Made The Cut!!

before

after

Feeling 22 inches lighter. And boy does it feel good! I didn't pay 50 bucks to get my hair cut this time, like most people do. Instead, I handed my mom a pair of scissors, and the whole thing was done in about 10 minutes. When it is that easy to do something yourself (or have your mom do it) then why go out, pay, and waste time?! I think I am dedicating 2016 to a year of do-it-yourself-ness. 

Winter Kicking In

Winter in the Woodlands - done with watercolor

It finally has started to really feel like winter, and I did a little winter themed illustration. I am not really sure at the moment where my artistic style is going, but I do know I am very into painting plants, mushrooms and animals. This is just a bunch on one piece of paper. I hope everyone is enjoying this snowy weekend and staying warm! xoxo

-India 

Animation Trial

With a four day weekend, I decided to embark upon a few new projects, one of them being paper animation. This was my first outcome, and I was actually quite pleased with it, despite the fact that a I put in a few hours of work, only to get a few seconds of video. But that goes for most creative things. Anyway, I have more to come!

The song is "Same Time" by Tom Rosenthal, who is my new musical obsession. If you have a chance, check him out. He's all I've listened to for the past 48 hours. 

Introducing.....He Grew, She Drew

My brother and I have been talking about doing a collaboration project since last summer, and we finally jumped on it and got it started. The project is a blog that combines his gardening skills and projects with my art. I am not much of a film maker, but this short video explains more about what He Grew, She Drew is about.  

I still have changes to make to the website to make it more visually appealing, but I wanted to post about it as soon as I could!

If the video isn't enough explanation, or you don't feel like watching a video, this page can tell you more.
Thanks for reading!
-India

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'

Last night my parents and I had a quick yet important talk about Bob Dylan, and my growing interest in his music. Ever since I grew out of JB and 1D and ventured into real music, I've dipped my toes into Bob Dylan's music here and there, liking a few classics, but never going deeper. But recently I've gone knee deep, and I'm eager to go deeper. I knew it was inevitable eventually, that I'd be a big Dylan fan. Maybe it's because of the tall stack of Bob Dylan CDs in the closet, that have been listened to so many times by my parents, or the fact that I've gone through a phase of listening to pretty much every artist who'd fall in that same category. 

So, anyway, I didn't want to jump into Dylan without a little guidance from someone who knows what they are talking about, and my parents, especially my mom, are the ultimate masters. They told me a bunch of the songs they favored, and debated over his best albums. I then went to bed, and when I woke up, my mom had compiled a playlist for me of all her favorite songs. 

I spent a majority of the day laying in the sun, drinking tea, doodling, and listening to that mix. These two illustrations in my sketchbook are what came out of it.

Not resolutions, just hopes

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Yesterday, which was January first, my family and I did something on that list! We went for a big New Years hike. Six miles on the AT. It was great, and afterwards I did a little illustration in my journal about it. 

I have lots of hopes for this year, and many things I want to do and accomplish but those are not to be confused with resolutions, which I have none. Resolutions are ridiculous. You should't have to wait for a day of the year to resolve your life. If you want to start doing something, or quit doing something, then go ahead.

I compiled an unorganized list of things I would like from 2016; things that would make it better than 2015. 

Also I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept up with my blog, read my rants, looked at my art, and therefore been part of my life for the past year.
xoxo, -India

And P.S. I have an exciting project with my brother that I can't wait to share with you! So come back soon :)

Not Ready To Be Holidazed

After trying so hard to immerse myself in Christmas music and get into the "holiday spirit," like all ads are advertising this time of year, I realized it wasn't gonna work. It's may be just me, but I feel like the whole "Christmas Season" gets extended earlier and earlier each year. It's not that I'm the Grinch, or anything, but I wouldn't mind if it came  every other year. Christmas has no religious meaning to me whatsoever, since I'm not religious, and the whole month before it can actually be pretty stressful.

Anyway, after abandoning the Christmas music, I made this playlist while I was in the car, driving through the beautiful VA mountains. 

So if you're like me, and not ready to listen to what's playing in all malls across America, and want some indie-folky tunes, check this out. 

Autumn Drives Through The Mountains from ophiblu on 8tracks Radio.

Quote of the month

So here's a new thing I want to start doing on my blog: monthly quotes. Also, this is a page I did in my new sketchbook, which I am so far keeping up with. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and don't forget to let your flowers grow. 

The Art of Sketchbooking

I think I have a little bit of a commitment problem, when it comes to sketchbooks. I can never, ever, have too many, but I've also never been able to commit to one. I have basically developed a sketchbook routine of going to an art store, buying a sketchbook, immediately busting it open, and then tearing out pages because they don't "represent me" or look cohesive. Eventually I find myself getting a new sketchbook and abandoning this first one. Thus the cycle continues. 

So of course, a few weeks ago I got a new sketchbook. Below are some of the drawings I have done in it so far. With this one, I am going to try extremely hard to commit, and not relinquish it completely. If I am able to do this, I will post more art from it here, and also give updates and tips, on how to successfully stick with a sketchbook. It'll almost be like a relationship advice column, but instead of a dude, you're dealing with some paper. It's much more reliable anyway. Maybe I'll even get really into it, and make a break up playlist for when I get to the end of the book. 

Right now, my only tip is not to limit yourself. And I know that sounds cheesy or typical, but it's really true. One of my favorite things that my mom tells me is that you are your only limit. There's nothing else stopping you.

For me, in this case, I always limit myself with the medium I use. When I buy a new sketchbook, I devote it entirely to pencil drawings, or only watercolors, or only collage. But some days, I want to make art, but it's not really pencil that I feel like using. I have finally broken free from that box I put myself in, or at least I somewhat have, and I have started to experiment with different mediums in my new sketchbook. It was surprising how well the sketchbook held up with watercolors (which I used on the hands), since the paper isn't intended for watercolors. I am planning on heading to acrylic soon too, though my acrylic painting skills could really use some improvement.

"The world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another." -Ellen Page.

This is a drawing a did over the course of a few days that was intended to be Ellen Page. It didn't turn out exactly like her, but it is one of my favorite drawings that I've done recently. Ellen Page is definitely one of my favorite actresses, and role models. I was so excited to see an article about her in The New York Times, about a debate she had with the Republican candidate Ted Cruz. Not to get into politics or anything, but I love Ellen Page's stance on things, especially in her conversation with him. It's a solid article, and everything she says is thought out and intelligent. 

Coffee Shop Dreams

self portrait in a coffee shop

Autumn is here. I can feel it. When I wake up and step outside, their is a crispness in the air, it's sort of harsh, and very different from the mellow breeze of summer. I guess I let myself forget what fall was like in Virginia, since I was away for a while. But now I remember. Colorful leaves engulf the mountains, which encompass my town. We're surrounded by a wall of dark green with bits of red and orange poking their heads out, seeing if the coast is clear for them to appear. It's only early october, so they have much more changing to do, and that's when the view really becomes breathtaking.

I haven't had much time to ponder "fall" and everything that comes with it. I don't know if I've ever been so busy in my life as I am now. I don't get home until about 7pm during the week because of rowing practice, and weekends I stuff with everything I can, though I spend a lot of the time doing homework.

But that's not to say I'm not enjoying the school year. I love rowing so much, and giving up two hours a day for it is pretty much worth it so far. Well, that's not the only thing I've given up. Hopes of pretty hands is another, since they are so blistered from the oars. I also have far less time to play the cello and make art, and those are not things I want to lose.

But somehow I have had time to make some art, such as this drawing above. I have more to post in the near future, and some fun projects coming up as well.

I hope everyone is having a good start to the fall season. Make sure to drink lots of tea and hit up Trader Joes for some pumpkin flavored goodies (because really, what don't they have that is pumpkin flavored, this time of year?).

-India

Have my Cake, (and eat it too)

I've started to actually write and record things in my journal, and this is one page I thought would be good to share. If you don't want to read my terrible, scrawled writing, I'll talk a little bit about what it says down here.

I was at a party with my family, it was a bonfire party, and also a birthday party. There was food, drinks, and tons of cupcakes, which were brought from a local bakery that all my friends rave about.

The previous week, I had started eating eggs, because I joined my schools rowing team-which I will talk about in a post soon-and needed the extra protein boost. I was very conscious about it, only buying the eggs from free range, all organic chickens and everything. A couple times I did think about eating dairy again, but didn't do it.

Now, I was sitting with my mom at this party, and we were talking about the cupcakes, and how most teenagers would eat one and not act like it was a big deal, and I was thinking about it, but still very hesitant. It made sense, I had just spent the last year in a half being an extremely strict vegan, not letting an ounce of dairy past my lips. Then, a good friend of ours sat down, eating a cracker with brie. I made a joke about his cheese-to-cracker ratio, we all laughed, and then he told me a little story. He said that twenty years ago, he hopped on the low-fat bandwagon, and didn't eat any butter, full fat milks, anything like that. He told me how in all the years he did that, he gained weight immensely, but was hardly ever satisfied.

That was a perspective I had never gotten before. This is an interesting article about the same topic, and also, this video may mess with your mind about food, and what you should and shouldn't eat.

Anyway, the whole "vegan thing" wasn't something I did just to lose weight or control what I ate, I also liked it for the ecological aspect. And that isn't something I'm just blowing to the wayside by doing this, but when I'm out with my friends and everyone is eating cake, refusing a piece isn't going to solve all the world's problems.

So, in the end, I ate the cupcake. It was pumpkin spice flavored, and probably the best thing I've eaten since I quit eating dairy. I'm still vegetarian, never eaten meat, never planning on it, but I'm not going to be the party killjoy anymore, when it comes to food.

Oceans and Rivers

I apologize for my lack of activity on this blog. I'm hoping to put an end to that soon. I've been really into drawing mountains and hair lately, as you may be able to tell from these two drawings I did recently. My schedule has been extremely busy lately, but I've been squeezing in as much art time as possible. These are two results of it.