Banyan Leaves and Henna Patterns

I notice a pattern emerging - the more exotic/stimulating the environment, the more my response is to break it down - go simple, meditative and focused on the everyday. This was especially true in Turkey, and now India. and, ironically, in the land of the color drenched sari, I am making simple drawings in black and white. This is not what I would have expected, but it is my authentic response to the assault on the senses that is India.

Each morning I awake to the sweeping of the fallen leaves by the workers, and in particular it is the Banyan leaf that  has caught my eye and become the focus of the series I am working on here. And because this is a culture that loves to decorate everything - from the elephant to the henna patterns on the hands and feet,  I have incorporated those patterns into the leaf drawings to ground them in this time and place.

bio henna leaves

Simple banyan leaf with Sanskrit goddess name.

The on-site Museum of Everyday Objects is cool and dark in the oppressive heat, so I spend my days inside, drawing in a meditative and focused state - noticing the care given to the simplest of useful tools. Everything has some decorative detail, which is also reflected in the textiles, the riotously painted buses, and even the elephant’s trunk.

A tool in the Museum of everyday objects - a water carrier perhaps? I titled it Laskshmi - the goddess of wealth and prosperity.