Recycle Ideas : I took the Plastiki Pledge

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

In theory everything is recyclable. I could recycle a building, an airplane, a DVD, a camera…or even my tooth brush. For something recyclable to actually be recycled someone needs to take that something and want to turn it into something new. That is exactly where the problem lies with the recycling concept… Interesting article by Kathleen Boylan. 

So, in essence we need to take action, just wishful thinking does not help make any difference. Reuse all plastic bags, newspapers, old cloth pieces in innovative ways. 

Just a bunch of us out there cannot save the world! People who are already conscious and aware about the problems of plastic and waste, are going to minimize it's use in their daily lives anyway. The issue is with those who still think its anybody's BUT their own responsibility to save the planet. Take initiative and do not hesitate to politely point out to your mother in law if she is wasting water in the kitchen sink while chatting on the phone or to knock on the bathroom door while your husband started dreaming about the sexy lady under a running shower. Point out to a friend who just bought a carton of bottled water, when tap water is perfectly safe. If it isn't to boil it on the regular gas/stove is hundred times more pure and waste proof.  

We intend to put together some re-cycle/re-use ideas here in the coming weeks. It'd be great if you people out there would like to share some of your ideas with the rest of us too and do your bit! 

Visit : 

http://myplastiki.com/index.php to make your pledge!

Art Feature : Sonabai Rajawar - Isolated Inspiration in India, a self taught artist!

A few months past i had been to a local art museum where i was proud to see the incredible work of Sonabai -  a fellow citizen from rural India! She was a self taught artist with no precedents and now internationally known for her art. She won the prestigious President's award for her art back in India.

Self-taught artist Sonabai Rajawar lived in enforced isolation for 15 years in a remote village in central India, creating her own joyous sculptural environment. Through the necessity of expressing her own vision in the face of tremendous adversity, Sonabai developed her innovative art form, which she later taught to other artists. Today in the remote rural villages of her central Indian state, many other artists practice Sonabai’s art in painted clay.

Check out her book http://www.amazon.com/Sonabai-Stephen-P-Huyler/dp/0944142850

Indian Folk Art : Madhubani Paintings

"The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithila painting are shrouded in antiquity, and a tradition states that this style of painting originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Hindu god Lord Ram. Madhubani painting has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town of Madhubani (the literal meaning of which is forests of honey) and other areas of Mithila. The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, but now it is also done on cloth, hand-made paper and canvas.”

Technique: The art of Madhubani painting requires skill and implies a certain technique. This technique requires simple raw materials that are easily located in villages such as bamboo sticks and cotton. 

Firstly the cotton is wrapped around a bamboo stick to serve as a brush. Then the brush is dipped in colors and applied on to the fabric. No shading technique is used. The outline is done with double lines. The gaps between the two lines are filled with cross or straight lines. Colors are not used in linear paintings. 

These paintings are made from vegetable colors.

• Black - By blending soot and cow dung
• Yellow - From turmeric, pollen, lime, milk of banyan leaves,
• Blue -Indigo
• Red - Kusam flower juice or red sandalwood
• Green - wood apple tree leaves
• White - Rice powder
• Orange - Palasha flowers 

This is a traditional fork art form from India and has commendably succeeded in getting international recognistion. The colors used are bold and vibrant and the themes most prominently revolve around daily activities, nature, flora - fauna and Hindu deities. 

 Here's a little something i tried :)