Happy New Year 2015

Happy New Year 2015

From: Seema Kumar

www.seemakumar.in

Continuing Line Drawing Series - In Vector

Line drawings series - with vector graphics

The line drawings have been an area of interest for me for. Hand been doing some line drawings with hand. These drawings are in the same series with similar context while experimenting with vector graphics on computer. 

Line drawings series - with vector graphics

Research Paper: Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being

One of my previous posts was about “Reflections 2014”, International Conference on Fashion, Retail and Management (ICFRM) at NIFT, Hyderabad. I had mentioned about my visit to NIFT, Hyderabad to present my research paper titled “Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being" at “Reflections 2014”, International Conference on Fashion, Retail and Management (ICFRM) which was organised by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Hyderabad, from 9th to 11th January 2014 at Hyderabad. The paper was published in Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-81-7800-297-2. Given below is an abstract of the research paper:

Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being

Abstract: All objects around us have colour and all colours are associated with different vibrations that impact us in one way or the other. Whether we know it or not, colours seem to have a psychological and physiological impact on us and our preference of colours reveal a lot about our psychological make-up. The unconscious psychological and physiological impact of colours on mood, behaviour and well-being is still being researched upon. However, from time immemorial, not only artists and designers, ancient cultures, psychologists and colour therapists acknowledge the impact of colours surrounding us on our mood and well-being.
Clothing is universal, though the type, style, colours and design of clothing may vary depending on different cultures, societies, needs and occasions. Clothing is an object that covers human body at all times. As all clothing has colour, it may affect our mood and well-being in some way or the other. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, this paper explores psychological and physiological impact of colours on patients, and the relationship between colour, clothing and their well being.

Reflections 2014 - Conference Proceedings Publication

Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well Being presented and published in "Reflections 2014" - Conference Proceedings Publication

Keywords:
Clothing and health, Colour and moods, Colour and well-being, Patients and Clothing, Colour psychology.

For more details on this research paper, you may contact me.

www.seemakumar.in  

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"Reflections 2014" - Conference Proceedings Publication

Pen and Ink Drawing : Manthan (मंथन)

Title: Manthan  |  Medium: Pen and Ink on Paper  | Size: A3
 © Seema Kumar    |    www.seemakumar.in

In continuation with my previous post, posting here another drawing that I made. This drawing with pen and ink on paper, A3 size, is titled Manthan. Manthan (मंथन) is a Hindi word meaning churning or deep pondering over something.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I feel art is self expression and does not need an explanation. The viewers can interpret it in different ways. However, when i was asked to write a note with perception of this work, this is what I wrote:

Our human mind is always working, churning, thinking, meditating - consciously or unconsciously. An innocent girl, even at young age, is a bundle of thoughts and imagination. I have tried to portray this using lines, repetition, rhythm, transitional lines, and subtle changes in the colours of the ink used for the drawing.  

© Seema Kumar    |    www.seemakumar.in 

Drawing with Mix Media: Dawn

There are days when  wanted to draw and paint, but did not get enough time. Working with wet mediums required more time and space, so I decided I will re-start sketching, doodling, scribbling, or just anything to be regular with drawing and painting. And I started working with dry mediums like pen, pencil, pencil colours. etc.

Title: Dawn  |   Medium: Mix media on paper   |    Size: A3
© Seema Kumar    |    www.seemakumar.in

Here is a photo of one of those drawings which I titled as Dawn. with mix media on paper, A3 size. I started with black ink pen and later included colour pencils, some of my favourite dry mediums.

I believe that art is self expression that can be interpreted differently by different people, and does not need an explanatory note However, I wrote a note for this one as it was required for an exhibition entry. Here is the note:

Dawn is calm, cool, meditative. But beyond the calm surface, there are millions of waves and colours radiating from the eternal light source, the life giving force, even though it is not visible. The invisible waves and colours have been expressed in this work. 

Do let me know your feedback and comments for my work.

© Seema Kumar    |    www.seemakumar.in

Happy Durga Pooja

May this festival that reinforces the hope of victory of good over evil help us in our own victory of good over the evil and demons within us. Wish you all a very Happy Durga Pooja.

Exhibition 'Hues' during 'Fashion Spectrum 2014' at NIFT, Chennai.

'Fashion Spectrum 2014' was conducted from 28th February to 1st March 2014 at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, NIFT Campus, Chennai. This is an event for and by the students. Apart from the other activities and exhibitions during 'Fashion Spectrum' by students, faculty members and staff of NIFT, Chennai, also exhibited their work at an exhibition titled 'Hues'.

'Hues' -  2014, Exhibition at NIFT, Chennai

Below are some photos of my past work displayed in 'Hues' at Fashion Spectrum 2014, NIFT, Chennai.

Left: 1. Watercolour  | 2. Award winning Collage 'After Study'
Right - Artist Print (A/P): 1 to 4 from top - Lino Cut | 5. Woodcut
By Seema Kumar

1. Pencil Study of Hand | 2, 3, 4. Portraits in Oil Colour
By Seema Kumar

Top: 1. Tempra on paper  |  Bottom: 1,2 - Watercolour
By Seema Kumar

1. Pencil Study of Hand | 2, 3, 4. Potraits in Oil Colour
and Seema Kumar

I had written earlier in 2006 and posted photos about the 'Fashion Spectrum' at NIFT, Delhi, in which I had participated on behalf of a sponsor company, Malwa Industries Ltd., where I was working. Malwa's Denim division was a sponsor in the Fashion Design Show and some other events during the Fashion Spectrum and had showcased its Denim Collection. Will post more photos of 'Fashion Spectrum 2014', Chennai, later.


Website: http://www.seemakumar.in
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/seemakumar13 

Child Art - Flower Pot Painting

Paper flowers made by Tejal

My little daughter Tejal got a birthday gift which was a kit for making paper flowers and had a white flower pot. She just loved the gift as she likes art and craft activities. She made the paper flowers completely on her own, without my help. You can see the picture of the flowers in the white pot. 

Later, she wanted to paint the white pot and I helped her by guiding her how to use acrylic colours on the pot. Rest, she painted on her own. Here are the pictures of what she created out of the white flower pot. 

Child art - flower pot painting

Flower pot painted by Tejal

Visit to Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014 at Kalakshetra, Chennai

 Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014 at Kalakshetra, Chennai 

A Visit to Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014 at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, was suddenly planned when I was in NIFT, like any other working day, on 27th Jan 2014. As it was planned for the same day of the visit, I cold not carry my camera and just took a few photographs from my mobile camera.  Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014was organised from 24th January to 2nd February, 214. Students and faculty at NIFT seemed to be very interested in visiting the exhibition so I also went along with them to see what kind of exhibition it was. Moreover, I am always interested to go and explore new places and visit places and exhibitions related to art and craft. 

Carpet seller at  Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014, Chennai 

This exhibition is organised by Dastkari Haat Samiti showcasing and selling different types of crafts products. This exhibition reminded me of Surajkund Crafts Mela about which I have already posted on my blog with photographs and it is a much bigger crafts bazaar and older. However, it was good to see that such exhibitions are happening in Chennai and craftsmen from all over India participating. It had products ranging from fabrics, apparel carpets, to ceramic, glass, metal, terracotta, jewellery, bags, etc. along with food counter and a stage where live folk dance performance was going on. 

A view of  Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar 2014, Chennai 

For the next time, I would like to go and spend more time there and also go with my camera. I can see more photos posted on the Facebook page of Dastakri Haat Samiti for 2014 exhibition, so you can go and check out more. 

Eight Years of Blogging and 'Seema's Corner'

It has been eight years of blogging for me. I created this blog in January 2006 and wrote some random posts, shared some things about my life, events, thoughts, dreams, wishes and introspection. It was not on any one specific subject, but it was about some things in my world. That is why I called it 'Seema's Corner" I still write once in a while. Sometimes, the posts have been regular and frequent, at other times, less frequent. I also started my Hindi Blog named 'मेरी कृति' (Meri Kriti) in February 2006.                                                                                                                                                                                            

Seema's Corner

As years went by, I also created my website. However, I still prefer to use blogger for my blogs, for the simple reason that it is very user-friendly and I like the features that are simple to use without too much of technical know how.

I have already written some posts on my reasons and motivations behind blogging, like in this post One year of blogging... one year of 'Seema's Corner' which I wrote when I completed one year of blogging and later, on completion of five years of blogging, I wrote Five Years of Blogging and 'Seema's Corner'. So I will not repeat the same here.

I would only like to thank you all who still come back once in a while to read my blogs, to all who have come earlier to read, to all who supported me, motivated me or criticised me and taught me new things. Do keep coming back with your feedback, comments and suggestions.

THANK YOU :)

Pongal Celebrations at NIFT Chennai

Decoration in progress for Pongal celebrations at NIFT, Chennai

It is good to see students of NIFT, Chennai, actively participating in all kind of functions and cultural activities being organised in the campus. Pongal was one such celebration where the students, faculty and staff participated in Indian ethnic attire, mostly is traditional south Indian ethnic attire. The dress code for the occasion was South Indian Traditional Clothes – Veshti and Shirt / Kurta for men; Paavadai and Daavani/ Saree for women.

Pongal celebrations at NIFT, Chennai

Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people in the month of January. Magh Bihu, Pongal, Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Uttarayana, Khichdi are some of the other festivals that celebrated across India at the same time, either on 14th January or one one of more days between 13th to 16th January.

Bharat Natyam performance by Fashion Design student

The programme included performance of Bharat Natyam, Group Dance, Folk Dance, Design Competition, and Debate. Everyone was served Pongal for eating.

Folk Dance performance

Group Dance performance by the winners of Zonal Indiafest

Lighting the Diyas

Students in Indian Ethnicwear

Happy Pongal

A lot of efforts from the side of the coordinators for student development activities and the support of the management and staff. 

Republic Day 2014 Celebrations at NIFT, Chennai

Indian Republic Day is a special day for me, not only because it is the Republic Day but also because it my daughter's birthday. She is always excited about her birthday, like all children are. So when I have to go to the institute to be a part of the flag hoisting and also prepare for her birthday celebration the same day, it becomes hectic. However, I actively participate in both.

This year I went to attend the flag hoisting function at 8:00am at NIFT, Chennai. I was glad I went as I was was mesmerised by the musical performances of the students. It is always good to see talented youngsters perform.

Flag hoisting at NIFT, Chennai

Flag hoisting at NIFT, Chennai

Address by Director, NIFT, Chennai

Song by a Design student of NIFT

Vande Mataram song by students

“Reflections 2014”, International Conference on Fashion, Retail and Management (ICFRM) at NIFT, Hyderabad

My visit to NIFT, Hyderabad was to present my research paper titled “Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being" at “Reflections 2014”, International Conference on Fashion, Retail and Management (ICFRM) which was organised by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Hyderabad, from 9th to 11th January 2014 at Hyderabad.

Floral decoration at NIFT, Hyderabad campus

NIFT, Hyderabad campus

The venue of the Conference was the welcoming campus of NIFT, Hyderabad. My visit was self-sponsored and I attended the Conference on 10th and 11th January 2014. Participants came from different NIFT centers and from outside NIFT as well and presented papers in different tracks like Marketing; Production of Fashion, Lifestyle and Accessory Products; Consumer Behaviour; Sustainability; Retail; Fashion and Interdisciplinary.

Reflections 2014 - A session in progress

Reflections 2014 - 10th January 2014, NIFT, Hyderabad

I was invited to Co-Chair the presentations on ‘Sustainability’ track and it was good to get a certificate and memento for the same. 

Memento

I presented my paper on 11th January 2014 under the track “Fashion and Interdisciplinary”. My paper titled “Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being" was well received as an “interesting topic” for research and was encouraged to continue research on this topic. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, my paper explores psychological and physiological impact of colours on patients, and the relationship between colour, clothing and well-being. More about my paper in another post to come.       

   

Selected papers have published in ISBN numbered Conference Proceedings. My paper was the only paper to be published under “Design” heading.  

Reflections 2014 - Conference Proceedings Publication

Colour and Clothing for Patients and Well-Being by Seema Kumar

Valedictory session and awarding of certificates took place on 11th evening. Though the brief tenure of the visit, which included overnight onward journey by train and return by bus, made the trip tiring, overall it was a good experience. 

Reflections 2014 - Valedictory Session 

It was a short trip, but I visited Shilparam, which is an arts, crafts and cultural village at Hyderabad located near NIFT. It is a nice place to visit, see the landscaping and also shop for traditional Indian crafts  and clothes. 

At Shilparamam, Hyderabad

At Shilparamam, Hyderabad

At Shilparamam, Hyderabad

Update: Next post http://seemakumar.blogspot.com/2014/10/research-paper-colour-and-clothing-for.html 

Happy New Year 2014

Happy New Year 2014

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa

Wish you all a very happy New Year 2014! May this year your choicest dreams come true. May joy, happiness, hope and peace lead our world in this year. Like every year, we start this new year with many new thoughts, wishes, dreams and resolutions. May all these be fulfilled for our betterment this year :)

At midnight - to welcome 2014

Good Bye 2013

It will not be an exaggeration if I say that the year 2013 has been life-changing for me and my family. I moved out of a city where I have been settled for more than a decade for a completely new city, a local language completely unknown to me; quit a job where I had been for half a decade to join my alma mater NIFT (same parent Institute but a different Center) as Associate Professor. My husband got transferred to the same city and my daughter changed school. It has just been a few months that we moved to a rented apartment here, so kind of still in the process for fully settling down, exploring and getting used to the new city. A lot more remains to be explored. My last few posts on this blog have been about my life in this city.

This new year 2014 will begin in a new city for us, working in our new offices (no holiday). I wish everyone a year full of happiness, love, laughter, joy, peace and prosperity. 

Great Story-telling Clues by Filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Video)

While looking for inspirational videos for writers, I came across this page 13 Inspirational TED Talks for Writers. Wanted to share a video which I watched here. It is a talk by filmmaker Andrew Stanton. As Wikipedia describes him:

Andrew Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor based at Pixar Animation Studios. His film work includes writing and directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (as co-director), Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and his first live-action film, John Carter. He also co-wrote every film of the Toy Story franchise and Monsters, Inc..

I found it a great talk in a very simple manner. I enjoyed watching WALL-E. I have watched Finding Nemo innumerable times with my little daughter who was first shown this movie by Ashish. She just loved it and used to watch it again and again since her pre-school days, not to mention that I loved watching it, too. When I saw the video caption, I wanted to find out what makes such a great story-teller, and I was not disappointed. Watch it for yourself if you are interested in story-telling or writing.

The video is embedded below and details about the video that are mentioned in the post are:

3. Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story
Filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, WALL-E) shares what he knows about storytelling — starting at the end and working back to the beginning.

Child Art - Painting on White Board

Eight year old's painting on white board

What do you feel when you look at this painting ? What style will an art critic categorise this in ? What is the medium ? Don't worry, I am not going to ask these questions or answer these questions. Just wanted to share a painting done by an eight year old girl, my little daughter.

This is a painting which she made on white board using paint and paintbrushes. Sometimes, she gets into the mood of painting and just creates something on her white-board, not on paper. I click some photographs and keep. I have given her drawing sheets and notebooks, but I things she prefers her white-board as a canvas and then wipes it clean after a day or two. her first canvas was the wall of our living room where she had started scribbling and drawing when she was one. Then we had bought a white board for her, to write on to learn alphabets and spellings, and of course to draw and scribble as much as she wanted.

My last two posts also showcased child art, some creations of my eight year old daughter, play dough / clay creations (flowers, burger, candle) and a multicolour caterpillar. Very often, child art can be quite fascinating as well as inspiring for us adults.

A Multicolour Caterpillar Made of Play Dough/ Clay

A Multicolour Caterpillar made by an eight year old

My last post had some colourful creations made by my daughter, who is eight, using play dough / clay. Here is one more of her creations - a multicolour caterpillar displayed in her colour-palette, making it already look like a butterfly. Children do have wonderful imagination and creativity :) 

A Multicolour Caterpillar - displayed like a Butterfly

A Multicolour Caterpillar of Play Dough/ Clay

A Multicolour Caterpillar Made of Clay Balls