On another note, a friend and I were doing Indian art (Rangoli) demonstrations at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) last weekend! It was a fun experience and we got to see the Pablo Picasso exhibit which is on display at SAM as well.
The art of Rangoli is an old and important tradition in India. The word “Rangoli,” which signifies colorful art in Sanskrit, refers to a drawing, pattern, or arrangement made on the floor. Traditionally, Rangoli is drawn in front of houses and front doorways, usually on religious festivals and occasions. However, more recently, Rangoli has also been drawn during birthday celebrations, weddings, and more. In certain parts of India, especially South India, drawing Rangoli is a daily practice.The main purposes of Rangoli are for decoration, to welcome guests, and to bring good luck.
If you're interested, here are some pictures from the event (all taken by my friend's mom):
My Rangoli design (done with flowers) :
My friend's design (done with lentils and colored rice) :
10 comments:
Your friend is amazingly talented, and so are you-- I love both of yours(I used to have a ganesha obsession for a while). My mother's from south India, so I'm more familiar with kolams and all. :)
Psh don't apologize for being gone! We miss you but we all know life can get in the way of blogging :)
I'm not at all familar with Rangoli but these are gorgeous! It must take forever to get it just right. Thank you for sharing :)
ah! so lovely! I want one!
Ditto Julia, MssAttitude, and Holly. Both of the designs are beautiful. The colors you and your friend chose for the designs are lovely. :)
(I like your dress too, by the way. Gorgeous! :D)
Amazing, Priya. Wow.
Nice Rangoli Priya! It is very pretty! I wish I could make some but I just never have the time( I am wrong.familiar with it). Very nice dress!
The ganesh has come out really beautiful. I would like to replicate this on diwali this year. Can you please add details on How you did this? how did you get the black background and the white on top?
Anonymous - it was done on a black board. The Ganesha outline was first drawn in white paint (hence the white lines that you see), and then differently colored lentils were used to fill in (but leaving the white paint visible). We found the Ganesha image online and redrew it onto the black board.
Thank you Priya! You used colored rice too, correct? Did your friend use turmeric or food coloring? Thanks for your prompt response! Happy Diwali in advance
Anonymous - no problem! Yes, we also used some colored rice (I think we used food coloring... can't remember). It was mostly lentils though.
Post a Comment