memories

Thought behind the thought:

Memory is a very convenient thing. Lack of it in childhood and old age actually helps the growing and aging process. Who wants to remember days with embarrassing outcomes and dependence? Both ends of the spectrum are happy the way they are because it makes life that much simpler for them. Yet in the age of youth when we have all our faculties intact we forget important things and hold on to unimportant ones. Our faculties are given to us based on how we need them and in the larger scheme of things we just forget that a good and able mind is our biggest asset. There is a continuous lace that we spin with bits of our memories. The way we remember things in our life and weave them into intricate unique patterns is simply astounding. Hold on to what you can remember today because you are certainly going to forget it someday. Today might be a gaping hole in the pattern that will emerge with time.

About the Art:

Lace is an extremely intricate and detailed piece of craft. Normally relegated to old retired ladies this craft is rarely used in mainstream modern art. Yet artist NeSpoon PL from Warsaw, Poland has used this medium in her artwork. She says, “Why laces? Because in laces there is an aesthetic code, which is deeply embedded in every culture. In every lace we find symmetry, some kind of order and harmony isn’t that what we all seek for instinctively?” Well, this is exactly how we weave memories too. Trying to keep order, harmony and finding our own aesthetic code.

The exhibition "Entanglement" comprises of two parts, "Spore" and "Thoughts" where both parts combine decorative elements used for centuries in the arts of Islam and patterns of traditional Polish laces woven by folk artist.

                                      

The Lacemakers from Fundão" is a symbolic representation of the vanishing relations between women that once integrated and bound them into a close knit circle. A symbol of a supportive female social group, something that we do not get to see much these days.

Forty Forty Project is a street art gallery in Warsaw, Poland located in a 150 years old military fort that is long forgotten. On this particular installation the artist worked with stencil artist, Maniac.

Credits:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/22310587/Entanglement-Sharjah-UAE-2014

https://www.behance.net/gallery/19485567/The-Lacemakers-from-Fundao

https://www.behance.net/gallery/1737061/Forty-Forty-Gallery-Warsaw-2011

https://www.behance.net/nespoon

bridges

Thought behind the quote:

The past is a place we revisit all the time and it constantly lures us. Its steely grip prevents us from moving ahead in life .Burning bridges that lead to certain events, places and people can actually be an extremely liberating experience and hence it is a constructive and proactive activity. Building bridges can be as daunting an experience as burning them. The juncture where you choose to build a bridge can be full of challenge and may seem impossible. Again, what matters is where one is and what’s waiting for us on the other side. Most of the times we are building bridges that lead to places we don’t know anything about. Life has taught us one thing for certain, it is better to be moving towards the unknown than be stranded in one place and stagnating.

About the Art: 

The greatest thing about architecture and construction is the actual realization of a mere idea and making a reality out of a hypothetical possibility. Architecture and engineering marvels have shown us that anything can be achieved as long as you are ready to put in hard work and you have began with an original thought in which you have full conviction. Here are some architectural and engineering marvels that will leave us awestruck. Truly one can build a bridge anywhere anytime in their life provided the other side really beckons you.

Magdeburg Water Bridge is 918 m long, 34 m wide & 4.25 m deep but it is not a regular bridge. It’s a water bridge across and above the river forming a water intersection. This bridge is the biggest water crossing in Europe where you have boats sailing under and on the bridge as well. 

Millau Viaduct, France is a staggering 2,460 m long, 32 m wide & 343 m high, obviously a construction feat. It is the world’s tallest vehicular bridge.

The Jadukata Bridge, India is the longest span cantilever bridge in India with a central span of 140 m. It stretches so naturally from one shore to the other that it seems to grow out of and belongs to the surrounding landscape.

Sutong Bridge, in China is a cable-stayed bridge with the world’s longest main span of 1,088 m. Its overall length is 8,206 m and the two bridge towers are the world’s second tallest at 306 m. 

Akashi Bridge, Japan is a 6-lane highway and the world’s longest suspension bridge spanning 3911 m.

 Credits:

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/04/incredible-magdeburg-water-bridge-in.html

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/millau-viaduct-photo.html

http://www.gammonindia.com/areas-of-specialisation/specialisation-in-transportation-bridges.htm

http://goldsea.com/803/06p-bridge.html

http://www.nssmc.com/en/product/use/case/bridge/akashi.html

http://scribol.com/art-and-design/8-amazing-bridges-from-around-the-world/3

praise

Thought behind the thought:

Recently designjatra completed two hundred quotes. We were really humbled by the response we got from our members. Everyone lauded us on our work and told us how designjatra has brought beauty and happiness to their everyday lives. The time to take stock has come and we need to seriously think about how we are going to move to the next logical step in adding value to the blog. Though the praise has literally put us on cloud nine we need to stop, think and analyze at this point as to what should be our destination and chart our journey towards it. Two hundred is not where we stop, it is a milestone that eggs us on. So many more miles to go and many more miles to come.

About the Art:

The northern lights are a unique phenomenon. An aurora is a natural display of light in the sky that is truly spectacular. It gets its name from the Latin word aurora, meaning "sunrise" or the Roman goddess of dawn. This phenomenon is mainly seen in the high latitude of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Auroras are caused by charged electrons and protons. When they are entering the atmosphere from above ionisation occurs and due to the excitation of atmospheric constituents optical emissions are created. The resultant is an amazing light show that leaves one spell bound. Nature truly is the greatest artist and when she puts on the show all we can do is watch in awe.

Credits:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-solar-storm-auroras-northern-lights-earth-space-pictures/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-solar-storm-auroras-northern-lights-earth-space-pictures/#/january-2012-aurora-borealis-finland_47693_600x450.jpg

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-solar-storm-auroras-northern-lights-earth-space-pictures/#/january-2012-aurora-borealis-tromso-norway-mountains_47697_600x450.jpg

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-solar-storm-auroras-northern-lights-earth-space-pictures/#/aurora-borealis-january-2012-cemetery_47819_600x450.jpg

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-solar-storm-auroras-northern-lights-earth-space-pictures/#/aurora-borealis-january-2012-cabin_47818_600x450.jpg

the forest

Thought behind the thought:

The University of Pune campus is a sprawling beautiful place in a city that bursting at its seams. The trees on the campus have reduced to a third of what they used to be. The whole area seems to change and turn into something new at different times of the day and through the year in different seasons. Having had the privilege of living on the campus for twenty three years in the staff quarters, every time I visit the place I feel as if I have returned to a place called home. When I sit under the great Banyan tree in the centre of the campus I can sense that many have come here and shared a part of their life. The woods have listened and kept each word closely guarded. Not a thing will be told or shared with another person. Not even the harmless breeze as it casually moves around us. This moment and these stories belong only to two, me and my beloved woods.

About the Art:
Ellie Davies lives in London and works in the woods and forests of the UK. She got her MA in Photography from London College of Communication in 2008.

Come with Me: This was a series made in the New Forest in the South of England from where the artist hails. Each piece was made in the forest on site and the hands-on approach of the artist is central to the execution. Artificial elements are deliberately used to consciously create a “CONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPE”. Materials such as paint, powder, wool and paper have been used to create pathways. She has tried to pick the natural line of movement through the space by tracing animal paths, the sweep of the eye, or the curve of the land. The process of making is spontaneous and solitary. The bond between the artist and the woods is evidently a secret.

Another Green World: According to the artist is , “It is about discovering something unidentified and peculiar; revisiting the possibilities of early explorers and trying to experience the landscape with an open-mindedness wrought from the potential to find something new and unexpected, to recapture the excitement and awe of the pioneers, botanists, scientists and naturalists to whom all possibilities were open.” The mystery, aura and secrets of the forests are the things that the artist focuses on in this series. Insect eggs, shells, oceanic diatoms, sea anemones and corals are the inspirations behind the forms and materials like seaweeds, river weed, moss, mares tail, bracken, heather, lichen, chalk dust and leaf litter have been used to disguise or distinguish the forms.

Credits:

http://www.elliedavies.co.uk/images/

http://www.elliedavies.co.uk/

comfort zone

Thought behind the Thought

We have been working on 'designjatra' for just over six months now! What began as a spontaneous mad cap idea has blossomed into something so meaningful and enriching for both of us!

It all started with the two of us writing notes to ourselves. These were then converted to graphics, and followed up by research in art, craft and design that was in tune with the note/quote of the day.

And we thought, why not share it with people we know? Seemed like a very good idea, and we went ahead and formed a group of people who would end up becoming the building blocks of designjatra! 

We take this opportunity to thank each one of them for there enthusiastic response to every quote that we put up in the last 200 days ... in the form of additions, discussions, debates, poems, philosophical musings, musical renderings, and what not!

So addicted did we become to this daily dose of enrichment from within our small pool of around 100 people, that we totally forgot to look beyond ... for a while. But now, we have dissolved the self made boundary. Now we expand our world, with the support, confidence and continued comfort of our 'DJ group' as we all fondly call it.

And wish we meet many more brilliant people and many more brilliant ideas in the journey ahead!

An inspiring work of Animation that resonates with the quote we wrote for ourselves:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8tHIi5ebEM

the heart

Thought behind the thought: 

With a very heavy heart we bid our final adieu to the matriarch of the family last week. She is survived by four children and an extended family that stretches beyond thirty five odd people. We all were there as the last rites were performed. It was rather interesting to see how one person goes on extending their heart and welcoming so many people into it through a long life of nine decades. She not only made room for each one of us present that day but in the process found a special place in our hearts for her. There is no limit to how many people one heart can accommodate. All you need is compassion and humanity and absolute ability to be non judgemental of people and their intentions. Ajji this quote is truly a tribute to you that I offer in all humility.

About the Art: 

So, can an artist really do the same, go on repeating a subject over and over again yet express it in innumerable new and exciting ways. In doing so each time something innovative emerges out of the exercise. New emotions, expressions and feelings arise from the works. Jim Dine is an artist affiliated with the Pop Art movement of the early 1960s. Associating mainly with the gestural and expressionistic aspect of Pop Art, Dine concentrates on repetition of the subject as an approach to his work. His key subjects include hearts, robes, tools, gates, trees, Pinocchio, plants, birds, and headless Venus de Milos. The hearts and robes are possibly Dine’s most beloved, signature subjects and the artist has come back to them several times in his artistic journey. So in art too we end up doing the same thing over and over again and there is no limit to that. Yet in each new association there is something unique and exceptional which was worth the effort.

The Blue Heart, 2005

Yellow Marks, 2013

The Pale Blue Line, 2014

Chartres, 2014

Credits:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/jim-dine/works

negative thoughts

Thought Behind the thought:

Few days ago I was reading ‘The Princess and the Pea’ story to my little niece who was visiting us. The story revolves around a girl who comes into a palace claiming to be a true princess and is put to test by the prince’s mother who makes her sleep on twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds with a pea hidden under the mattress in the bottom. True princess that she is, she is in discomfort the whole night and gets up bruised and tired. Well we too test our patience everyday by taking things like work, troubles and negative thoughts to bed. No wonder we are constantly battered and bruised by these thorns and nails that we sleep on. These dark thoughts get into our minds and prevent us from working productively. Negativity brings only pain to life, stifling even the minutest pleasures out of it.

About the Art: 

Kumi Yamashita is a Japanese artist who works in New York and does amazing work using nails and thread. Remember how we were given these little projects in school to wind thread around a bunch of nails and come up with patterns. Kumi Yamashita takes that exercise to another level. She makes these outstanding portraits with nails and thread. A lot of consideration needs to be given to the density and spacing of the nails. The entire shading of the portraits is controlled by the number of times thread is wound around the nails. Obviously her art needs careful planning, execution, vision and most importantly infinite patience.