Riddhika Jesrani

Riddhika Jesrani a graphic and jewelry designer based in New York. She went to Parsons for graphic design and started her jewelry line in 2005 .

"My jewelry is influenced by the places I have lived in and all the ones I travel to. From the things I love like animals and food to the fun personalities of my friends and people I meet. I design and create necklaces, earrings, bracelets and hair accessories. I make all these from vintage finds, semi precious stones, some silver, glass, resin and any other materials I find interesting. Most of my pieces are one-of-a-kind and based on the personality of the person who wears them. "

More at her blog.

Mithun Jayaram

Mithun Jayaram likes to work with expendable objects. The humble pencil, the charmless eraser, the square yellow post-it clones - all exalted by the ambitions Mithun sees for them.
From everyday utilitarian objects, he builds several little universes. All much more magnificent than anyone ever thought they would be. He carries out this task purposefully -sharpening, shaving, rolling , tearing and building inch by inch in full view of a skeptical audience.From curiosity some stop and watch, from amusement some stop to stare.

Mithun's latest work-in-progress , a post-it /eraser cosmos titled A Feeling Bubble of Forgetting , explodes slowly to the smells of coffee .He captures every awkward nuance of the journey in a space not conventionally used to showcase art. This can be revealing in it's demystification or completely fascinating in it's deliberate progression. To Mithun, the end does not matter. He works in public spaces to include an audience interaction , keeping the element of chance in space , turning it into a 'playground of ideas'.

He hopes people will 're-look' their waste. While the actual materials used in his installations are not in fact waste , he uses everyday , ordinary things, hoping to alter your perception of them.While this is not a re-cycling project, Mithun never throws away the materials, hoping to reuse them and the traces of their essence in a different context or arrangement.

As much as it is an experiment in observation as most things art are , it is also an experiment in introspection (as most things art are) Mithun is often asked by participants and onlookers if he was always this industrious or persistent but Mithun chalks it up to selective patience. A momentary yielding surge in tenacity for the sake of enlightenment, an opportunity to test his own limits and learn about himself.

He pushes on as he starts to seperate mind and body from the physical 'feeling' discomfort. While these little universes take shape , Mithun gains from the thoughts and conversations fueled by his creation.

Catch Mithun Jayaram at Gloria Jean's Coffee, Indra Nagar, Bangalore from 11 am - 11 pm. You won't regret it! More images on his facebook page.

Have included images from his previous installation at Citylink Mall, Singapore featuring pencils and their associated parts.

Deepti Bhadbhade

Beautiful 'meditative' doodles by Deepti Bhadbhade. Deepti freelances as a creative person in self initiated interiors/exhibitions projects.

Namrata Narula

Namrata Narula is a Textile Designer from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. For her final project, she worked with worn out clothes and waste fabric which she collected from people around her. "It was an indepedent project and my inspiration for it came from the age old of habit of recycling, preserving and jugaad especially amongst Indians. "Her collection is called New Improved . More here.

Alexander Kori Girard

Found these incredible mixed media works by American artist Alexander Girard via the superb fly . I'm tempted to do this to the thousands of old photographs that are gathering dust in my grandparents' home. More here.

Rahul Sureka

Sometimes monkeying around leads to interesting things. Mumbai based designer Rahul Sureka developed Digital Kong during a single day illustration spree. Way cooler than my obvious pun. For more of Rahul's visual noise, go here .

Bhajju Shyam for Tara Books

Lush tribal interpretations of The Little Mermaid, by Gond Artist Bhajju Shyam. I love the updated retelling of this fairytale classic. From their website, "The Flight of the Mermaid is a feminist parable on the warring claims of love and choice." Buy the book here.

Mequitta Ahuja

New York based artist Mequitta Ahuja refers to her work as Automythography- a combination of history, myth and personal narrative. Born of Indian & African American parentage, she attempts to bring grandiose to marginality in her images. More at her blog.

The Wall Project

This Independance day (Aug 15th) saw the dreamers of Mumbai city coming together to paint the somewhat sordid walls of Tulsi Pipe Road with aspirational messages and images. A simple but infectious idea that has taken many a hobbyist artist's fancy in metropolitan India. The Wall project started it all. Check their website for the story. Facebook for more images.

Kamal

Kamal refers to her stationery collection as a triangular love affair between paper , art and a good impression. This Prat Grad lives and works in NYC. More lovely stuff at her website.

Arjuna Gunarathne

Some cool drawings from London based Arjuna Gunarathne. Gunarathne studied at VIBAVI Academy of Fine Arts, Sri Lanka & Beacon house National University in Pakistan. More here.

Divya Raman

Divya Raman graduated this year with a Masters in Digital Fashion from The London College of Fashion. She designs under the label FMCG - Fast Moving Consumer Goods , conceptualised during her masters program. FMCG merges fashion and digital art in the most entertaining way possible.

Her structured, heavily pleated pieces echo the lines of test card patterns. The volumnous shift's bear digital art that reinforce the collection's major themes - God & TV. Both extremely profitable products of & for mass consumption.

The cleverly titled collection unfolds like an enigmatic sci-fi fantasy series. The plot line : Heaven's cherubs are do-gooders with a television dependency . Regular broadcast has been interrupted for a special message to the minions of earth. What plot twists await the 'cathodic' soul? Stay tuned for more.



Tell us a little about your roots.

Traditional and beautifully cultured Chennai background, a PCM (Physics,Chemistry, Mathematics) student who sold her engineering forms for design.Fashion was an impulse and the rabbit hole led to an entire new core to discover my world.

What influenced your tele-commandments line?

My design ideology uses digital technology in fashion as a toy and tool. Tele-commandments: for a cathodic soul is pun intended on today's screen addiction through television and the nostalgic test card patterns. The collection explores moving graphic narratives from television through lens animation i.e lenticulars and digital textile printing.

Transmission breakdown strikes a screen addicted heaven. Tele-commandments is a disrupted live broadcast from the glorious home of god. Bless you for watching.

Do you see yourself doing any other sort of design?

Yes, creativity leads to new insights, it depends on that particular artistic moment or what we call the "glorious instinct".

Do you collect pieces of clothing?

Yes, vintage or one-of pieces from my travel, flea markets. It could be anything ranging from a 50's new look coat to an Irish brooch to temple jewellery. Criteria: The one that fits my wallet! Quirky, Simplistic, Edgy

If you could pick a song , movie or book (or all 3) to describe your state of mind , what would that be?

My state of mind : dreamy, blank sheet of canvas. Movie : Waking Life by Richard Linklater

What is your creative work process like?

Creativity is unpredictable, it works in unity with individual freedom and passion. Working systematically would make the process mechanical. Each time it taps a different experience, a new revelation, so just go with the flow!

Who do you envy?

Nature

What do you think of the fashion scene in India?

Fashion in India is conscious with the west. We should breakaway from that kind of comparison or "indo-west" look and let our own echoes rule the runway!

Your favourite designers?

Abraham & Thakore, Ingo Maurer, Margiela, Castelbajac, Moschino, Nam June Paik .

What can we expect to see from Divya Raman in the future?
FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), a womenswear pret-a-porter line.

Are you working on something now?
I am just traveling for the moment. Long awaited trip! Will keep you guys updated!!

Tele-commandments on Youtube.