the heart

Thought behind the thought:

As adults there are only a few blessed ones that hit the pillow and fall asleep. The rest are twiddling their fingers and staring at the ceiling fan, as it breaks the stillness of the night with its droning sounds. The head is full of thoughts that seem to be performing gymnastic stunts. Out of all these thoughts the most nagging ones are the little wants and aspirations that are ever so demanding that they just don’t allow you to catch your forty winks. The mental juggling continues till you eventually fall asleep of exhaustion from thinking too much.

About the art:

I am taken back to the time when my kids were very little and I used to try and get them to sleep. The faster I wanted them to fall asleep they longer they would take. After endless story telling sessions I would fall asleep out of exhaustion and they would sleep only after that. Dr. Seuss Sleep Book was my hope it may not have done much for the kids but even today when I pick the book to read a yawn is only seconds away. The kids used to love the book. The incredible writing and rhyming was really a big hit with them. The quintessential illustrations of all Dr. Seuss books have left an indelible mark on all his readers. Dr. Seuss wrote this book way back in 1962 when the life of an urban parent was still easy. Technological advancements had not yet made the parent available 24X7. Life was slow paced and parenting was a different ball game altogether.

Cut to 2011, parenting is now nothing short of a juggling game. Parents are on a tight schedule and the clock and the phone seemed to have made them slaves. Unclear future, lack of job security and skyrocketing bills have made parents edgy and cranky. Nuclear families, divorced parents, single parents and urban life style means there is little or no help available in raising kids. Obviously after a long hard day when children refuse to sleep the parents are completely exasperated. When Adam Mansbach's daughter Vivien was two, she would take up to two hours to fall asleep. Exhausted and exasperated, one night Mansbach posted a note on Facebook, "Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, Go the — to Sleep".

Macy Halford, writing for The New Yorker, said "the book is super funny, and the art, by Ricardo Cortés, is perversely sweet, so sweet and genuine that it made me cringe

What followed was a satirical book that simply went viral. Every parent connected to the frustration that Mansbach expresses in the book. In India we are extremely cautious about the language that we use around children and I am sure so is the case world over. Yet the helplessness, frustration, anger and guilt of not being a great parent are universal feeling as well. This is a sleep book for parents to get a good laugh at themselves. Adam Mansbach came up with a child friendly version as well called Seriously, Just Go To Sleep. He removed the expletives and changed the content to make it more children friendly for example; the stanza about the child's thirst was changed from

"I know you're not thirsty, that's bullshit. 

Stop lying. Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep" to 

"I know you're not thirsty. 

You just had a drink. 

Stop goofing around now, and sleep

The wants in our life are like these little kids. They have to be handled with compassion and patience. Just like parenting you do get better with time handling these nagging wants.

Credits & Information:

https://seussblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/dr-seusss-sleep-book/

http://www.tinyironfists.com/2011/05/go-the-fuck-to-sleep.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Px7ZJRDY4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GedjRxj9EA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_the_Fuck_to_Sleep

attitude

Thought behind the thought:

Every generation feels that the generation preceding theirs was narrow minded and the generation following theirs is arrogant and has attitude problems. Well the truth really lies in what we got from our parents and what we are giving to our kids as our legacy. Attitude is not a garment we slip on but it the skin we live in. A couple of days back a colleague of mine was very concerned about the “attitude” of today’s students. I am quite certain I have heard the same thing said about us when we were studying. Who decides if attitude is right or wrong? Ones attitude is a vehicle in which the person travels towards his destination. Better the vehicle better are the chances of getting there. Also the vehicle needs to be suitable to the kind of journey one wants to embark on.

About the art:

Any children’s illustrated book is successful if the attitude of the character and the illustration match. While reading any such book we have a mental picture of the character. When we have an illustration that portrays the right attitude, an instant connection is made with the character.

Some examples of famous children’s book characters and their illustrations.

Captain Haddock is known for his alcoholism and temperamental nature. His character is portrayed to be weak, short-tempered, given to emotional expletive-ridden outbursts and capable of infuriating behavior. In illustrating this character Herge was inspired by the fiery temper of Tintin colourist E.P. Jacobs and the bluffness of Tintin artist Bob de Moor.

When Quentin Blake was illustrating Matilda, the most challenging character was Miss Trunchbull. The dreadful headmistress was really exaggerated by Roald Dahl, the author and the first drawings that Blake made had Miss Trunchbull wearing a shirt, collar and tie, belt and boots which made her look like a dictator. He was then given a picture of a person Dahl had in mind while creating the character. This led to the boots becoming shoes; her hair was tied in a fancy French hairdo. Her image of a former Olympic athlete who could now hold little girls by their pigtails and throw them into middle distance started becoming a plausible vision.

When Uderzo's first started sketching Asterix he somehow felt the need to portray him as a huge and strong traditional Gaulish warrior. Goscinny, the author, had visualized him differently. His vision of Asterix was that of a shrewd small sized warrior who would prefer intelligence over strength. Hence Uderzo pointed out that that perhaps a small sized hero needed a strong but dim companion to which Goscinny agreed. This was how the portrayal of Obelix was structured.

The characters of Archie Comics were created by publisher/editor John L. Goldwater, written by Vic Bloom, and drawn by Bob Montana. Montana was inspired by his friends, Skinny Linehan and Arnold Daggett while portraying Jughead Jones and Moose Mason respectively. School librarian Elizabeth Tuck inspired Miss Grundy and Principal Earl McLeod was the model for Mr. Weatherbee. Montana knew the Boston Brahmin political family the Lodges, because he had once painted a mural for them; he combined their family name with actress Veronica Lake to create Veronica Lodge. Betty Cooper was based on Montana's girlfriend in New York. Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe, a soda shop where Archie's Gang hang out, was based on Crown Confectionery and the Chocolate Shop on Merrimack Street and the Tuscarora on Winter Street in Haverhill.

Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Haddock

http://www.welovethisbook.com/features/quentin-blake-how-i-created-matilda

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix_(character)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Montana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Andrews_(comics)

comic books

Thought behind the thought:

In a day and age where television channels could be counted, on the fingers of one hand, comics books were the single most form of entertainment to young minds in the 70's and 80's. Millions of children who grew up back then in India have fond memories attached to these comics. Mandrake the magician, Phantom the ghost who walks, Flash Gordon and Bahadur (Indrajal Comics) transported every child into a fantasy world full of drama, action, wonder and discovery. Simple, entertaining, affordable and knowledge based material was what Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle provided the average Indian child. Comics like Amar Chitra Katha made mythology seem so exciting and enjoyable. History books could never compete with the charm that Amar Chitra Katha offered. Tinkle bought humour, trivia, general knowledge and quizzes to every child that eagerly waited for it to be delivered monthly. I happened to find a very different looking bound volume of Tinkle recently and bought it for my kids. Apparently Supandi and Shikari Shambhu still hold the same magic, as I distinctly heard my daughter laugh out loud as she read it.

Amar Chitra Katha First Issue no:11

Krishna Illustrated by Ram Waeerkar

 Amar Chitra Katha's unique colour illustrations

Cover of first Issue of Tinkle December 1980

Anant Pai 

17th September 1929 – 24th  February 2011

About the Art:

Comic books and Anant Pai, or fondly known as Uncle Pai, are synonyms in India. In February 1967 in a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan (official Indian Channel) children were able to answer difficult questions in Greek and Roman Mythology but failed to answer basic questions like "In the Ramayana, who was Rama's mother?

Deeply shocked and pained by this Anant Pai, who then was a junior executive in The Times of India books division, left his job and undertook the work of Amar Chitra Katha. He assumed the position of writer, editor and publisher. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles.

Writers like Kamala Chandrakant, Margie Sastry, Subba Rao, Debrani Mitra and C.R Sharma joined the creative team of Amar Chitra Katha. The illustrators attached to ACK were Ram Waeerkar, who illustrated the very first issue of Amar Chitra Katha, Krishna. Some of the other eminent names are Dilip Kadam, C. M. Vitankar,Sanjeev Waeerkar, Souren Roy, C.D Rane, Ashok Dongre, V.B. Halbe, Jeffrey Fowler, Pratap Mullick and Yusuf Lien aka Yusuf Bangalorewala.

The first issue of Tinkle was launched in April 1980. As of today 622 issues have been printed. The whole interactive format of the magazine was what held its audiences. Children wrote directly to Uncle Pai! He responded to their letters. Drawings were made, stories were written and they could actually be printed in the magazine! Former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the fans of Tinkle due to its educational and entertainment format.

Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anant_Pai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amar_Chitra_Katha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinkle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anant_Pai#mediaviewer/File:Uncle_anant_pai.jpg

http://chaitanya-atman.blogspot.in/2011/02/father-of-indian-comics-anant-pai.html

http://bhavinpgala.blogspot.in/

http://www.indiancomiccovers.com/2011/06/tinkle-no1_04.html

http://www.silkqin.com/13pers/ack/ack011.jpg

nature and art

Frits Ahlefeldt is an artist, eco-freak and hiker who makes art projects about the environment, sustainable living, technology and the challenges and trails ahead of us. He works as an artist, blogger, story teller and graphic facilitator.

He says  "I work from a green vision to empower our cities, to find ways to make us thrive better and to, at the same time, get closer to finding more sustainable ways of living.

In my drawings and storytelling I often use metaphors as I try both to illustrate the challenges, the paradoxes and when possible even to sketch directions, that can get us moving along better trails."

for more: http://hikingartist.com/environment/

friends

This lost sketch that is the first ever depiction of the game Poohsticks by famed illustrator E.H Shepard has been found after 87 years. . It shows Pooh Bear, Christopher Robin and Piglet gazing over a wooden bridge after dropping sticks into a river, waiting for them to float into sight on the other side.

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” 

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.” 

― A.A. Milne

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem.” 

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnie the pooh is a fantastic book  about frienship written by A.A. Milne and beautifully illustrated by artist E.H. Shepard. The book is a testimony of what frienship truely means and how friends indeed are closer than family at times.The real-life inspiration for the book’s setting – a forest that boasted a Heffalump trap and an area marked ‘Nice for Piknicks’ – is said to have been Posingford Bridge in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where Milne and his son Christopher played in a forest that becam an inspiration and set of the famous .

In tribute to the author, it has since been renamed Poohsticks Bridge.

Photo credits:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2510891/E-H-Shepards-Winnie-Pooh-sketch-captured-magic-Poohsticks-found.html

parenting

William Boyd “Bill” Watterson is an American artist and the creator of the famous comic strip ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. His work never fails to bring a smile to the reader’s face. His understanding of the simple, yet important truths about human behaviour, his sharp sense of humour, and of course his ability to express the said and the unsaid through pictures makes his characters timeless in their appeal.

Like many artists, Watterson incorporated elements of his life, interests, beliefs and values in to his work. He opined that art should not be judged by the medium for which it is created, and for years, battled against pressure to merchandise his work, something he felt would devalue the characters and their personalities.

A Comic Strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humour or form a narrative, often serialised, with text in baloons and captions. Written and drawn by comics artists or cartoonists, they were traditionally published in newspapers in the black and white format.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes

plan to live ... or live to plan?

John Wellington Kent, better known by his signature Jack Kent was an American cartoonist and prolific author - illustrator of children’s books, best known as the creator of the comic strip ‘King Aroo’. In addition to his own books, he also illustrated books by other authors.

“ By means of his artwork, Jack Kent has developed a fresh variation. ................. he has given the stories a new dimension of humour and, while the morals are as true as ever, the reader enjoys a chuckle along."

Illustration (origin: latin word  illustra’tio, illu’stro meaning enlighten, irradiate) is a visualisation or a graphic depiction made by an artist, such as a drawing, sketch, painting, photograph, of things seen, remembered or imagined.

source: http://raphaelslibrary.files.wordpress.com/