Jess Gonacha's Pecannoot

I've long been a fan of Jessica Gonacha's art and blog 'treasuring' & now she's gone & done the most brilliant thing possible. In these times when people are loosing their jobs and worrying about finances and future, Jess's new blog 'Pecannoot' is all about Abundance. Here she puts up abundance related designs & visuals that help bring more of it in each of our lives. In Jess's own words-

"we think in pictures. we all have desires and dreams. we all feel discouraged sometimes. what better way to lift our spirits and bring our dreams into being than through pictures? this blog is for that. it's for me and for you, so we can paint and draw and photograph and collage our abundant reality!"

Some of Jess's illustrations you will see on 'Pecannoot' A girl with a halo of "YES" around her head. How much more we would end up doing if we said more yes's in our life.

This one is my absolute absolute favourite. Please click on the image to see a larger version of it. It says "There is more than enough for us all" and the little chits in the overflowing basket read "for you" "and you" "for her" "for him" "yes her too" "for me".

This one reads "Why don't you just go for it? (Don't listen to the answer that comes. Its just an excuse)"
"You are perfect just the way you are"

Don't these pieces speak straight to your heart? And you know the best bit? She is inviting artists to submit, I just did & am so so so happy to be featured. This is very close to my heart. Design that makes me feel better/helps me and does the same for the person who sees it is important to me.


Good news 2 is that Jess also has an Etsy shop filled with all manner of her beautiful art. Click here to take a look. I love her colours and her style.
"i am a firm believer that as our thoughts go, so goes our life. what if we only had thoughts of things like diamond trees? wouldn't that create such a world of abundance?!"



"it seems to me like we're all trying to reach the same destination in life: happiness. it also seems like there are infinite paths to get there, and no two paths are the same. we each have to find our own way to it. this print is a visual interpretation of that idea."

She sells pretty 2009 Calenders, Its not too late to get yourselves these little pretties.
Beautiful hand-drawn scrap book paper pack.
And aren't these buttons to die for?
I respect Jess cause she is prolific & consistently produces beautiful work. I have been following her blog treasuring & she updates it often & puts up her work week after week. She is at it all the time. I don't see how 2009 will not bring her an abundance of abundance. Like they say "The harder you work, the luckier you get"

An Indian Home in Geneva

You've seen Dithi's work & now here is her beautiful cozy home in Geneva. She carries India's spirit with her & this is very evident in the following pictures. From the Ganeshas' statue to the Tibetan scrolls to her Rajasthani puppets to her framed Goan Mario Miranda tiles, India is everywhere. And all of this is set off beautifully in her all-white home. Her living room holds her Ganesha along with a pretty mirror worked cushion.

I love the 'paduka's" or traditional Indian footwear on her pretty runner.

"Ganeshji was brought home from Mr. Suryani (a wonderfully warm person and now, friend)'s factory in Mysore with my first salary."

" The hand-fan that hangs from he mirror in my living area is an antique, a very Bengali touch. "

"We picked the Mario Miranda Tiles from a place called the ''Big Foot'' at Lotoulim or Ancestral Goa. I am a big Mario fan and given a chance, would love to have the Cafe Mondegar walls in my kitchen."
Dithi's love for interesting jars is evident here.

And she has quite a collection of them, from different parts of India, by different artists.

"I love ceramics and collect pottery when I can. I am an absolute fan of Adil's designs. I have some of his designs here, the jar with the Koli fisher woman, the 'Dancing girl from Mumbai' mug (that is a brush n pen.holder now) and the mortar and pestle with Mumbai CST print."

"The master bedroom, when we rented this flat, had that huge, white, antique-y fan. When we were asked by the ''Regie'' (which is what brokers for apartments are called here) if we wanted that removed, I insisted that the fan be allowed to stay. I built the theme around that and therefore, the four poster bed in a warm yellow along with a coordinated chest of drawers and bamboo roll-up blind, reminiscent of lounging in a tropical island. The poster-fabrics from ''Anokhi'' , to my mind, add a beautiful Indo-ethnic feel to the room. We collected the Rajasthani puppet-couple from Cottage Emporium in Kolkata. I am particular about 'my' side of the bed and that is precisely where the lady is placed, with her beau on Arnab's side!!! "

Diti's parrot makes an appearance in her home :)

"I have grown up watching Ma and my sisters add beauty and personality to home spaces. My eldest sister Ankhi is my mentor so far as decor and design is concerned. The puppet that hangs from my curtain channel in a far-east rendition of Lord 'Rama', gifted to us by her and my brother-in-law!

I loved this touch. She's beautifully lined the top of her floor length mirror with colourful cowheads. "The cow heads are from Kochin, they are said to be traditionally used by farmers as an auspicious symbol for great harvest!"

Dithi and Arnab are clearly book lovers and her home is chock full of them. When you have a lot of books they can be turned into an effective element of decor & this Diti knows well. I love the way the books & cds are all lined in an organised way.

And I don't know why but this pic HAS TO BE my fav picture of all of this eyecandy that she sent. Just look at this! Row upon row of books, stationary, lovingly collected little artefacts, all find place and add beauty in these white shelves. And here are the neatly arranged artists tools in interesting mugs (more Mario here)...

...in her work space. Appropriately under Goddess Saraswathi's benevolent gaze. That's her blog 'Deezden' that is seen on her laptop.

Dee's art

Doe eyed beauties decked in traditional Indian sarees, big bindis, curly hair, parrots, leaves flowers, these are some of the elements I have come to look for and love in self-taught artist, Dithi Chakraborthy's frames. She paints Indian beauties from her all-white apartment in a quaint rue in the lap of the Alps". Her blogger profile reads "Self taught artist. Born in India. Living in Geneva. Eccentric, purple loving, tea addict." One meets so many people online, but what makes Dithi different is her complete approachability, openness and warmth in all her communication. This is evident in her colourful blog Deezden, where she uploads youtube videos about her art, complete with soulful bengali background music. It is a must check it out.

The bengali bride

And groom :)

"My work revolves around themes from India. The colours, patterns, symbolism and the imagery are inspired by the folklorique traditions, the cultural influences and the numerous joyous festivals. I connect with this richness through my canvases. Everything starting from the Rajasthani hand block-printed fabric to the Madhubani and the Warli on mud huts in the villages; from the Bengali folk songs of the Baul family to the Kathakali costumes in Kerala, all of this inspires me."

This is a personal favourite- Holi Hai!!!

This one is so different and yet her style is evident.

Now this one is the one I would love to see hanging in my home some day- I must check her out her Etsy shop to see if it is available

This is her 'My Ganesha painting' whose print she gave away recently to a super lucky fellow blogger. You must check her blog, there is much happening there.

A beautifully mellow mother daughter.

"For me, it is sheer joy to portray the female form and the Indian woman with all her splendour has so many stories to tell. She is what I understand and connect with, completely. Frida once said "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." For me, this subject is the Indian woman. The green parrot is a close second!

Three generations, mother daughter & grand daughter.

Dithis' favourite parrot makes appearance.

2 girls flying kites.

If I'm not mistaken this is some of her earlier work.

And this is her latest, the woman with the Garhwali nose ring.

I love the bathing woman as well. There is an inherent & strong sense of design and sensuality in all of Dithi's work. And the great news is she sells online. Check out her Etsy shop here.

Coming up next is her home! :)

The mud mirror homes of Gujarat

This is one place I've really wanted to go to for the longest time. Gujarat. I've been to Ahmedabad, but to see the real Gujarat, one needs to travel to her villages. And see the women in their embroidered and bright clothes, see their indigenous mud homes, decorated in self colours and embedded with little mirrors. I will one day do that and post my own pictures. But till then I will feed my desire with these images and invite you to do the same.

Homes with this kind of work are made by the Rabari community. You can read a bit more about them here. Wikipedia has interesting things to say about the Rabari women. "The women manage the hamlets and are shrewd and intelligent. They sell wool and clarified butter to city merchants and manage all money matters. The women are strong, tall and well built. The Rabari men can often be seen roaming the countryside with their droves. They travel hundreds of miles on annual migration routes in search of new pastures to graze their animals. The Rabari women are easily distinguished by their long, black headscarves, which fall loosely to the ground. They wear distinctive heavy brass earrings which hang low, stretching the earlobes. They tattoo magical symbols onto their necks, breasts and arms. Their jewelry is modest in comparison to other tribal women. They wear small gold nose ring and silver and gold chains around the neck on which protective amulets are hung.

These homes are called Bhunga huts and are designed to last long and protect against desert sandstorms and earthquakes. Incidentally these kind of homes are the only one that escaped the 2001 Gujarat earthquakes.

Lippan-kam or mud mirror work of Gujarat. Design flute has written an indepth and beautiful post on this kind of work. Do check it out here. Roma has also written a post on the mud houses of Gujarat here, which is really informative.

I loved this picture which is such an interesting and beautifully-adaptable-for-contemporary-homes way of having an altar.

All images are from allposters.com