cloud ring

This breathtaking kalamkari painting is an original work by Dr. Sneh Gangal. The Indian artist works in acrylics on canvas to paint the large and dramatic composition of a Tree of Life. Indian kalamkari painting is an ancient art form that was originally done on textiles such as scrolls and temple hangings.

The swallow motif has long been popular in authentic Talavera pottery and is usually depicted in cobalt blue, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. However this bird seems to suggest the quetzal found in the cloud forests of Oaxaca, a state that borders Puebla. Isabelle Collins works in the style and technique of classic Talavera ceramics to create a beautiful ginger jar. This lidded vase is known in Mexico as a tibor; it was brought to Mexico from the Orient by way of the Philippines in the late 1500s.

"We use the same techniques and styles used in 16th-century Puebla. Classic Talavera used only six colors, all of which were natural glazes compounded at home with mineral pigments. We create our homemade paintbrushes using mule hair or horsehair from the mane or tail, according to the thickness desired for our motifs," the artisan confides.

"Madhubani paintings are in fact a simplistic manifestation of the philosophical heights achieved by Indian civilization for the universal power of love, longing and peace – the quest of all beings," the artist explains, adding, “To achieve a state of inner peace is an inspiration for all. Through meditation, Lord Buddha attained inner peace, which inspired him to work for world peace. The end of greed, hatred and delusion is the state of Nirvana, which describes the Buddhist path and spiritual goal to mark the soteriological release from rebirth in the world.”

In this World Peace Project painting by Bharti, within a gray realm of absence, Buddha is depicted as a meditating silhouette adorned with a sacred lotus flower and turquoise. The lack of interruptions in the background highlights the sole importance of one's self in achieving nirvana, because worldly objects cloud the mind.

Bharti Dayal created this painting to celebrate the path of Nirvana in the quest for peace.