Creativity and Business

Paintings of Suburbanization

2012-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am posting another two painting in the series of Urbanization/Suburbanization. These paintings are flowing without boundaries and have dream like quality. You can see that transparent Saree (a 6 yard piece of cloth) flying through the landscape. One day, it is going to tell an interesting story. Be ready!

Gandhi Topi - A simple Fabric Structure

2011-12-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

When I was talking to my friend about Fabric Architecture and fabric form, he pointed me about Gandhi Topi. I was amazed to realize the simplicity of the form, structure and material of the famous Gandhian Topi. Gandhi Topi (Cap) is a white colored cap made out of Khadi (Hand woven cloth, either cotton, wool or silk). Anna Hazare with his Gandhian Topi has brought Gandhi Topi in to fashion world.
Mahatma Gandhi, who brought freedom to India would have got an award for his design of this Cap. In designing this national headgear, he considered many factors- The Topi is simple, elegant, affordable, light and portable. Also the pure white color stood out against many colorful turbans and cloths. If it got dirty, it would show on the white color right away and that way it is worn clean. It is so easy to make, just search on youtube videos.

Anna Hazare

Photo Credit- http://www.flickr.com/photos/9374338@N02/867598775/in/photostream/


http://www.ndtv.com/article/lifestyle/capping-fashion-making-statement-with-gandhi-topi-128666

Paintings after Visual Analysis

2011-12-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Changes in Paintings after critical examination-

I asked one of my artist friends to review my paintings and made few changes in the paintings. I am posting the same paintings and you can see the changes. I integrated three elements and colors in the first painting. In the second painting, I repeated the architectural wall two times making the urban element dominant. I think the colors are flowing well across the canvas. What do you think?

Painting-1


Painting-2

Paintings inspired by urbanization

2011-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Attempt to express urbanization through paintings

I made an attempt to express urbanization through paintings. Also, I included flying Saree. The colors are shifted in the photos. They still need to evolve, somehow look incomplete. I have to paint few more to get satisfactory results.
Two Paintings below-

Subterranean River by Stephen Blumberg

2011-11-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Is it co-incidence or what ? Some unified similar incidences are occurring around me. My son is playing a piece named "Subterranean River" in California Youth Symphony Orchestra today at Flint Center in Cupertino. I attended a lecture on Sounds of river last week and I am going to listen to this piece by Stephen Blumberg on Sounds of River.

As he describes it in his words- "Early in the process of composing this music I heard in it evocations of moving water, sometimes tranquil, sometimes rushing, even torrential. There was also a sense of underground spaces – dank, dark, cavernous, resonant, and echoing. In one passage the music slows to almost complete stillness and it suggested to my imagination a timeless, voluminous space, cathedral-like, with crystals and hanging stalactites above nearly motionless, pooling water. The various sections of the piece have tempo and character indications – tranquil, calm; murky, menacing; turbulent, rushing – that suggest different types of motion associated with the changing speed and flow of an underground river. I determined the title, Subterranean River, and as the piece progressed the music flowed through a changing succession of scenes and spaces, experienced through an imagined voyage."

I am looking forward to this symphony today. For more, go here

Subterranean River for orchestra was commissioned by the California Youth Symphony and is dedicated to Music Director and Conductor Maestro Leo Eylar.

"A Sound Map of Rivers" and The "Bubble"

2011-11-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Creative Visions
Not having many active projects to work on, I have been fabricating my own projects and in the process, creative juices are flowing in my brain. May be due to this creative thinking, I keep stumbling upon creative people and artists who want to change the world with their vision. I have to share these two individuals vision.

Annea Lockwood, a composer, gave a lecture last night and shared her work with the audience. Born in New Zealand, studied in London and Holland, now living in America, Annea is fascinated by river sounds and creates a Sound Map of rivers. She has recorded the sounds of the Hudson, the Danube, and the Housatonic at various sites and interviewed people describing their association with rivers. She interweaves the river sounds with the words of people and makes installations. I heard few samples of sounds of water flowing river with changing energies. Very fascinating idea of "seeing into things" in imaginative way. For more, check out here.

Another visionary person is Richard Koshalek, director of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC. He believes that museums today have to curate the public spaces andeducational programs along with exhibitions. His words: "If we can develop an educational program that's national and global in outlook, we can have an impact on cultural policy in the U.S.". With this vision in mind, he is working with New York based Design firm, diller scofidio + renfro to design and construct a 145 tall inflatable cylindrical bubble in the existing building of Hirshhorn Museum.

Photo Credit- Smithsonian............................Photo Credit Hubpages

The "Bubble” is a pneumatic structure enclosed only by a thin translucent membrane that fits into the central open area of the building and oozes out the top and beneath its mass. The translucent interior courtyard will host global eductional events twice a year. Look at the renderings of the proposed space below.

Photo Credit - diller scofidio + renfro

I really admire the vision of both these individuals. The final piece or product or structure is the result of a series of processes and collaborations. Annea's ambition of just recording various river sounds and Ricard Koshalek's vision incorporating ongoing global education exchange in the existing building are definitely noteworthy in my mind.

Fabric Art and Architecture

2011-10-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

I like all types of temporary structures. The definition vary from one city to another city but they are generally built without foundation. In most cases, these non-traditional structures are constructed in a short time with a limited budget and secondly they perform beyond shelter. They tell stories of people. They create spaces which encourage participation of people. They are the least obtrusive to nature. They are versatile. And a majority of them have fabric as one of the main materials. Now you know, why I have an affinity with these fabric structures.

There are countless examples of fabric structures around us. Just few to mention-circus tents, kiosks, umbrellas, huge inflatable structures, green houses and so on... They also encompass awnings, canopies, geodesic domes, grid shell structures, tensile structures and inflatable structures. While they vary in scale, function and the designs, they all use fabric as a main material. Fabric are typically coated and laminated with synthetic materials for strength and environmental resistance such as wind, rain and sun. I have chosen a few examples varying in scale from a small sculpture in the room to an airport roof, all made up of fabric and beautiful representative of fabric structures. The artists, architects and the contractors have pushed the boundary through the design and execution.

Fabric Sculptures -

1. Small scale

Starting with sculpture- Jens. J. Meyer, an artist from Germany uses fabric and carbon rods or bamboos for support. This sculpture is fold able, transportable, and independent of a specific site.

Kubus - sculpture and photo credit- Jens J. Myer

Size-2.35m x 2.35m x 2.35 m.

I love "Kubus", a tension textile sculpture, made in

1998 by Jens J. Meyer.

For more of his work- http://www.jj-meyer.de/

2. Large scale Fabric Sculpture in Paris

Another large scale sculpture is by Anish Kapoor. "Leviathan", a large and incredible sculpture, tightly stretched PVC red color fabric over a metal frame is my favorite.

Photo Credit- http://www.anishkapoor.com/

Photo Credit - www.anishkapoor.com

38 meters tall x 100 m long X 70 meters deep

The 38-meter high red tinted structure aims to engulf and overwhelm the participants and viewers. By installing in Grand Palais, the artist is creating space withing a space. It is like a formless monster does not fit and pushes us to think or inquire. His words, “People will be invited to enter the artwork, to immerse themselves in its color and it will be I hope a contemplative, poetic experience.”

This sculpture needs to be experienced with the use of video due to the scale variations and distinct inside and outside space.

http://www.anishkapoor.com/741/Grand-Palais-2011.html

Fabric Structures, Small scale-

1.The Sail, Jakarta, Indonesia, built in 2005

Fabric- Polyester coated with PVC, height- 17 meter ( ft) , Advance Membrane System Pte Ltd

Photo Credit -Advance Membrane System Pte.

The project was completed in 9 to 10 months and the fabric structure is integral to the design of the building. The building was designed to have a strong iconic image of the real estate company, "The Sail" and another criteria for design was to withstand high wind from the sea.

The building along with the fabric sails on the roof satisfy both the criteria. It does have a nice scale of fabric and the building. I am not sure that they use terrace of the building.

Fabric Structures - Large scale, Permanent

1. Denver Airport, USA completed in 1995

Architect Curtis Fentress broke the traditional icon of airport and designed internationally acclaimed Denver International Airport. The fabric roof and its form was inspired by Colorado's rocky snow covered mountains. The series of roof covers 1200ft x240ft space.

View from Inside- photo credit- www.fentressarchitects.com

This graceful, lightweight structure incorporates innovative steel cable systems and two layers of PTFE Teflon coated fabric membranes to ensure sound control and sufficient insulation against Denver’s demanding climate conditions.

Contractor- http://www.birdair.com/projectGallery/denver_airport.aspx

http://www.fentressarchitects.com/portfolio/airports.htm

Fabric Pavilion - Site specific and Portable

1. Burnham Pavilion, Chicago, USA built in 2009

A temporary pavilion was designed and erected in Chicago’s Millennium Park as part of the Burnham Plan celebrations by an Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid. She is internationally well known for her architectural work and ranked 69th on the Forbes list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2008.

Photo Credit - http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/burnham-pavillion/#

The foot print of this pavilion is 300 sq. meters. More than 7,000 pieces of aluminum- no two alike- were individually bent and welded together, creating the pavilion's curvilinear form. Thousands of yards of fabric were custom tailored and tightly fit onto the interior and exterior aluminum-tube structure.

Photo Credit- http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/burnham-pavillion/#

This fluid structure plays with shadow, light and space, perfect space for exhibiting Chicago's history. I really dig the simplicity of final form, knowing how complex the structural framework is. The drawing above shows that.

Her un-conventional architectural forms are intricate with complex geometry, they require innovative process of construction.

I do want to include two links to videos -

1. Anish Kapoor is describing his sculpture and by watching this, you will get the scale of this sculpture ( Beautiful lights and structure of the old building)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Ni0c4D27Y&feature=related

2- Burnham Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects Time Lapse Video by Tom Rossiter- (nice music)

http://blip.tv/burnhamplan100/burnham-pavilion-by-zaha-hadid-architects-time-lapse-video-by-tom-rossiter-2492686

In the next post, I will cover few small scale fabric structures, mass produced, commercialized and available easily for various short term events.

Fabric of Our Lives

2011-10-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Design of buildings and cities requires the basic understanding of human behavior however the knowledge of building materials is crucial. I always look for opportunity to explore various materials. In the past, I have experimented with concrete, metals, tiles, stones and plastic. But recently I got a chance to work with fabric or I deliberately chose to experiment with the fabric as I always love the feel and look of textiles from all over the world. In the past, I had made few paintings of flying Saree. Below is one digital painting, printed on canvass of flying Saree in the mountains.

Flying Saree

I am starting to understand the manufacturing process of fabric along with its property. On the other side, I am scratching the surface and getting lost in a whole world of flowing fabric. So for some time, I am going to be fabric and interlace the fields of fabric. Today, I want to talk about the use of Fabric and Textile in our life.

Fabric is a flexible and pliable material. It is soft unlike concrete, wood or stones. The term, textile and fabric is used interchangeably. The fabric is defined as "artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers". Everyone knows of its use in clothing to cover the human body. But fabric has penetrated in every industry and has become part of our life. Today we can not live without it. I have just illustrated below the types and uses of textile. In the next post, I want to bring to your attention few examples of textile in Art and Architecture.

In the meantime, attached is a link associated with the term- "fabric of our lives" Cotton industry promoting cotton through this video- very sensuous !
http://www.thefabricofourlives.com/campaign.html?vidId=k11

Reflection of the culture- Art and WIne Festival

2011-09-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Mountain View Art and Wine Festival

Couple of weeks ago, I hung out with my friend in downtown Mountain View, California, for 40th Annual Mountain View Art & Wine Festival. Yes, as the name indicates, it exhibits and sells art and craft works of over 600 artists and also it introduces, promotes and sells wines. I spent a whole day strolling around with a glass of wine in hand, enjoying beautiful art, craft and so many other things. But what I realized that this event was much more than art and wine.

I was attending this event after three years so I noticed changes in the types of art and craft objects. Generally, art and craft evokes emotions by its beauty or symbols, and it does reflect culture or perception of the artists. This is not for all artworks but many of the artworks/craftworks depict tradition, culture, religion or/and faith of the society. I saw the works of the artists crossing traditional boundaries of classical art. Many of them used innovative materials such as Aluminum and plastic instead of canvass, techniques and ideas.

Few of them are cited below-
Of course the booth selling Tie-dye apparels appeared like new improved comeback as non-toxic dyes and carefully designed patterns. They were ready to be purchased by the environmentally conscious baby boomers creating notalgic feelings of rock/roll music.

Look at the Magnetic healing Bracelets booth, even sun lights creating these mystical properties of products. Many residents of this city and surrounding area are health conscious and believe in eastern practice of Yoga(Check out an another event of peace-EarthDance in the area), Meditation, Acupuncture and so on. They are perfect consumers for these products.

Another craft object, "Celtic Medallion", a perfect example of reflection of Irish cultures. As shown in the photo you follow the lines of Celtic symbols printed on wooden circle with a wooden stick. They are supposed to take you in a peaceful state of mind. Everybody was stopping to try it out and I wondered about it.

The music bands had various ethnic flavor. As shown in the photo, a young boy (Look carefully, he is so short that you may not see him) on a drums playing in a live band definitely depicted the enterprising spirit of Silicone valley. Many food artisans were focusing on organic and green products. The wine tastings included wines from Napa, Sonoma, Chillin regions and Italian regions.

The community-oriented event like this encourages people to interact with each other and bridges boundaries between the artisans and the users. And of course wine, good food, music and connecting with friends are additional fun.

Back to School Night

2011-09-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Back-To-School Night

This post is little unusual but, I decided to share.

Visiting to children's school event “Back to School” night took me back to my high school years in Ahmedabad, India. All parents will agree with me on this being very important and crucial event in terms of participating in the kids’ academic life. At least for me, it always is. When they are talking about their teachers, I could put face and personality behind the names.

“Back-to-School Night” happens in the second week of the school year and Parents are invited to experience their child’s academic life in two hours. Now you know why I did not want to miss it. The whole idea behind this is to meet the teachers and learn their teaching methods and the materials. Normally, parents follow their child’s day class schedule and spend 15 minutes in one class and go to the next class in 3 minutes and spend 15 minutes there. Having both children (Praniti and Curran) in 11^th grade and taking different classes, I had two schedules of 7 periods. So I chose 7 subjects from both the schedules and made my own schedule and I was prepared with school campus map, my routes drawn over (check it out), a torch and a comfortable pair of shoes.

The Gunn high school is clustered in separate one story wings/buildings encompassing small classrooms. These classrooms are flanked with corridors on both sides. Of course, there are trees and shrubs along the buildings. The teachers have their classrooms and the students go from one class to another class unlike in the school, I studied the students stay in one room for all the classes , the teachers come to your class.All parents started this tour at 7.00PM from the Spannenbeg Stadium and we completed at 9.00PM. I move to the next class when the bell rings and I followed the routes and two times, I had to almost run. The decision of wearing comfortable shoes proved right and I could reach to the class in 3 minutes. Of course, I had to be disciplined and not look up to say hi or smile to other parents. I was pleased with almost all the teachers and amazed with few due to their teaching styles and credentials. What impressed me was different approaches of communications our children experience. Along with traditional materials, the classrooms had digital smart boards, livescribes and the teachers used latest presentation techniques. One younger teacher used "Hands On" method to communicate with the parents. He made us do experiment of lighting a bulb in four ways with one battery. At the same time, he projected his bio-data and the study materials on two walls, very glamorous and entertaining. Few teachers have their websites to deliver current study materials along with the school portal. I could not believe that my son will have access to lab equipment to do his own gene research in the Advanced Biology class. At 15, I did not have all these things and facilities. I also loved the reading and study materials of English and Mythology (Odysse by Homer, Hamlet, and many "classics"). The Law class is University of California recognized and focuses on Criminal Justice system. These teachers were diverse and impressive, they loved their subjects and had ambitious teaching goals. My children are fortunate to have these resources.

I copied few quotes hung over the walls of couple of classes, I have to share few here-
"Never buy a Beige Car"- (The teacher had regret of buying a gray car.)
"Beware of a person who has nothing to loose".
"Forget Committees : Great Ideas usually come from one person, working alone". (inspiring)
And I really love this one- Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Gertrude Stein - Creative Collaboration

2011-07-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Gertrude Stein - Creative Collaborations

Visiting The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco was on my list for a long time (WHY? Check the next post), so when my long time mentor and Jewish, jewelry teacher invited me to see the new exhibits in that museum, I grabbed the invite and marked the day in my Google calendar. I even offered to drive her and her another musician friend to the city. I was very excited to visit the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Museum Of Modern Art, San Francisco. Again, MOMA, I religiously visit and when I don't, I feel guilty.

Creative Collaboration - I saw the exhibits at both the museums. I realized that the careful timing of curating exhibits on somewhat similar and related subjects in both the museums made the message and impact stronger. The Contemporary Jewish Museum collaborated with San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and curated the exhibit on "Seeing Gertrude Stein: five stories"at the same time as MOMA's show on "The Steins Collect". The location of both the museums close enough to walking distance made it possible for visitors to see both exhibits and get the most out of it. The exhibit in MOMA is much larger as the building is larger than Jewish museum and so the exhibit also covers Villa Stein designed by Le Corbusier at Garches, France.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA

Museum Of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

Mother of Modernism-
Gertrude was known as a mother of modernism. She played a big role in life of Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway and so many other well known artists.
The exhibit and the docent tour by my friend at The Contemporary Jewish Museum allowed me to peep in the life of Gertrude. Amongst all the stories, "Art of Friendship" story caught my attention. Gertrude Stein and her brother had keen eye for art and collecting, but she did not stop there, she would attract budding artists and writers, she would continue dialogues with them. She created a community with them. She was born in USA but she made her home and family in France. From 1904 to 1913, her home at 27 Rue de Fleurus in France turned into Salon. The exhibits in both museums show the walls of her home (see the photo below), which were vertically lined up with paintings done by artists Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. Many artists brought their friends to her place to see the paintings however Picasso and Matisse were part of her close social circle and went to her salon every early Saturday evenings.

This salon/her home was displayed in the exhibits became the place for enhancing friendships with all the artists. The wall paper on the wall, personalized objects, photographs and other furniture made the physical space intimate. The Jewish Museum has used the wall paper(White Dove motif on light blue background paper), mimicking Gertrude's living room on one of the wall for people to experience.

Gertrude in her Home in France

The exhibits at both the places showed black and white photos of the walls of Gertrude's home where we can see the paintings. Then you walk around in the same room and see the beautiful, mouth dropping original master works. I almost could imagine Gertrude's space with those paintings. This definitely gave me the glimpses of their lives and I understand the power of paintings now financially, culturally and emotionally.

Villa Stein- Stein and Le Corbusier
While strolling at MOMA, I really was surprised to see Le Corbusier's work connected with the Stein Collect. Les Terrases (Villa Stein) at Garches is the largest and most luxurious house that Le Corbusier designed in the 1920s and the house was designed and built for Sarah, wife of Michael Stein, who was a brother of Gertrude and their longtime friend Gabrielle Colaco-Osorio de Monzie. Michael Stein and Sarah hired Le Corbusier to design their modern Villa and it seems like, Corbu's career started to bloom after this Villa. I had no idea about the Stein family's involvement with modern movement in architecture. It also shows creative collaboration in that time.

Words + Voices- Gertrude Stein wrote many books but that I can not comment as I have not read any of her writings. But it is amazing to find out that she appreciated and attracted even many of the great writers of the time, including Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Thornton Wilder and Sherwood Anderson. In the same context, the literary collaboration is happening just across both the museums in Yerba Buena Garden. An independent literary festival Words+ Voices, with outdoor series Litquake, is just scheduled in July. Many award winning poets are going to recite and discuss the poetry for public and thus paying tribute to Gertrude Stein.

I want to end this by Gertrude's two quotes, which I like-
"An audience is always warming but it must never be necessary to your work."
"A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears."

Crocker Galleria and New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion

2011-06-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Couple of weeks ago, I parked my car in one of the garagesin financial district of San Francisco and rushed into an elevator to go to mymeeting. I got out at second level of Crocker Galleria and to my surprise, was beamedwith beautiful filtered sun lights and buzzed with chatter of people. I experienceda bust of energy in the place.

The Crocker Galleria

The Crocker Galleria,located at 50 Post Streetis a 3 story building, with sky lighted atrium stretching from Post Street to Sutter Streetand lined up with stores and restaurants on all levels. I looked down fromsecond level and saw people gathered around tables filled with colorfulvegetables and fruits. It was weekly farmers market. The central open lobby ofatrium corridor is wide enough for Farmers to organize their vegetables, fruitsand other supply to display and sell. It looked like a perfect place totransform the atrium into this economic and cultural activity. The localresidents, passers by, and people not living there but working in the surroundingbuildings were stopping to taste the sample and shopping fresh fruits andvegetables.

Social, Health, Green, Economic influences- The farmersmarket where the certified farmers sell nutritious, Californian grown, ripenedon trees or vines fruits or vegetables directly to consumers without usingextra packaging. It seems like the building owners and organizers are doinggreat job of promoting and managing this Farmers Market.

Cultural –Apart from stores, restaurants and art gallery,the building has been a home for the innovative public art installation named“Dialogue” by Mike Garibaldi Frick. The photo shows partialposter but Check out – http://www.dialogueproject.net/index.shtml

I just love the place where all kinds ofactivities happen and the place or space can adapt to the needs of people.

On the side note, it reminded me the vegetablemarket I used to visit on every Sunday with my dad or mom to purchase the freshand wholesale prized vegetables in the old city of Ahmedabad. I remember eating Pani Puri (Street food) aftershopping with my father as we had that silent pact about not telling to my momand ruining the delicious brunch she prepared for us. I do not have the photobut attached photos show the character of the place.

Photo Credit- Reuters http://uk.ibtimes.com

Probably, the Crocker building was not designedfor the Farmers Market or not designed to fit other spontaneous activities. Asopposed to, the New Amsterdam Pavilion just opened in Battery Park, New York; designed and programmed to create this experiencealong with others is worth inquiring.

New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion

Photo Credit-

http://ny.curhttp://ny.curbed.com/tags/starchitecturebed.com/tags/starchitecture

http://www.unstudio.com/nl/unstudio/projects/recent/0/0/2336/new-amsterdam-plein-pavilion#img0

Location and Architecture - New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion, located in Peter Minuit Plaza,5000 sq. ft is designed by internationally celebrated Dutch architect Ben vanBerkel of UNStudio from Amsterdam and is the result of the collaborationbetween America, especially New York Mayor and Dutch countries. The structureis clean, sleek white with undulating rooflines and curving walls, symbolizinglike a flower opening to its surrounding. The glass in the night glows with LEDlights and make the structure visible from all over the surrounding area. Ithouses spontaneous and scheduled activities like regional organic food stalls byMerchants Market, Downtown New York’s Visitor Information Booth, seating placesoutside etc.

Perfect Location- The sculptural pavilion looks over theHudson river and has advantages of all people using bicycles, buses, subwaysand water ferries, who would pass by this lyrical flower like structure and itis hoped to become architectural, historical and cultural landmark. (Check thewebsite)http://www.unstudio.com/nl/unstudio/projects/recent/0/0/2336/new-amsterdam-plein-pavilion#img5

I have not visited this place after it is constructed andopened for public but sure that it is architecturally and technicallynoteworthy structure. More so, I hope it fulfills economical and culturalcriteria, and leaves visitors with memorable experience.

Ceilings as an architectural Element - Las Vegas

2011-04-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is theparadise for gamblers and entertainers, but the city has attracted all types ofvisitors from all over the world. Developers are spending a large sum of moneyover the buildings to fulfill fantasy of the tourists. Architects, designers andartists are commissioned to make each casino, hotel and public building unique.The casino buildings are designed with themes of palaces (Ceasars Palace), cities (New York, Venice,Paris etc), countries and so on. Tourists walk around the roads and sidewalksgoing from one building to another all day and night long. The experience ofthis walking from one casino to another is crowded, glittery, and noisy; kindof expected but inside the building the experience is impressive, unique,surprising and exciting.

SKY - INTERIOR SCENES

The casino, Venicehas the canal lined up with the shops and urban plaza with all restaurants andcommerce activities. Everybody seems immersed in the activities and forgettingthat it is not outside in the real city but inside the building. The ambianceis created by ceilings, making it appear like real sky.

The photos of SKY above look like the scene of outdoors with the eveningsky in Venice and night sky in Paris.They are the interior of the buildings with clouds painted over a fabricstretched over the ceiling. You walk from evening to night and back to eveningtime, whatever fulfills your fancy. Of course the lights play major part in it,but that is another post or may be a whole book.

PAINTED CEILINGS- CEASARS PALACE

The casino Ceasars palace has grand architectural domes, columnsand sculptures. These buildings show affluence with the use of rich materialsand ornamentation. Here the ceilings in the photos are decorated with artworks andlit with LED lights to create the drama and grandeur. The idea of painting onthe ceilings are ancient and sometimes they are narrative or symbolic or justpure decorative in nature.

I have to mention the most renowned artwork on the ceilingsof Sistine chapel. “The Creation ofAdam”, a famous painting done by Michelangelo in 15^th century wascommissioned by Pop Julius II. See the Sistine Chapel and the partial paintingin the photo Above.

Modern 3D ceiling overlay


CNC- JAPANESE RESTAURANT AND GLASS FLOWERS- BELLAGIO HOTEL

The noticeable and remarkable ceilings for me were at twoplaces. See the photo above. First was in Japanese Restaurant – where whitepainted thin metal, CNC cut out and layeredover the ceiling creating beautiful shadow and appetizing ambiance.

The second one in the lobby of Bellagio- translucent blownGlass Flowers have been hung from the ceiling. I recognize that artInstallation as I have seen Artist Dale Chihuly’s work at different exhibits.It fits perfect at the lobby of the Bellagio. Visit the site http://www.chihuly.com/to his work and check the video of his process of creation, beautiful.

Uttarayana and Kite Flying

2011-03-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

Roofs as Extended Space-In the last post, I talked about restoration of an old house and terrace and converting intoan authentic Gujarati restaurant “Agashiye”. This is another post describing theuse of the roof tops of the houses in Ahmedabad, India.

FLAT ROOFS-
Flat Roofs withthe parapet are architectural elements of the houses in Gujarat.This extended spaces above the houses are used for many activities includingthis special kite flying activity.
This occurs two days 14^th and 15^thJanuary of each year and it is called Uttarayana and Vasi Uttarayana.
UTTARAYANA

The name Uttarayana comes from joining two differentSanskrit words "Uttara" (North) and "ayana" (movementtowards). Uttarayana (MakarSankranti) is the day when the sun starts to travel towards north as a signof coming summer. It is the day when people of each age group gather over theroofs of their houses and apartments and fly colorful kites.

This day is very special to me as I have many good memoriesof connecting through threads with special friends on the rooftops and havingkite flying and kite cutting wars.

Commerce for Kites and threads

Many workers are involved in the production of handmade kites and coloring of the threads. The threads are prepared by adding color and, glass alloy to thread reel, which are named Firaki. The kites are made from thin colorful papers and reeds. They are sold in Kite market. All parents go with their children to shop for kites and threads few days earlier so they can have time to tie threads to Kites and make them ready to fly. Look at the crowd in the photos above at 10 PM in the night before Uttarayana. Even the recent conference in Gujarat promoted this kite flying festival on Sabarmati Riverfront.

Gujarati Women-

This day is celebrated by all the people of Gujarat, and I wanted to point out the involvement of gujarati women for this activity. I was on the terrace and captured photos of young girls and women completely engrossed in kite flying activities. The photos below show women holding two firakies, flying kites, making jokes etc. Also, the streets and terraces are marked by threads and kites.

Spaces are designed for people- Thecultural behavior affects the design of the houses. The houses do not haveslopping roofs, they have terraces or Agashiye. People spread mattresses tosleep in the hot summer nights. Also, I remember using solar cooker to use sunon the terrace. Also, home made mango and lemon pickles are safely baked in thesun on the terraces and roof tops. Specifically for kite flying activities, tallerhouses are better to fly kites. People put music, fly colorful kites the wholeday with their family and friends, eat special sweets made with Sesame seedsand Jaggery and have friendly kite cutting wars. I felt like flying in the sky with all these kites as I spent 14^th and 15^th January in my hometownflying kites and reconnecting with my childhood friends.

Gujarati Food at Agashiye in Ahmedabad City

2011-01-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

Experience in restored stately home of 1924
Photographic representation

Down to Memory Lane - CEPT- Architecture, Planning

2011-01-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Good Design ignites Social Change
I stopped by to my school, while on a trip to India for Vibrant Gujarat and my mind went into memory lane. I remember visiting CEPT campus every time I visit India and each visit has turned a feast to my eyes. This time, I was amazed one more time with the new scenes popping out into my old etched pictures of the campus. I tried remembering what we did during my time. I could not remember distinctly and I decided to write about it. The campus had many buildings including canteen or a large food stall/building. Everyone goes to the canteen for a cup of tea, well the cup contains hardly two sips of tea (only Gujarati will not mind this amount of tea, anyway that is besides the point or it requires another post), and you sit on the benches designed and constructed by students. You get to see the whole campus and get to meet faculty members as well as students.

When I see these tall brick walls of the buildings, they always look different. They seem to have different personality and seem to have conversation with me. They have art works and they are not frames but temporary large art prints. Some walls have direct paint depicting students' ideas. These are done by students and they are temporary. They are changed as semesters change and each year, I visit the campus, they have different theme and different artwork on them. The red brick walls are pretty but the paintings give them personality of that year's students. Also, along with the 2D arts and paintings, there are 3D sculptures including wooden and metal forms, part of the curriculum and workshops are scattered casually with the students on the campus. Even the benches on which students and faculty members sit together for a cup of tea encourages to create communication between scholars and students. Check out the photos and details of the design elements such as steps creating level deferences and defining spaces, trees creating shades and benches, etc.

Generally, parents do not allow their children to draw and paint on the walls of their homes. Here, these big kids are allowed and encouraged to experiment on the walls. This is an example where the design ignited the behavior which in turn made the design better, exciting and meaningful. I am 100% sure that architect Mr. B. V. Doshi knew the social and educational benefits of these walls while designing the campus.

Rules to Follow- Naming of Roads and Streets

2010-11-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

Rules for naming Streets- A systematic approach
This post is a continuation of the previous post- Breaking the rules.
Of course, it is easier to break the rules in Architecture, but when it comes to City Planning, the consequences are too many. Let me give you an example of it.

Gujarat State in India is going through major development and growth. The upcoming conference in Jan 2011, Global Investment Summit "Vibrant Gujarat" caught my attention because not only I was born and raised in that region but also I am always interested in the cities and planning. The Vibrant Gujarat Summits, held biennially since 2003, to facilitate investment alliances with various countries. To state just few facts about Gujarat and people living in Gujarat- It is located on Western Coast of India and connected with major countries UK, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Gulf Countries etc through the ports. Gujarati people have entrepreneurial spirit and are living all over the world. According to Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi "Gujarat, with its all inclusive, sustainable and rapid growth, is emerging as a globally preferred place to live in and to do business."

I got very excited about this Summit and started to think about the new development, new highways and connections between towns, connecting streets; some planned and some organic developments and so on. I started picturing in my mind the city and towns of Gujarat, travelled back to memory lane of the names of the roads and streets and started to wonder - Are they going to have any system, any rules! Are they going to give Indian names or international names as many investors are pouring money for this growth! Are they going to use leaders names or investors names for the streets! How about the local geographic or historic context! Can you imagine not having any system and confusion it can create.

Street Naming-
So first of all the basic purpose of naming the street is to navigate easily from one place to another. The other reasons are to locate and deliver the mails, provide emergency services, utilities and so on. In USA, there are certain rules to follow when you are giving names to new streets in the new development. Few to mention- Street names can't start with "The", No discriminating or offensive names can be used and the names can not be duplicated, no names of living person are allowed or names should not be awkward or difficult to pronounce. I do not agree on the last two though.

Street Naming in Washington DC-
Romans were the first civilization designed and constructed roads. How did they name them? Washington DC was designed by Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant (August 9, 1754 – June 14, 1825), a French-born American Architect and Civil Engineer. Accordingly, At the center of the grid system is White House and the city was divided into four quadrants -Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest. The streets oriented from North to South are designated by numbers and counted upward from East to West in the Northwest quadrant to Southwest Quadrant of the city for example-1st St NW, 2nd St NW, 3rd St NW etc. For further information, check the post "DC Like a Local". That is very logical system but when you add different streets or divide the streets and connect to curved streets and things start to get complicated in the case of no system with growth in plan. This is just one way to naming and creating a system, but there are various other systems such as alphabetic order and combining them with numbers. There are streets named for all different species of trees, rivers, flowers, Historical leaders and so on.

So I hope Gujarat considers all these and other related issues while creating circular ring roads, connecting highways and other minor street systems. I hope a systematic approach is designed to plan for future growth.

Breaking The Rules

2010-11-18T00:20:00.000-08:00

In Architecture, when one designs space, the basic rules are followed: the rules about making things perfectly uniform or symmetrical or exact implementation of the program. Of Course some assumptions are made about human behavior based on well known facts to follow all the rules. The result is well thought out good building and space. That is perfectly fine, but occasionally when the architect breaks the rule, people adapt the space and the place becomes memorable.

The photo is of Seattle Public Library designed by architect Rem Koolhaas. It is the view of one of the lobbies and what you see are the books-shelves not lined up perfectly and people getting the books. The floor has picture of green shrubs and plants inlay-ed in the flooring. It feels like it is the underground water surface. It works perfectly well. It is like Risk and Reward relationship. Higher risk brings higher rewards if you get rewards. The architect Rem Koolhaas has designed this building with thinking outside the box. This is just one photo of the library.

Sometimes, I also break rules and take risks.

Walk Score - Change your behavior

2010-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

WALK SCORE

I lived in campusenvironment, when I was a student and just loved the experience of walking toeverywhere. After, while working in city of Philadelphia and commuting by bus and train, I started to lovethe city. I walked to places and cherished many aspects of the city life. Butonce I moved to Sunnyvale, a Californian suburb, most of the times, I use carto go to places, I miss walking to do my daily and weekly shopping. But then,I did not have this Walk Score tool to decide on my house . Walk Score is this internet tool where you put your home address and it gives “Walk Score” for your house. http://www.walkscore.com/

Real Estate companies like“My Realty” has started using this tool to differentiate homes and giving scorefor being able to walk for your daily life. I also believe that proximatedistance to various places should be additional criteria to purchase the house.Higher the walk Score, the house is in proximity to various activities andshould be more sellable.

Think about it, mostsuburban people did not think of this issue while purchasing their homes. Butnow, as we all know that driving less creates smaller carbon foot print andwalking improves our physical health. If your house is walking distance toGrocery stores, coffee places, book stores, post office and park, and it hashigh walk score, you must take advantage of walking to the places. It willsurely burn some calories.

Timber Bridge

2010-08-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

While walking down to one of the remote beaches in Santa Cruz from my friend’s house, I came across a majesticman-made structure amongst tall Californian red woods almost trying hard todisguise and still could not escape my curious sharp attention. I had to stopby to take few snapshots for capturing the beauty of this Timber Bridge. It is fascinating to see 50to 100 years old timber and wooden bridges designed by mankind.

As Istarted thinking, I realized that the invention of the bridge was very similar tothe invention of the internet. People living on one side of the river could not havebeen working or trading with the people living on the other side of the river without the bridge. The bridge has played major role in the travel, trading and culture of people. It is one of the iconic victory of man over nature. They can be also very artistic, beautiful and breath- taking and innovative.

Timber Bridge isvery early invention of our ancient civilization. The earliest designed timberbridge known to mankind is Julius Caesar’s bridge over Rhine River (shown below). He constructed it in wellthought out method and it has been documented along with other roman architectureby Architect Palladio. Many bridges are still in existent in Europeand in the Eastern states of

America

Caesar's First Timber Bridge

Architects and engineers consider many aspects to design thetimber bridge. The availability of materials, the span it has to cover, the installationmethod and the most important, function of the bridge. The development oftimber bridges coincides with the development in sawn lumber and Hardware,industrial strength glue which created Glue laminated beams and so on. But nowyou do not come across many timber bridges in West coast of

America

. So if you encounter one of those old bridges, just enjoy and admire its beauty and the creativity.

Something from Indian Epic story- Ramamyana (4^thcentury BC)-

Adam’s Bridge or Rama Setu

Rama Setu (Setu means bridge in Sanskrit) was built byVanara (a group of monkey) between Lanka (Srilanka) and Rameshwaram to rescue Sita(Rama’s wife) from Ravana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam's_Bridge

Collaborative Creation

2010-06-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

The sign represents Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco. Itshows works of many artists, as each letter is made, formed and soldered bydifferent individual. The border has various rectangles which are done byindividual members of the guild. Each piece is made up of different materialand different process or technique. Each artist had enough freedom to expresshis or her creativity and uniqueness. My photo does not show enough details toshow the artistry. I made ‘a’ ofMetal Arts Guild. I used copper, brass and silver. I also made hollow form andcombined all the metals with the rivet.

Now when I think of the concept, I am impressedwith the leadership of the visionary who came up with the criteria andguidelines to make it possible for many members to participate to representtheir guild. If I am not mistaken, that visionary person is Harriete Estel Berman who is also very awesome and visionary artist. Check out her website.

Artist in Action -Process is important to final piece

2010-05-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Artist in Action- Art without Brushes

In the city of Mazatlan in Mexico, we came across one store facing busy tourist area. The store was lined up with colorful landscape paintings. However, we stopped at the store not because of beautiful paintings but the action was at a small bench where artist was performing a show.
It was amazing to see him in action. He was wearing respirator and he was spraying on brown board with many primary and bright colors. He did not use brushes but a sturdy piece of card paper and he would scrape off some of the paints in a rhythmic way. We just got mesmerized with the whole movement of his body and the outcome. He would rub this small piece over the sprayed paints and we would just breath out air thinking about final completed beautiful scene and he would take another color can and spray over the almost finished painting. It went on and at one point he decided it was done and he handed the painting to his wife to hang to dry.

I suddenly heard the voice of my daughter asking me to purchase the painting.
How could I say No?
Well, I ended up buying two sprayed wet paintings suggested by my two teenage kids. Every time, I see them, they are stunning but after I think about the process and story behind them and they suddenly twinkle and talk back to me.
I got inspired by the colors and I decided to experiment on process and colors. I am making a series of 12"x12" digital frames. Check few examples of the color study on http://neeladesign.wordpress.com/ Many more to come soon....

Waterpool in Los Cabos, Mexico

2010-05-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Water has been my topic for a while. There is something about water which touches me at deeper level. I definitely would love to have my home next to natural water body, specifically ocean. I will have to plan for that. But for now, I am going to write about my experience. I just came back from Mexico trip and encountered a small Inn with restaurant and water pool adjacent to the ocean.

Cabo San Lucas

The exterior terraces step down creating various levels of seating and creating breathtaking view of ocean and its signature arch "El Arco"of Los Cabos. The natural materials such as boulder and stone pebbles are used for transition on vertical surfaces. Also, stone pebbles are used as mosaics along with colored tiles on the flooring. The steps are of different sizes and materials creating little mystery. The swooping curves on the floor mosaics correspond the curved adobe walls. The open bar and cafe is tucked behind the terraces and has just thatched roof supported by columns. The whole design still reflects Mexican adobe style in modern way. I can definitely use few design elements for my future projects.

Water Features- Private Residence

2010-03-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

Water Features- Private Residence

Water is used for our daily basic needs drinking, cooking,washing etc. In our civilized society, we also use water for our psychologicalneeds in swimming pool, hot tub, shower, garden, water fountain and man-madeponds, water falls and so-on. Architects and designers work with the homeowners closely to understand their requirements before even any water elementis designed. They study the site, sun orientation, use their expertise andchoose the shape, form, location and materials for the project. They transform the space, sometimes creating magic.

Here, I am showing two residential designs. Both thearchitects from Australiain two different projects designed and created phenomenal space for theresidents using water feature.

Lap Pool by Architect Robert Mills

image source from website - www.dezeen.com

http://www.dezeen.com/2010/01/27/ross-street-by-robert-mills-architects/

In the first project, architect Robert Mills designed thelap pool for the home owner. The pool is on the same level of the house and edgeof the pool is just very close to windows on the side of the house. Theframeless glass windows from ceiling to floor allow pool to be visible from insideof the house and visually connects to outside making the residents feel next towater. Thus the location and layout of the pool in relation to the house alongwith the type of windows bring outside in. Check out the architect’s website andmagazine site for more info.

http://www.robmills.com.au/
http://www.dezeen.com/2010/01/27/ross-street-by-robert-mills-architects/

Water Sculpture by Architect Matt Gibson

Another water feature, I love is designed by AustralianArchitect Matt Gibson. He used many elements to make use of the narrow sideyard. He placed a small cascading waterfall on the side of the house along with an eye catching artwork. The side yardin most residences do nothing for the house and occupy some weeds or plants notmuch enjoyable from the house. He created this extension to the house, an oasiswith soothing sounds of the water fountain. The carefully chosen art installation on theside wall evokes the vast feeling of museum.

image source-

http://www.mattgibson.com.au/

Consciously and carefully chosen location, materials inrelation to surrounding, shape and form of water feature can transform thespace creating lasting impression.

Water Feature and Water Fountain

2010-03-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Water Features and Water Fountains in Urban Center

Just couple of weeks ago, I was at Building Department of San Jose City in California for Residential Remodel Permit. After spending couple of frustrating hours in the newly constructed building, I decided to pick up a cup of coffee from Starbucks across the street and hoping that coffee will answer my all questions. I was walking through the plaza of the city hall and came by low profile water feature and could not stop taking my handy camera out to click few photos.

Water has super power and it is the necessity of life. Many cities and towns are built and developed around water body. Water is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It creates emotions and has very deep meaning for many people. Architect, landscape architects and artists use water in their design in different ways.

City Hall, San Jose, CA -These two water features sitting side by side and spreads in the plaza in front of the newly built city hall. Water gently rolls over thin slabs of stones chiseled on the edges and layered and stacked in a gentle and smooth wave pattern. It is designed by the artist Anna Valentina Murch and Douglas Hollis. The artists have placed the large boulders in unexpected ways around the water fountains, breaking the continuous geometry. The height of this water feature is very low so the people on the side roads can see it from their cars. Also, the scale of the water feature relates to human scale and helps create visual and auditory connection to people around.

My photo does not even show the other features of this water fountain, which you can see misting and spraying of water from vertical steel pipes. The lighting enhances the plaza and the city hall in the night.

Check out the photos on artist's website-http://annavalentinamurch.com/proj14/proj14.html

Logan Square Fountain- The Swan Memorial Fountain

The Swan Memorial water fountain in Logan Circle in Philadelphia is very historical and symbolic in design. Its location is chosen to connect Philadelphia's famous City Hall to the Museum of Art through an axis. It was built in 1924 by Wilson Eyre, Jr. and sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder. It is also known as the fountain of Three Rivers and surrounded by three bronze figures, representing Philadelphia's principal waterways - the Schuylkill as a mature woman, the Wissahickon Creek as a girl and the Delaware River is as a man.

The spectacular Swann Memorial Fountain is Logan Circle's great attraction. But the location is in the center isolated by many lanes of vehicles around so people have to work hard to enjoy and experience its beauty.

The traditional fountains are circular in design with one focal point so people gather around and enjoy it as shown in the photo taken in Philadelphia city. The materials used here are traditional sculptural materials such as cast bronze is used. Water plays very dominant role and make fountain visible from distance. It creates loud sound of water spraying from 50’ distance. It has its own identity.

Water feature near San Jose city hall is not a place of destination but it is on the way of pedestrians creating experience. On the other hand Swann Memorial Fountain is designed to be a place of destination. Both water features are very different in form, design and nature but designed for people in urban center. If designed and placed properly, water features can create a sense of a happy place and can leave memorable experience in your brain.

Art Installations using Recycled, Reclaimed and Inexpensive materials

2010-01-30T03:57:00.000-08:00

Canopy/Mandap

The canopy is the overhead roof or structure supported by single pole or cantilevered from the building. The canvas canopy/tent is used to provide shade or shelter. We use them in the backyard and on the beach, to block and filter the harsh sun, wind and rain.

The structure supported by four pillars and covered by canvas or wooden beams known as gazebo are used to host a wedding ceremony and sometimes decorated with flowers and fabrics. The canopy in India named Mandap has similar function and designed to host a Hindu wedding ceremony. They create space for a special function of ceremony and rituals. People bring uniqueness to these structures with the use of colors, ornamentation and overlaying materials.

Architects, artists and engineers have been designing and interpreting the function and form of canopy/gazebo to a different level. The unique outcomes of these temporary structures are the result of one or many variables. Here I am going to show you the influence of choosing specific materials and its effect on the form.

1-Art Installation- Delhi, India, 2008 Sanjeev Shankar’s artwork for
48O Celsius Public Art Ecology festival

image source from website-www.sanjeevshankar.com
The structure is the enclosure made by used oil tins and is not only exquisite in form but it functions well by providing the shades in the hot summer days. He came up with the idea of re-purposing and re-defining the used cooking oil cans. This Architectural Installation was done by the help of the local people and using recycled materials.

In the words of the curator Beverley Bloxham from Toowoomba, Australia May 2009 “The completed work wears the evidence of it’s creation like the lines in an aging face: the scarred raw materials – already having completed their original commission as receptacles for cooking oil, taken apart, drilled, punched, folded, cleaned, polished and painted by many skilled hands, come together in a new symmetry with a new purpose.”
http://www.sanjeevshankar.com/jugaad.html

2-Art Installation – San Francisco, USA, 2008

There is another example of the structure installed in San Francisco for the event of GreenExpo. Split Bamboo stems are used to create curvy and bold organic form which stands beautifully in front of blue water of bay. It encloses a passageway between the two buildings where the conference and exhibitions were held. Also, it displays low water, native plant materials with labels so thus educating passerby.

3-Art Installation – San Francisco, USA, 2008

This light and colorful canopy was installed outside the exhibit hall during “SF House tours” event in San Francisco. This was designed and installed by architecture students. The temporary enclosure was created with the use of plastic drinking cups and plastic string. The execution of this installation was innovative and created beautiful ambiance with filtered sun light with red glow.

4-Temporary Structure, paper bridge, Remoulin, France, 2007

image source from website-www.shigerubanarchitects.com,www.been-seen.com
I have to conclude this with the innovative work of Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. He has been known for using recycled and inexpensive materials in innovative way. He designed a bridge with 281 cardboard tubes in Remoulin, in southern France near Pont du Gard. The steps are recycled paper and plastic and the foundations wooden boxes packed with sand. The structure is strong enough to carry 10 people at a time but light and temporary in nature so easily to be taken apart.

http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/

Collaboration of winemakers and artists

2009-12-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

In October, I visited Paraduxx winery for one of the wine tasting events. Paraduxx winery is located in the center of the Napa Valley along the Silverado Trail. The team grows grapes and makes rich red wines. It offers many wine tasting, mixing and pairing classes in modern estate building and hosts many events for their wine club members.

I noticed that their wine bottles are adorned with artistic drawings of ducks on the labels. I just realized that my knowledge of ducks was limited to few ugly ducklings. I had to do some research on them. Paraduxx has commissioned an artist every year to create an original painting depicting a "pair of ducks" native to the Pacific Flyway. Each individual artist utilizes unique mediums such as water colors, oil and acrylic wash to create their works. These original works are then transformed into labels that adorned the proprietary blend bottling. The photo shows three years wine labels and they are done by different artists but they all have similar lookl of airy and dreamy feel. This is perfect for artists to promote their work to the exclusive club members and other wine buyers. Also, it is in support of the effort of conservation of the wetlands of Pacific flyway. It is perfect cross union of art, the global conservation awareness and business of selling wine. For More information on artists or Paraduxx Winery ,

http://www.duckhorn.com/duckhorndnn/Paraduxx/artist_label_series/tabid/165/Default.aspx

Zoom Into SnapIt

2009-10-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this simple software- “SnapIt - Screen Capture 3.9”. I decided to write about it because it fits in my blog titled – Creativity and Business. The creative thoughts have gone into the design of this utility, if used correctly, can definitely affect your business positively.
At the first glance SnapIt appears to have the same function as the utility which comes free with almost all computers (mac and pcs) where by pressing the ‘Prnt Scrn’ on the keyboard, the screen shot gets captured and saved in the scrapbook or can be pasted into word, or other programs. SnapIt does it little more than that it gives the user control to capture the exact region of the screen by marquee.
I have shown three examples below indicating the use of SnapIt and benefits over the regular screen shot. You can see the screen of President Barrack Obama’s speech on Diwali on Youtube.com. Without SnapIt, on the left photo, you have all the distraction of my Firefox’s menu bar on the top and bottom. It does not indicate clearly what I am trying to convey. SnapIt allowed me to be precise in my screen shot without spending any extra minutes.

Second example is the scalability of my text region and so it becomes easier to read in comparison with the regular screen capture.

Third example is taken while working on the remodel project in Autocad, You can exactly tell which one is with SnapIt. The best part is that I am using SnapIt constantly to document my progress.

Also, having a camera icon on my bottom task bar enables me to use that function more frequently. It is almost like having a small camera on my fingertip so I click and click. Voila ! All the screenshots are organized, named and stored the way I want. I don’t worry about them but I know where I have stored them and what I have named them.

I am capturing the screen much more than I have ever used it in past due to its creative interface and the ability to control size of the screen. Now, when I am working on a design of a house on AutoCAD, I constantly record my process of moving walls through SnapIt. I may even make collage or animation of those 40 screenshots captured with SnapIt - Screen Capture 3.5.

Glass Pumpkin

2009-10-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

The pumpkin is a gourd like squash, varies in size and color from yellow to orange.
An orange pumpkin is the big star of Halloween just like Rangoli for the Diwali festival. There are various folklore and festivities associated with the pumpkin and Halloween. Children in various costumes visit neighborhood homes for “trick or treating”.

During Halloween time, people carve hollowed pumpkins with different designs, put candles in them in the night and arrange them in the front of the houses. Pumpkin craft is very popular in America and other countries.

The craft of pumpkin carving happens in the real pumpkin, but the glass artists have been creating pumpkins by blowing molten glass. In Palo Alto, every year, Glass Pumpkin show is held by glass artists. People come to see these beautiful, translucent and colorful pumpkins interpreted and created by artists. They buy them to display as an art object or to create memory with their family members or just to enjoy its beauty. It can vary in prices based on size, color, intricacies and so on.

Pumpkin and Suburb
I was driving from the soccer game in Palo Alto, CA and saw this beautiful space created by people walking on the green grass, bending down or sitting with the artists, picking up pumpkin to an eye level, touching to feel texture and admiring light they transmit in the sun rays. I had to stop by to experience this event and decide to share with everyone.

The thought occurred to me that this green grass field in front of the Palo Alto Art Center transformed into the live space buzzing with business and creativity. I call that an adaptation of the open space.

Rangoli

2009-09-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

As I just completed reading "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and thinking about the "Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle. My friend invited me for her yearly Diwali (Indian festival) Party. I remembered last year’s party and had to go through my photos to see Rangoli, which she had painted in the entrance on the floor. So I decided to reflect my thoughts on Rangoli.

What is Rangoli?
The word Rangoli probably is derived from "rang" (color) + "aavalli" (row), which means row of colors, creepers of colors. Basically, Rangoli is the art of drawing images and motifs on the floor of homes near the entrance using different color powders. Generally these floor decorations are done at auspicious occasions especially in Diwali. The traditional designs are geometric patterns and motifs of leaves, lotus, peacocks, mango, etc. Designs vary based on the materials used. Different materials are used in different regions, Dry rice powder, and colored chalks/powders are used in South and wet colors are used in North. I remember drawing geometric design with acrylic paints in my home growing up in India.

The Rangoli in the photo, done by my friend Ruby Who is originally from Calcutta, Bengal in East India and now resides in Saratoga, CA. She used her fingers to paint white rice powder mixed with water in a very artistic way to paint Rangoli. The thickness and curve of the lines vary by the movement of fingers and hand. This sounds easy but it is not. You can not paint over and do not want to start over. You have to go with the flow and it is not about perfection and it is also about the process. It definitely is an art form. Flowers and Diya (oil lamps or Candles)are used to complement the design.

I also have included my interpretation of Rangoli in a digital format shown below. I always do gravitate towards graphical forms.

During Diwali time, people make Rangoli in front of their entrance. The primary reason of making Rangoli is to welcome Goddess Laxmi, (the Goddess of wealth) and the Guests (Atithi) who occupy a special place. The Rangoli symbolizes welcome sign for the guests, creative expression for the young ladies and an event of celebration. At a deeper level, Rangoli symbolizes the Fragility of life. The sand or the powder of Rangoli are not permanent like life. It is very much like Sand paintings done by Native Americans or Mandala paintings done by Tibetan Buddhists or flower Rangoli done in Kerala as shown below. It seems like people must experience something special Spiritual in the process of creating it.

Wood Block Printing

2009-06-05T18:58:00.001-07:00

My sister is deciding to start her textile unit and use her graphics skill to transfer into textile design and printing. Being very conscious entrepreneur, she has decided to use eco-friendly vegetable dyes for dying and printing fabric. That brought back my memories of wooden blocks. What I am referring to wooden print blocks which are carved of sustainable harvested brown hard Indian sheesham wood (also known as Indian Rosewood - a member of the Teak family). Sheesham is a hard wood with dark brown color. It is perfect to carve and make stamp either for direct transfer of inks or pastes or a resist such as clay or wax.

The use of wooden blocks to print or stamp designs on cloth, especially cotton, is still common in India. The designs vary from place to place, but the technique is the same. The designs are first drawn on paper, which is pasted onto a block of wood. The wood is cut with a crude engraving tool to the depth of one-third of an inch. Holes are cut to allow air that would be trapped within the cavities formed by cutting out the design to escape. This allows the dyes to spread evenly without air bubbles.

Wood Blocks

The blocks are very beautiful as just objects. They are used to print cotton fabric by artisans. They have handles at the back so they are easy to roll and press. I just have many ideas to use them. I love them to display as art objects. I can create artwork using photos of these blocks and manipulate them in Photoshop software. I can definitely line-up under the glass table. I have used them to print papers also.

Blurry and dark photos of T-Shirt

2009-05-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is just a short and follow-up post about the T-Shirt. They arrived and I wore it for a party. I did get good comments from few people and I already sold four t-shirts. The photos are little blurry and underexposed. May be that makes art on T-shirt jump out.

T-Shirt Design for Branding

2009-05-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

Finally after two years, thinking and procrastinating on an idea, today the action is taken. A lot of things pushed me to act on it. My day had no meeting today and it was Friday. Well, my last few Fridays have been so memorable that I wanted to make this Friday full of excitement.
So I drove to this place in San Jose and entered this air-conditioned dark office with walls painted black. I gave my Flash card to the office manager. He took the image and put it on the virtual t-shirt in Photoshop. Wow! I put an order to print many t-shirts for both sex. The color of the t-shirt is the same old charcoal gray, which I love because it is perfect background for art work and colors to show off. I will have them with me on Wednesday May 20th and will launch it for the event organized in the evening. I have other 50 designs which I worked 12 years ago with my co-worker. I may get into competition with Woot. I need my son's attention as he spends every morning looking for new t-shirt design at http://shirt.woot.com/
Anyway, let me share the design however, you need to buy it to enjoy- just $16- first run very cheap.

Public Park is underutilized- Start Business in the Park

2009-05-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was at Shoreline park. There were few people strolling around. They are used for walk, and run. Recently I had eight weeks session of Exercise boot camp at three different parks in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, CA. The park has been identified with leisure, back to basics simple activities like taking toddlers, meditation and even romance.

How about starting business in the park- HP and Apple started in the Garages of the residences. Then we moved to Coffee Places such as Starbucks. Why can't we use the public park for brain storming new business ideas. They provide ambiance, fresh air, Greenery, company of birds and small creatures. Also, we do contribute in the existence of the park by paying taxes as local residents. It is Green action and Green is in fashion so Park can be cool place to be seen in.

Artists are known to take advantage of the park. They are smart, they have chosen a place, which not only gives them their growth in their professional pursuit but many extra health benefits. We all architects and Urban Designers need to start designing the props, temporary and Permanent to help our businesses to sprout and come into existence. We should start having popping monitors giving Internet access and still not visible when not in use. I have a whole list of designs which will not change the park's character but instead will enhance it. Keep checking, I will soon add the concepts and sketches on the site.

Is presentation more important than idea?

2009-05-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

The project is to design Entertainment center, Library/Office space and Fireplace mantel. For the initial meeting with the client, how do I convey my design? Shall I present a concept where I have these ideas or just great presentation without any big idea? Ideas at concept level can be presented in rough sketch format, but are hard to put into 3D format because they lack many refined details so all sophisticated software are not much helpful. But the good jazzy presentation does impress client in general. I don't know what the client would like. So I learned that it is very important to know your client before you start your work. It is not about how creative are you, but how well you know your client/customer and deliver what the client/customer wants.

Can "Dum Biryani" increase the restaurant sales?

2009-05-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

What is Dum Biryani? The Biryani is an Indian dish made with Basamati Rice cooked with spices and meat/vegetables. It has the same ingredients as Pulav but it is cooked differently. Biryani has different names for exmple, Hydrabadi Biryani, Sindhi Biryani, Kucchi Biryani etc. based on the regions of India. Now, the Dum Biryani is not because it came from Dum region, but because it is cooked, with pressure (Dum).

The restaurant has North Indian food and the menu has Vegetable Biryani as well as Meat Biryani. Now one of the partners wants To serve Dum Biryani. The Chef does not know to cook that. He wants a special cook who is specialized in cooking Dum Biryani. So the restaurant needs to hire one more cook to make Dum Biryani. Already, the kitchen has Indian cook, Indian-Chinese cook, Tandoor Specialist and all their helpers and cutters. There is no multi-tasking in the kitchen and restaurant industry. They can't cook outside their speciality. Of course, they are never going to tweet while cooking. So If twitting helps the business to grow and that means not twitting and not multi-tasking is going to decrease the business? Go Figure!

Animation by just charcoal and one sheet of paper

2009-05-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

The African Artist William Kentridge is showing his work at San Francisco MOMA. He explains the process in which he draws with charcoal on the paper and then walks at the back of the room to shoot two frames. He walks back to the drawing paper which is on the wall and he erases some part of it and he shoots another two frames of it. By the end of two days, he makes the whole animation - just superb. The erasability quality of charcoal has been used for transforming the picture.
One does not need many gadgets for the creativity.

Obsession with Sketchbooks, Journals and Books

2009-05-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

Why is this obsession with paper? It represents ideas, words, art, clutter, wood, trees and environment. In Hinduism, there is Saraswati , Goddess of learning. The literal meaning of the name Sarasvati is the one who gives the essential knowledge (Sara) of our own Self (Sva).

No wonder, I love to have papers and once you add words and sketches and photos, you get close to it. Will I replace that with electronic notebooks or digital Kindle? I don't think so. I recently attended an architecture lecture at Stanford University and the few students around me were taking noted on Laptop. I had my one of the spiral journal and nice pen with me. We all were on the same page and then the time came where one had to draw diagrams and some lines to represent the three dimensional spaces, I kept on going aith the sme speed, while all the students had no easy tool on the computer to note that. They sat still. Once they go back to their notes, I am sure that half of the concepts will be lost. Guess what - it is not very green as the power consumption of the computer is much more than my body energy.