Creative Conscience '09

Creative Conscience Workshops are annual events organized around a theme - this year's was "Hope."

Participants this year ranged from a Japanese artist, a British artist, two American artists (Janis & Chuck!), and artists from around India (Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Orissa, Nagaland, and Delhi). Backgrounds were incredibly diverse, some practicing professional artists, some self-taught, amateur artists, this year's artists were from varying faith backgrounds (Hindu, Muslim, and Christian).

Here's the "upper room" group who worked side-by-side in the 2nd floor studio.


Here are a few of the artists at work:
























Following are some of the works in progress. You can see, not all were paintings. This year's Exhibition is scheduled for March 19-29, 2010.














These are Chuck's.
















And, this is Janis'...

Exhibit: 2nd Session of Blue Umbrella Art Academy

There were 12 adults and 5 children attending this session. Some of the strongest works came from many of the student's first exposure to conte crayon. Other mediums used: pencil, ink, oil pastels and charcoal.

Guests of Honor at a Photography Exhibit

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We were asked to serve as guests of honor at a recent opening of a photography exhibit at a professional Art School in Delhi. The four students, pictured kneeling at the left, were given 4 days to visit Rishikesh, Agra, Jaipur, and Delhi and each were required to take at least 250 photos in each site. They were given different assignments: religious matters, doors and windows, beggars, and heritage sites.

Quite an exhibit!

Card Making Workshop - Miranda House

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We were invited to conduct this workshop by our landlord, who is also a professor of physics at Miranda House, a science-focused, girls-only, campus of Delhi University, one of many campuses scattered across the city of Delhi.

We were told to expect about 25 students - during one quiet moment, I quickly counted over 50 students currently seated and working furiously on this project. Many more came and went during the three hours were were there.

Overall, it seemed to be very positively received. The leadership asked us to come back for a Science & Art Seminar they are hosting in January.

More Wall Murals

These are being done on our personal living space rather than for others as with the Diversion House murals or for the public with the stairway mural outside our flat.

Here's a "before" photo showing a little of the typical brick-core, concrete stucco finished, white-washed exterior walls.










After washing the wall and painting it with an exterior white paint, Chuck painted this fish

The idea is to have guests paint sections of this wall with something of their choice...








The previous mural is on a wall of our upper balcony. This one is on the smaller balcony, just outside our living room.

Janis designed it be a simpler flower motif, resembling tiles.

Creative Friday - Sculpture

Part of the Creative Fridays activities was sculpting using "M-seal," an epoxy-like compound used here in India for sealing plumbing joints. It comes in two putty sticks, when mixed together the compound begins to harden at about 15 minutes, then completely hardens in about 60 minutes. This poses some interesting issues to deal with in molding and sculpting. Below are some of the results.

A few of the sculptures on display in the Gallery window using cylindrical tubes as pedestals.


After hardening, the compound can be painted. This is Janis' Canadian goose, whimsically fashioned as a toothpick holder...









Here are Chuck's bird's nest (sorry for the lack of focus!) and miniature garden & pond...









Vikhor has been trying to depict scenes from his native land and culture of Nagaland. Hence this very realistic sculpture....

Creative Fridays' Exhibit

The Creative Fridays event initially began quite modestly and was never intended to be an ongoing activity. However, the artists enjoyed it so much, they began to plan a regular open studio session with someone bringing a measure of their expertise in a particular medium. To our surprise, there has been quite a lot of artwork as a result. Enough that it was decided to have an exhibit. Following are some of the pieces shown

The two on the left are by Janis (top) and Chuck (bottom), and are examples of what was termed, "contemporary Mughal miniatures."


Gesture drawing in ink was one Creative Friday exercise. Below bottom is one Janis drew...











Also below and bottom is another of Janis' contemporary Mughal miniatures...


These were watercolor landscapes done as a result of one Creative Friday held in Mussoorie when we were in the U.S.












These two are outcomes of the Creative Friday on illustrating. Both Janis (top) and Chuck chose illustrations for The Blue Umbrella, by Ruskin Bond, an Ango-Indian author who lives and writes in Mussoorie...











The following is an assortment by various artists....















These two are by Chuck (both top): the first a blind contour portrait in ink, colored with watercolor; the second a sun mandala in ink on photopaper, colored with watercolor.




Another assortment of art pieces displayed on a wall...











The artist on the left is a young college student who has begun attending the adult art class and participating in the Creative Friday activities. Her mother accompanied her to the Exhibition Opening because she wanted to see where her daughter was getting such inspiration.

Six of the Creative Friday regulars - two could not attend, one ill, the other in the U.S. A number of other artists and budding artists have also attended over the months of Creative Fridays.