That's All Folks!

I was looking in the printing making section of the library when I came across an interesting book called Folk Toys of India by Ajit Mookerjee. These toys are made from clay and papier-mâché and are painted with a heavy emphasis on line and selective color. The characters of these toys consist of milkmaids, lamp-bearers, drummers, and something as simple as a mother and child. There are also a wide array of animals ranging from pigs, tigers, horses, and dogs. This book also contained some interesting contour drawings of a few of these toys. These drawings inspired me to go through and do some drawings of my own. Here is one of the sketch pages of my study of the toys. The owl here can be associated the goddess of wealth and acquires sanctity. The little guy in the bottom left is the Jagannath, which is based on the famous icons of the Puri temple. To the far right is Nanda, which is part of a series depicting Krishnalila, and the last is simply a horse on wheels.I was surprised that this book pulled me in the way it did. I find the imagery fascinating and I hope to stumble upon more varied influences like this more often. One quote from this book stuck out to me:

"The form of expression, ranging from realism to abstraction, simplicity to fantasy, is as modern as it is timeless."

I feel as if in my work I am always dancing around these things in search of my range within each of them. What is my artistc pH? am I more abstract than real? am I simple more than fantastic? or maybe I'm a neutral pH of 7, half of each. Who knows, I'm still working on it!