Category: Art

Three summers ago, I was visiting with friends in the fascinating city of Kolkota, India.  Thanks to my friend and host, Parveen, I paid a visit to a women’s shelter from where I bought this lovely tablecloth.  Delicate crossstich and a set of fine borders make this a beautiful work of art.  Even more so, when you think about the context and circumstances under which it must have been produced.  Made by hand by a woman in the process of becoming rehabilitated from vices and abuse, this is a beautiful example of how something good might come about from something bad.

It took me a while to get around to using it, but laid out here on my dining table, it looks fabulous, don’t you think?

Yet another post that initially found its place in another location on my blog, but is posted here today in an effort to slowly but surely collate all relevant newsitems and articles that need be approriately housed here within this Art section.

This is an exquisite piece of pottery hand-painted in the most brilliant colors of blue made by artisans across the border in Mexico.  The colors are so vibrant in every shade of blue you feel they will rub off on you if you touch the sun!  Incidentally, I collect masks from everywhere, and although this is not a mask, it is a face– a face of the sun, and therefore, it will find a home among the rest of my mask collection and will remain forever a prized souvenir from my trip to the lovely city of San Antonio, Texas in early 2011.

Incidentally, this is only one piece photographed multiple times and made into a collage.

Nothing says America louder than a Coca-Cola truck.  Whether it’s moving down a highway or parked on a side-street.  Which is where I saw this one the other day on the grounds of the University of Michigan campus while I was doing my volunteer duty at the annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival.  The Coca-Cola truck formed a perfect backdrop to one of the streets, and I couldn’t help but take this picture to celebrate the vibrant colors and everything refreshing that it represens.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I’m proud to be an American!  So, consider this a mish-mash of a post dedicated to my love of country, love of freedom, love of a refreshing cold drink on any day, hot or cold, and love of art– which is what this lettering is.

My proud acquisition of the day: the tiniest pressure cooker you can find–but only in an Indian supermarket. I realize I paid five times more than what I’d have paid for it in India, but hey, it beats an airticket!

Some years back, I was wandering the famous touristy street in New Delhi called Janpath known for its shops that sell all kinds of arts and crafts from around the country.  Many of it is classic kitsch, but there are also authentic wares to be found– if you look hard enough and sometimes in the right places.  Well, I think I certainly found something to keep:  this gorgeous many-beaded choker with the turquoise stones embedded in it, it is nothing short of a magnificent piece of handiwork.  

So, I was walking down the street yesterday, and saw this funny-looking car parked on the street, and so, of course, I had to stop to check it out.  It was the coolest sporty little thing that had a round blue and yellow emblem on the trunk that said Alpha Romeo.  Too bad it isn’t available for sale here in the USA, but if it were, I’d want one! 

Oh, and what’s it doing on the art section of my blog?  It’s a work of art, for God’s sake!

Some time back, I was a happy tourist in the lovely city of San Antonio, Texas.  While there, my husband and I did every imaginable “touristy” thing in checking out the local museums, parks, monuments, restaurants, theatre, boatrides along the riverside, and of course, some souvenir shopping.

One of the places that we visited was a historic arts village that featured wares from artists south of the border.  It was like being a kid in a candy store going from one little shop to the other in checking out the lovely wares from exotic countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Belize, etc.

At this historic arts village, I picked up this purse to give as a gift to my mother.  It is handmade in Guatemala, no two alike in color and design.  I was thrilled to get it because I knew my mother would appreciate it both for its art and its high functionality.  It is the right size and style to use everyday with even two zippers on the outside for perhaps a cell phone and keys.

Well, as excited as I was in buying it, soon after I got home and unpacked, I seemed to have “lost” it!  I couldn’t find it anywhere, and I’d begun to wonder if I’d perhaps left it in the hotel or perhaps it got inadvertently tossed out with other wrappers and plastic bags that one invariably has an excess of after returning from a holiday.  Well, three months later, after I’d given up on it, I found it safely tucked away in a “hidden” place in my closet!  So much for being organized!

And so, now that I’d lost what I’d found, I promptly wrapped it up, and mailed it out to my mother.  She got it, and she tells me she loves it!  See for yourself the beauty of this little purse!  Truly a work of art!  (I almost wish I’d bought one for myself too!)