Via Kerala for Stone Art

At certain times, words are just not written.

I mean, there just does not seem to be a need to write, reach out, and declare ones tiny presence in this universe. 

 Better like that, than, I feel, writing mindless mumbles.  Moreover, of course, I have never been one for writing sickly sweet nothings. 

 

 What resulted was a hiatus, a kind of missing-in-action. However, it cannot really be a missing in action, because, action at some level never stops happening, right?

That brings me to the events of the past few weeks which is related to my stone art.

There is a something very meaningful about painting on stones.

  

 The stone or rock that I paint on must be so ancient that it makes me wonder how it would have journeyed to me. Rolled down some mountainside or been lying in the path of gurgling water, slowly polishing it to a smooth round. 

 

The faces I paint on it give me immense satisfaction because I feel each one was meant to be painted on that particular stone.  The stone dictates what face I should paint on it.

 And, some of the faces that I have painted, like this one, 

 with a sweet smile, or these scarf sisters who are together always, sharing their work, gossiping and enjoying life,

 or this young boy, ready to run errands, 

 and the office goer in a white shirt,

or this pretty lady who wears two nose studs and a bindi, 

 and, this man who has the rare ability to keep a perpetual smile

 and seems to be as jolly and bald as the egg-head man here,

 or, the arty guy here, 

and, how could I leave out the ancient dance forms of Kerala, so the female character in  Kathakali, called as the Minukku Vesham, hardly ever represented in paintings as compared with the oft seen portrayal of the male Kathakali characters (It was the shape of the stone that seemed to suggest I paint the Minukku Vesham)

and the Theyyam performer, with his vivid face make-up,

All of these characters make a fun and colorful bunch and I watched with fascination as they emerged from these small stones. 

The best news is that if you feel like keeping one of these for yourself, you can, because they are now available at Via Kerala, a shop representing the contemporary Malayalam visual culture.  So if you happen to be near Jew Town Rd, Mattancherry, Kochi, do check them out.

Here is wishing all of you a happy weekend!

All the other work I have been doing will be saved for you to enjoy in the next posts! ;-)

Links for awesome art -

PPF

CED

AJED