summer work

Hello, art blog! Here are some of the pieces I've been working on. I have been exploring the differences between my original pieces and their digital counterparts, that is the same piece after having been photographed/scanned and then edited using photoshop CS3.

Also, some randoms from my sketchbook.

sketchbook randoms

work in progress

photoshopped version

original

original

photoshopped

more to come! hope you're all having a great summer.

My First Post: Rumi Painting

Hey Everyone!

So finally getting my first post in, and I'm going to cut straight to the chase! Just completed my first painting of the series of 5. This is a short description:

The first will convey a desire for spiritual unification. I will create a black-and-white acrylic painting of my palms covered in poetry by Rumi, using a poem about his desire to unite with God. Here my choice of style was inspired by artist Shirin Neshat, who used Persian poetry and photography to portray the struggle of women in the 1979 Iranian revolution (Look her up! She's awesome - she actually came to Stanford in June).

I made a few changes - instead of palms, I have my hands clasped to convey the idea of unification. In the design stage, my drawings had the hands covered in writing while during execution, I decided have no writing on the fingers. I didn't want the text to be overpowering, and I think it helped. Below is pretty much the final product - still needs a little tweeking, but that's basically it.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions for improvements?

Onwards to Piece 2!!

An update

Here are some photographs of the first portrait I'm working on. I've started with the embroidery and I'm going to add in scraps of cloth and more of the fabric pen later. I'm trying to incorporate common Indian textile patterns and the bright, almost extravagant, colors in movies and media. More soon!

My final prints so far!

I've spent a lot of my summer working in the good old photo lab! It's been a pleasure helping out the summer students, especially because so many of them are high schoolers and international students with an unusual level of enthusiasm and commitment. I took some snapshots of my final prints--hope you enjoy! Scans to follow when they're all finished...

Photo book thoughts part 1

July has passed and I am finally back home, in Lomé. I’ve visited tema, Accra, Aburi and Korkrobite (and am hoping to find the time and plan a quick visit to Benin’s cities and villages). I’ve had the time to enjoy the new sights, the people and the influence of football (soccer for the USA) in various aspects of people’s lives.

My project has taken a different turn. I was expecting to find a lot more evidence of the World Cup 2010 in physical forms of art such as sculptures, jewelry and paintings. But that was based on my experience living in Lomé in 2006. I underestimated the impact of modernization and globalization that has taken place here in Africa. Indeed, I soon found out that graphic art is much more present here in Africa. So I've been thinking about how to slightly change the direction of my project.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in a few days...

First post!

Hello blog!
I'm currently in Oxford, en route to India, where I am going to create portraits of my grandparents. My family is very spread out around the world, so I hope that through these pieces, I'll be able to capture the combination of alienation and familiarity that defines these relationships.
I was initially planning on creating these portraits on canvas, and I wanted to incorporate embroidery and ink to make them personal, domestic and real. After shopping for supplies, I fell in love with the idea of making the portraits directly on fabric and framing them in embroidery hoops. This idea feels very right, so I'm very excited to get started. Expect to hear back from me in about a week!
Surabhi