Traditions, reminders and Divine Silhouttes

It was Vishu. Our traditional New Year. It was a time to pull out everything reminiscent of our ethnic culture, and go through the bare minimum rituals possible with the limited supply. But though bare minimum, the whole set-up definitely brings the mind to the realization of where our roots thrust back to; absorb all the energies we could- from that infinite source of strength..

A time to reflect, let go and start afresh. To realise the strength, promise to work on weak points and remembering not to stifle over the un-changeable.

And then, before putting away the tidbits of cultural reminders, it was a time to try out some silhoutte shots. Bending the iphone beyond its normal capacity is one of my favourite passtime these days. The result was an almost failed silhoutte collection, which nonetheless looked share-worthy, when i put together it as a collage:

Silhoutte attempt: iphone

Let's start at the biggest one, and go clockwise from top.

The biggest is a Ganesha pendant I got on the day of Vishu. The next in line is a silver 'Sindhooracheppu'; then a clay diya propped on an iron trivet; then the lovely silhoutte of the eternal lovers: Lord Krishna and Radha; lastly another silver Sindhooracheppu..

Must try this with more accurate settings next time.. I am loving the light-play and the hide'n'seek thing happening here..

Enjoy creating, and innovating!

Do share or link your silhouette frames, in comments below! I would love to look at your work..

Rainy Days, lots of photos, first long trip of 2015

It was still winter in January, 2015. But it rained on that day, and the previous day. So, this pic came out to have a nostalgic feel of college campuses back in India..

View from the rustic window of Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan

Then, this month, we went on our first long trip of 2015. The following is a reminder of how there are sturdy elements in nature, that withstand every severe condition. Kindled by the strength from within.

Moss and fern, one of my favorite combination. It couldnt get better than this: A wall full of moss and fern, rain-drenched and washed in prestine sunshine... Simply refreshing!

At Hocking Hills Waterfall, Ohio

The wall also reminded me of our childhood trips to my fathers village, in Thodupuzha, Kerala. With rubber plantations on either side, the narrow mudroad(idavazhi) that lead to the house had a mud-wall on one side, and enormous ferns caressed our face and shoulders as we walked past it..

And about the creative side, the previous post shared with you, was of a gorgeous necklace that I made for my mom. The inspiration lasted for a good few days after I finished packing that off to her.. So, I made a few more, and added all those to the shop! Here is a snapshot of true elegance from the "Large necklace"spell! 

Large, elegant Indian style necklaces : Shop @ www.DesignsBySumi.etsy.com

Hope you are enjoying the rainy season too... Let me leave you with a hot cup of chai. Finish it before it gets cold! :)

If you have any questions about the shop, or just want to tell me how you like your tea, I would definitely love to know your thoughts and/or help you out! 

Write to me @ 100colors100@gmail.com 

or leave your comment below! 

See you soon...

PS: Please value an artist's efforts in capturing the beauty around them, and respect their willingness to share it with the world. Stand firmly against plagiarism. Do not copy any content without the author's permission. Thanks.

Necklace for Amma

So, I thought of making a necklace for my Mother. Though I have been designing full time, from the last 3 years, it always is a confusing thing to make something for Amma. Here, I think this is the 3rd piece I am making for my mother. Yes!

It took a whole evening and taking apart three previous attempts, at-last, I am done.

To begin with, I needed her Sarees. Amma doent use internet. Now that they are with my sis, that problem was solved: Sis clicked pics and send it to me. All without Amma knowing what we are upto.

I breathed in the colors of these beautiful Sarees for almost a week, and then started working:

Aren't those gorgeous?!

I love the black and white one with the red border, the best! :)

Ok, so here is my design, which I guess, would go with most of it. Well, atleast half of it. Why worry, because, I am making a bead 'moodboard' in my mind for the next one already! :) With a little introduction of pink or violet in it. Come back later, to see how that works out!

Hope you all have a great 'Almost weekend'! :)

Prana: Agni (Introducing my Photography page)

Prana: Agni

www.facebook.com/AgniBySumi

I started a page where I share my journey through photographs.. Of simple moments in life, of gorgeous nature frames.. Using my modest gadgets- iphone and my Nikon camera. Do take a look, contemplate, enjoy. Follow it by clicking "Like", lets stay connected and share some moments in life.

Today's photo was of a glass of water- Pink Water.

The water is being infused by bits of tree bark- medicinal tree barks, which gives it an ethereal pink hue- like the skies during sunset.. It tastes woody. It could be called Karingaali vellam in Malayalam. Or commonly Dahashamini- meaning thirst quencher.

See the feed here:
https://www.facebook.com/AgniBySumi/photos/a.540129029458189.1073741828.540119056125853/540515762752849/?type=1&theater

Taken with iphone
Do not copy without permission for personal use or other.

Hope you all have a fabulous "Early Spring" day!

Giveaway : Token of Gratitude: I welcome one and all !

A 100 plus likes on my Facebook page made me all happy. So, thought of doing an act to show gratitude, by giving away a beautiful necklace. Anyone who sees this, and think you like my work, are most heartily 'welcomed' to enter your names to win.

All you have to do is:

Go to my Business page: www.fb.com/HundredColorsBySumi

"Like" the page.

Leave your name in comments(A smiley after that would warm my heart ;) )

Share the post on your wall.

Voila! You have ensured your chance to win this beautiful necklace:

I humbly invite ALL of you to enter this fun activity on my page!

See you there!

Giveaway ends Monday, 27th January 2014; 8.30 am

Thankyou...

Beauties beauties!

I had been concentrating on doing a bit more justice to my Etsy store.. I have been adding many new items there, and I have a dozen more to fill it up with. Taking photos was the toughest job than creating, and it has now become a bit easier as my kid goes to playschool, and that is when I squeeze in everything creative, that needs concentration!

Here are some of the new pieces in my shop!

 Set 1:

Muse? Czech glass. 

 Set 2:

Muse? Serenity!

 Set 3:

Muse? Majenta!

Set 4:

Muse? The tribes!

The below bracelet has Africal silver charm, which I love!

Set 5:

Muse? Home sweet Home!

 Set 6:

Muse? Dangles!

 Set 7:

Muse? BOHEMIA... :) How could I ever ditch Boho?? :) :)

This is a new experiment with a new photo property I made. It was easier than I thought it would be, and it was easy on my pocket too.. AND, it gives a real life feel of how the necklace looks when worn..

 Set 8:

Muse: Turquoise!

And 9 (:  Glam! 

Not my usual style, but I am going to add a couple more sparkly items, just to add a bit more sparkle to my shop during the festive season. You get it!! :)

Thats all!!
And, there will be more, soon..

Did I tell you I graduated recently from New York Institute of Art + Design. Go check out the brand new banner on top right. Yup, proud I am..

Keeping it.. Beautiful.

Focus on Life - Week 37

"IN MOTION"

Just saw Miss.Sally's prompt for this week. After a long time, here. But always enthusiastic about her prompts!

Last week saw me(my little family too) travelling half way across the globe. In motion cannot have a better reference for me today! A vacation, after 2 years, for 3 weeks. Well, its over, and our bodies and minds are slowly buzzing back to normal.

I must definitely keep myself  "In motion" until the next vacation, because, the relatively isolated life in this place sometimes leads me to lethargy, which, till now, I have fought fiercely. There is nothing more depressing than seeing myself in the mirror, with this question on my face "What next", and having just this answer in my mind "Nothing". I must go bang on every door and every opportunity around me to help myself be "In Motion" - Alive.

Over to the pics. This is what I have to share. Taken from the plane.

First one: some ice covered mountain region.

Second : "In Clouds"

Third is a beautiful sunrise/sunset (God knows!),

I almost got a jolt when I opened the window shutter. It was sharp!

PS: Hate thinking of having to look out of the window in the flight like that again in near future: 22 hours up in the air is not fun at all. eeek! But arent the pics quite surreal?

Now I am going to see what other's "In Motion" experiences are.. here