to it on a brand new notebook. It took me almost an hour between Nigella's Kitchen and Project Runway and major overuse of the eraser to make a sad little "fashion drawing". More motivation to sketch!!

Does that count?

2011-09-06T19:11:00.000+05:30

Monsoon

2011-08-11T11:50:00.000+05:30

Unending Rain

Grey, cold...

Separation

Old friends, mellow songs

Nostalgia...

Lost in the future

Uncomfortable goodbyes

Avoiding conversations

Guilt, love and hope

There will be sunshine tomorrow.

Hussaini's

2011-07-09T23:26:00.001+05:30

This small bakery near Teen Darwaza is always full of people.. but one bite of fresh, aromatic, sugary biscuits and pastries just makes you forget the crowd around you. So famous is this bakery that the street on which it is, is called "biscuit gali".
Mmmm.... :-)

More Monsters :-)

2011-07-07T00:28:00.003+05:30

So the monsters blew out of proportion and landed on my wall with some charcoal and crayons.
Illustrations by grishma & me

Monster Mania!

2011-05-21T01:40:00.000+05:30

It started with a pair of shoes that Grishma and I doodled on, and is slowly blowing out of proportion! More pictures soon :)

Why I have so many empty notebooks

2011-05-05T16:47:00.001+05:30

Dear Diary,

What should I tell your empty pages?

Those creamy textured sheets, untouched… yet.

Should I wait for an inspiration…

To have beautiful flowers grow on you

Soft animals running around

Playing peek-a-boo

Tall buildings with firefly lights

Pretty people walking by

In fabulous clothes and high heels

Childhood memories of the games I played

Summer holidays and paper planes

Making rainbows with prisms

Or should I fill you up with

Word upon word of angst and resentment

Of fading dreams and emerging fears

Should I soil your pages with these dirty thoughts

Just so I could have a clean mind?

It is for this, dear diary,

You still sleep in the blanket of dust…

I’ll wake you with colours someday.

And... back to watercolours

2011-04-29T20:45:00.000+05:30

When Paint was the Photoshop

2011-04-26T20:12:00.000+05:30

Part 3/3

of the "decade old stuff'

So since I had a lot of time and no awareness of the existence of "softwares made for drawing", I used to sometimes make stuff on MS Paint... ya with all the colours and transparency type effects done manually. Phew! Was good fun though...

(click to view original size)

It was the time when I thought "Banarasi" is a kind of embroidery and the only Indian motif is the Paisley.. etc etc... hehe... These are the "not so bad ones" and that ends my 3-Part reminiscing about old stuff.

Should focus on learning watercolours now :)

PowerPoint Misuse

2011-04-21T13:04:00.000+05:30

In the series of "decade-old" stuff.....
So back in 2000-2001 I used to totally trip on PowerPoint... Since we had a new computer and I had too much time.. And what better way to give an outlet to your imagination than clean lines and fun patterns that are totally easy... PowerPoint, you are great, but I am officially a designer now, so I'm trying to make friends with Illustrator :P But nothing beats your awesomeness!

Reminiscing...

2011-04-17T23:34:00.000+05:30

My first "brush" with MS Paint back in 2000...

I had made these photo frame thingies with little themes.. Seems funny now, but 11 years back I totally used to trip on Paint. Will post more "decade-old" stuff soon. :P

Psych-e-delic

2011-04-14T12:42:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday - Bottled

2011-04-12T17:36:00.000+05:30

It's not really a good idea to keep things bottled up for a long time... :-/

First user of "Oinki's Colouring Book"

2011-04-07T19:17:00.000+05:30

It is so nice to have someone draw for you to colour in. Ankita gave me this cute owl to practice my new-found enthusiasm for watercolours on. Thanks Oinki, you should really make a colouring book!

Illustration Friday - "Duet"

2011-04-04T23:16:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday - Toy

2011-03-31T18:59:00.000+05:30

Who needs to buy toys when you can make your own?

Managed to finally put up a very late entry, just before Friday. Was thinking of doing a series of 3-4 drawings, but got time only for one. Another attempt at watercolour :)

I am

2011-03-30T11:54:00.000+05:30

i'm the magician, turning gravel into potpourri
i'm the concoctionist, mixing fallen leaves together to make a tree
i'm the chameleon, tossing along a rainbow
i'm the soil, beneath moving leaves and falling shadows
i'm the dormant volcano, that may or may not have its day
i'm the south pole, waiting for a summer
i'm the percussionist, posing for a solo
i'm the lone butterfly, living in the belly
i'm the new crayon, itching to draw
i'm the grass at the far edge of a forest fire
i'm the tea, simmering and bitter
i'm the prose, between hand and paper

Published!

2011-03-19T17:23:00.002+05:30

Check it out here :)

The illustrations are more than 2 years old, but they are finally published! Some screw up with the text happened though :(
Find the originals here and here.
Yay! :)

Illustration Friday - Stir

2011-03-15T16:34:00.000+05:30

Stir, stir.. and soon enough, you have a whirlpool

Stir…. Stir

As the coffee goes cold

While you

Think…. Think

Of stuff new and mostly old

Stir…. Stir

The past and the future

And then

Jumble and join

All the pieces together

Stir…. Stir

Dig deeper and deeper

Just

Break through

A layer and another

Stir…. Stir

Till a whirlpool you fake

And so

Breathe…. Breathe

As you lie awake…

Day & Night

2011-03-14T22:43:00.000+05:30

... and the grind...

Aaah... colours, what colours!

2011-03-11T23:55:00.000+05:30

If only I have a small but awesome camera everytime I go out..... :)

World Cup Fever

2011-03-08T20:47:00.000+05:30

Ha!

2011-02-25T13:19:00.000+05:30

Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson

Blah

2011-02-14T16:54:00.000+05:30

Twitter is the new blog, Facebook is the new Portfolio site.
Wonder what bloggers will do...
:-/

January

2011-02-09T10:47:00.000+05:30

One of the broken resolutions..

2011-02-02T22:05:00.000+05:30

... to sketch everyday...

2011

2011-01-20T13:28:00.000+05:30

should be the year of creating order out of chaos
.... the year of restarting old projects
.... and finishing some...
.... of sunshine, positive thinking and a good posture :P

Happy Birthday, Mum!

2011-01-18T11:27:00.000+05:30

2010 - The year of travel.

2010-12-31T17:10:00.000+05:30

Saunf

2010-12-28T22:56:00.000+05:30

Teen Darwaza market in the old city... Stalls full of countless varieties of mouth fresheners and yummy digestive powders (churans) and candies. Slurp! :)

Ahmedabad - Indore

2010-11-07T18:06:00.000+05:30

Rajasthan in Pink!

2010-09-24T12:37:00.001+05:30

Season's Greetings!

2010-08-20T11:52:00.001+05:30

I printed greeting cards out of my illustrations. It's like a funny cycle of going from paper to digital and back to paper.. and now these photographs..! :)

Monsoon :)

2010-08-15T20:21:00.000+05:30

So true!

2010-08-14T13:50:00.000+05:30

Late night Friday, passive conversations.... and wondering what the hell am I doing here.... :-/

2010-08-09T19:27:00.000+05:30

Aaah.. the wonder that is Photoshop :)

2010-08-03T12:19:00.001+05:30

Coming back from school....

2010-07-27T20:31:00.000+05:30

Watercolours again

2010-07-27T20:10:00.002+05:30

I've been featured! :)

2010-07-23T14:28:00.001+05:30

At...

http://ofindianorigin.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/bags-of-colour/

and...

http://popserial.tumblr.com/search/shivani+gakhar

yay! :)

Tripping on Photoshop!

2010-07-14T19:03:00.000+05:30

Found Object

2010-07-14T17:05:00.000+05:30

Found this old doodle I did about 3 years back.. in second semester.. Still like it somehow..

Did some experimental Photoshop on it :)

Little Witch

2010-07-12T12:33:00.002+05:30

Paul the Octopus

2010-07-09T01:05:00.001+05:30

Illustration Friday - Giant

2010-07-09T00:38:00.000+05:30

Didn't grown ups look like giants when we were tiny little kids? :P

More doodles...

2010-06-22T11:54:00.000+05:30

... and some Photoshop :)

Random doodles....

2010-06-18T17:19:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday: Ripple

2010-06-16T17:53:00.000+05:30

Caught in the oil spill...

Planes

2010-06-14T20:49:00.000+05:30

Notebooks 2006 to now

2010-06-11T21:26:00.001+05:30

Snow trees

2010-05-29T12:14:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday: Early

2010-05-27T10:45:00.000+05:30

A weird little twist on "early bird catches the worm"....

"Early bus catches the wormhole"

:P :P

and more faces..

2010-05-25T20:30:00.000+05:30

Flapper girls :)

2010-05-18T10:31:00.001+05:30

Whenever I have a blank sheet of paper and a little time, I end up drawing flapper girls of the 1920's. It is one of my favourite times of fashion, and probably my favourite doodle topic. :)

Faces

2010-05-17T10:36:00.000+05:30

Why I don't exercise

2010-05-07T14:23:00.005+05:30

Sunday I decide

Monday I follow

Tuesday I take a pass

Wednesday I say .."tomorrow..."

Thursday I'm still thinking

And Friday I give in

Saturday I rest

And "resolve" I'll do my best :P

Illustration Friday - Cocoon

2010-05-04T19:59:00.004+05:30

There are some days when I just don't feel like coming out of my cocoon...

This is how I feel on Sundays!

2010-05-02T22:46:00.000+05:30

I will make purple trees and orange sky because that is how I like it :-|

2010-04-29T15:37:00.002+05:30

My First Illustration Friday :) - "Ahead"

2010-04-26T13:41:00.003+05:30

So many possibilities ahead, which one should be mine...?

Kutchh..

2010-04-22T18:20:00.002+05:30

Wait for it.....

2010-03-25T23:05:00.000+05:30

Doodling day and night

2010-03-25T23:03:00.000+05:30

Elephant

2010-02-25T00:48:00.002+05:30

One of the illustrations I did for a storybook illustration competition. I feel like that elephant right now :-|

Ink-pen cleaning day and open memories

2010-02-24T23:59:00.007+05:30

Ready for a bath

What did the Mad Hatter dr-ink?

This is what I learnt writing with.. the nib-pen. Still love writing with it.. dipping it into the ink bottle after every few words, getting the fingers dirty.. and the smell of ink... :)

...good old Chelpark.. :)

Some stuff from my childhood memories... the box of stationeries, the dymo label tape, my favourite clutch pencil... oh and ya, I want a vintage Beetle in that exact pink!

I'm a tourist in my city now...

2010-02-23T23:20:00.002+05:30

Kolkatta and the yellow taxis :)

2010-02-20T23:00:00.006+05:30

In-flight Entertainment

2010-01-27T18:09:00.004+05:30

Before...

and...

After!

Calendar for 2010 :)

2009-12-30T19:23:00.004+05:30

Compiled from some of the illustrations I did in 2009. Seems like a nice year :)

Last doodle in Notebook # 4

2009-12-29T20:13:00.004+05:30

A natural inclination toward the melancholy..

Yellow light when it's raining outside.

Sepia.

Dreams.

Sleep.

Closing my eyes and spiraling down.

Bright, rich colours in a high contrast. Oil pastels.

Being by myself, stealing time for me.

Looking at the future with half closed eyes.

Silence.

Soundtracks.

Listening to the same list over and over and over again. Letting music influence me but not vice versa.

Chattering conversations with faraway stares. Thoughts take me somewhere.. and then suddenly, shut.

The restfulness of just getting into bed. The pain of being pulled away from sleep in the morning.

Staring at the mirror and then suddenly, not recognising myself.

Trying to bring back some of the childhood.

Idleness. Procrastination. Slow and gradual.

Stitch by stitch.

Pink.

Chocolate.

Movies.

The way it feels to write with an old fountain pen. The fresh smell of ink.

The texture of crayons.

The sound of a pencil, the way it feels when the lead cracks sometime, just for a few words..

The feeling of wanting to bite an eraser.

Cold chilly wind on my face when my body is warm under layers of sweaters.

Yet, the thought of being a cocoon for those precious eight dark hours is what makes me dance around the glittering lights all day.

Trying to push broken thoughts into sentences.

The Art of Looking Sideways. At the lawn.

Warm sunlight. The white cat, moody like me.

Cancer.

Lists. Making lists of lists.

Worrying. About I-don't-know-what.

Having to let go.

To go.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!!

2009-12-26T22:36:00.000+05:30

This is how I inaugurate a new box of crayons.

This set of wax crayons is a Christmas gift from Arpit. :)

Coffee Home, New Delhi

2009-12-24T10:41:00.006+05:30

I made these quick sketches in my little notebook at Coffee Home in Connaught Place,

New Delhi.

19th Oct 09

Random Crayony Stuff

2009-12-22T20:35:00.005+05:30

This one's the tree at the front lawns as seen from the amphitheatre.

"E" for "Ellustrator" :)

2009-12-02T15:57:00.000+05:30

I don't make castles in the sky, I just make the clouds around them.

2009-11-28T17:50:00.000+05:30

Clouds

2009-11-22T13:43:00.000+05:30

Face

2009-11-22T13:40:00.000+05:30

...from National Geographic magazine, issue November 2009.

Dreaming

2009-11-16T13:29:00.001+05:30

Watching Sunset

2009-11-09T11:25:00.001+05:30

..sigh.... :)

Low Contrast

2009-11-06T20:43:00.010+05:30

I'm drawing on Illustrator now! :)

Inspired by some cute greeting card type images, I thought of trying to make some low contrast drawings, unlike my usual high contrast style like the poppies..

Don't think it's really my "thing" though... :-|

Muse

2009-10-07T12:27:00.003+05:30

Quick sketches outside the IT.. The advantage or disadvantage of not having a camera? :)

Stage Fright

2009-09-21T15:14:00.000+05:30

Bombay Images

2009-09-14T14:57:00.011+05:30

One of the first memorable images during this trip - Dahi Handi on Janmashtami. People were wearing T-shirts sponsored by some Political parties I guess.. The auto passed by just at the right moment, just when the topmost guy was about to break the pot.

Something striking about Bombay... Since I've never lived near the coast, selling fish by the roadside seemed quite unusual. But what caught my eye the most was the shiny nose pin on this pretty lady.

(p.s.: had to photoshop a bit to make a little sense out of my crayon sketches :P)

Marine Drive : My favourite place in Bombay

I just HAVE to have a picture of me whenever I go to a place I like :)

Raining at Powai Lake. Bombay is greener than I expected. Or maybe it's just the monsoon...

Trying to learn light and shadow

2009-09-12T16:03:00.004+05:30

Can't

2009-08-30T16:18:00.000+05:30

Yet another opportunity

I've pushed away from

One of the countless times

I’ve lost without starting

I just stand there and stare

At them

Singing… playing…

Effortlessly

Self contained and so secure

While I’ve suddenly become mute

And I try to find a reason

To get away from the music,

From the tears welling up in my eyes

I’m not original

But neither are they

Then why does my voice

Just die away?

I’m suddenly so small

Can’t bear the thought of music

So scared…

to hear my voice…

…breaking

Music is good for the soul, isn’t it?

Then why does it do this to me?

Bringing out the worst…

…fear and misery

Should I just take a vow of silence?

And quit trying to try

Quit thinking

That maybe this time

Will be different

And save myself from

The embarrassing ordeal

Just quit..

You gave me everything

Why couldn't you give me

just a little bit of courage

to hear my own voice

sing

Bombay

2009-08-24T16:47:00.000+05:30

...more posts to come..

Another Closure?

2009-08-05T02:05:00.009+05:30

Closure is a strange feeling. Sometimes it takes a while to sink in... and sometimes we are just pushed into it. I had to empty my locker today; I would have kept it for another couple of years if given a choice. It was quite weird to have the mixed up memories of the past 3 years all tumbling down from that cupboard at the same time.

Bags full of fabric, rusted scissors, boxes with neatly arranged threads, buttons, needles and chalk, patterns and muslins, and quite a few surprises...

Surprises from the locker

My favourite black sweater for KMC and Audi (so that's where it has been!!)

At least ten empty or half empty polythene bags

My first assignment at NID (he he my drawing still sucks!)

Sketchbooks from "Fashion Sketching" - Enough one side used paper to last me a year

A page from the DCC assignment on sustainability

Muslin fits of some clothes - (Yeah!!! Some more clothes to wear :) )

Bobbin Elastic (I think that was from Term Garment in the second semester)

Old glossy Magazines (bought from Fernandez Bridge, for mood boards?)

An old, dried, yellow rose (where did I get that from??)

An old telephone that I used in my Diploma shoot

A jumble of wires, a jumble of thick yarn and a jumble of paper strips

An old bottle of deodorant from the first semester (smells pretty much the same still... smells just like First Semester... sigh!)

Why do I always fall for melancholy?

2009-07-21T00:40:00.000+05:30

I want to see lots of fireflies

2009-07-15T22:35:00.000+05:30

Learning Illustrator...

Resolve not to starve or scavenge

2009-07-04T10:06:00.000+05:30

Oh ya, even I had a pet once...!

2009-06-28T15:52:00.000+05:30

It is exhausting to have too many thought bubbles....

2009-06-28T15:48:00.001+05:30

The sea talks to you

2009-06-22T12:25:00.004+05:30

Nemo :"The sea talks to you... you should listen to the sea...

Sometimes when you just sit near the sea, the sea talks to you.... and you can get a lot of answers...

You should talk to the sea...."

ME: uummm........... really......?

High (on) Summer

2009-06-21T13:30:00.001+05:30

One Hundred

2009-06-19T14:45:00.002+05:30

My blog reached 100 posts! :)

So here's adding another landmark - Another blog: http://letsurvive.blogspot.com/

(no, no, this one stays too!)

Yes, I am freaking out over climate change

2009-06-12T19:50:00.000+05:30

I’ve been watching a series of documentaries on climate change and the environment and I thought maybe I should finally write about what I’ve been thinking for a really long time now.

Where do I start?

Everybody knows what the problem is, but I feel not many of actually realize how huge it is. That is why we are living the way we are when actually, it will take nothing less than a gigantic, worldwide revolution to stop the catastrophe we are facing.

I know that we are changing our habits in little ways, by switching off the lights when not in use, or using cloth bags instead of plastic ones whenever possible; but really, this is not enough. Not even close.

Everytime I buy a packet of milk, or use a plastic straw, I feel guilty. Everytime I take a slightly longer shower, I feel guilty. Everytime I switch on a 60 watt bulb instead of a tubelight, I feel guilty. But I still do it.

Guilt is not the answer and I know it.

But why is it that people like me are not changing?

It will be much easier if things will be forced on us. Why can’t our country invest a really large amount of money in setting up renewable sources of generating energy? Or impose laws and punishments regarding optimum use of resources?

That brings me to another point – that developing countries do not want to change their ways. I don’t understand how people can’t see that climate change is affecting EVERYONE without exception! It doesn’t matter who caused how much harm; it is too late for all that. What matters is that who can do the most in combating climate change.

From what I learnt in those documentaries is that one degree Celsius increase in the ocean surface temperature caused Katrina, a grade 5 hurricane. Just one degree. And a 4.2 degree rise is predicted within the next 100 years. One can only start to imagine how much worse it can get.

Rising temperatures are depleting forests, which in turn brings about more increase in temperature and it just goes on. Melting perma-frost increases emission of green house gases like methane, which increases the temperature, which melts more perma frost. It is all a chain reaction which has STARTED already!!

Yes, I AM panicking. And why shouldn’t I?

Whenever I speak to people about global warming and pollution, most of the times I hear, “ya, but what can I do? No one is going to listen to me” or “ya, but changing myself is not going to effect anything” or “everybody wastes resources, so why should I deprive myself?”

We all just pass on the responsibility to “everyone else”, but eventually it is the only one earth that we have, which is home to my own body which is the home of my soul, which is in danger and no one, except me, can save it.

Then why can’t we just change ourselves single mindedly?

I think I need to become more self disciplined in my ways and really, really train myself to make minimum use of resources, recycle more and waste less. And be strong, so that people around me have to accept me the way I am.

Change is hard work. And we have to do it. There is no other choice but to stop being scared little escapists about the whole dark future that lies ahead.

On the bright side, imagine how exciting it will be. The whole world, together, fighting for a cause, hoping, dreaming, changing… Everyone passionate about a better future and all of us finding a purpose in life. Isn’t that what we spend our entire lives looking for? A purpose?