Exhibition at Kala Academy, Feb 14 photos

Sunday Feb 14th was the only day we had a morning session. Though it was blazing hot, quite a few people turned up to try out the Camera Obscura put up by the Goa Centre for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP).

Edson and Madhavan of Goa-CAP demonstrate the ins and outs of the Camera Obscura.

Anant displays a sketch of his dad Kanwarjeet, which he did using the Camera Obscura.

Madhavan uses on of our props to protect himself from the midday sun, as he sits to model for someone using the Camera Obscura.

The day also included an all-day T-shirt painting session, which was conducted under the trees to get away from the burning heat.

Little Rishi coloured out this beautiful lizard that his mother had drawn on the T-shirt for him. The result is quite a beauty!

RK's family and Madhavi's too spent a little while in the morning at the venue, helping out and generally enjoying themselves. Here Rupa paints a T-shirt while Priya and Munni kibitz.

Rupa's finished product.

Later in the morning, Ma and Baba also landed up.

RK, Munni and the kids with Ma and Baba.

Chandra presented us with the scarf she had spent the last five days weaving. Lovely, isn't it?

Kanwarjeet and Yashodara conducted an origami workshop in the evening. They had prepared these samples to display for the session.

Kids and adults try their hand at origami, while some T-shirt painting continues down below.

Everyone got to wear the origami hats they had fashioned out of old magazine pages.

Heidi (I think that's what her name was) had painted her own interpretation of the name 'People Tree'.

Another T-shirt artist, Zayn, had clearly come with scary intentions.

A budding Jackson Pollock and a very young Grandma Moses, wearing their masterpieces.

Exhibition at Kala Academy, Feb 13 photos

A delightful interlude on the 13th evening. Shivaram Ananthanarayanan, who was part of another exhibition being held elsewhere in KA, dropped by with his guitar, and played while Chandra wove, played and danced with the kids around.

The duo brought a special kind of magic to the evening.

Chandra on the loom, the setting sun catching her hair in a halo of light.

Later, after nightfall, Clinton demonstrated to those gathered how they could cut down on the amount of garbage they generated, and fruitfully utilise most of it.

Clinton's practical tips provided people with viable options in their own lives.

Gayatri looks on indulgently as Anjali has a laugh at something.

Exhibition at Kala Academy, Feb 12 photos

Rahul Alvares' presentation on snakes on the 12th was a big draw. The very strong evening breeze made setting up the screen for the projection quite cumbersome.

Rahul making his presentation. The breeze was causing the screen to undulate, bringing the pictures of the snakes to life.

The audience was enraptured by Rahul's content and his mesmerising style.

Rahul's uber-friendly Rottweiler Diesel was also on hand -- not to mention underfoot, on the lap, slobbering over one's prone body, etc.

Suraya's niece Daniella makes an appearance, wearing a T-shirt painted by her brother the previous day and offering uncle PD some chips.

It was evidently the day to wear hand-painted T-shirts. Paul wearing one painted by his wife Kanchan for him.

Exhibition at Kala Academy, Feb 11 photos

Feb 11 was a busy day for the kids, with Bookworm conducting a story-telling and visualisation session on one side, and T-shirt painting happening on another.

The activity is aptly reflected in this bustling photo, as the evening settles in.

Sujata, Elaine and Betty from Bookworm conducting their event with the usual passion and panache.

The Invaluables -- Kanchan and Suraya -- who made the whole event work out fine.

The driving forces at the end of another tiring but satisfying day.

Rajkumar was also of enormous help...

...as was Dilshad, keeping the products organised and the sales moving.

Exhibition at Kala Academy, Feb 10 photos

Setting up the display at the beginning of day one.

More of the process of setting things up.

Things more or less in place, with Chandra and her loom in one corner.

Chandra and Sanjay get the Weavers' Wheel display organised.

Chandra starts to gather an eager audience.

A view of the exhibition from the top.

Paint your T and wear it, too

From the time People Tree started in 1991, one of its best-loved features has been the 'Paint your own T-shirt' offer. What it boils down to is this -- you are given a blank T-shirt (which you pay the raw cost for), the paints and brushes you need to paint your masterpiece, some guidance if you need it, and you get on with it. You can try one of the designs that People Tree uses, or something of your own concoction. When you're done, the T-shirt is yours to keep and wear. It's fun for kids, and can be exciting for adults.

At the Kala Academy exhibition, there are two 'Paint your T' sessions -- from 4 to 8 pm on Thursday Feb 11 and Sunday Feb 14. Hey, that's Valentine's Day -- why not come in with your boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse, and paint each other unique gifts this year?

Some points of note for the T-shirt painting sessions:

* All materials are provided, but if you want special elements like glitter or special paints, bring them with you.
* Wear old clothes, as the paint will splatter. You're going to sit on the floor and paint, so wear something loose and comfortable.
* Once you're done painting, you'll have to wait for the T-shirt to dry before you can take it.
* This time around, we have only white T-shirts. If this goes off well, and people express a desire to go a step further, we can try out coloured T-shirts the next time around.
* Sizes available -- S, M, L
* You'll pay -- Rs 70 (S), Rs 80 (M) or Rs 90 (L)

People Tree comes to Goa

Do you want to paint that masterpiece you have been thinking of? Or would you rather learn how to create 3-dimensional magic out of flat squares of paper? Perhaps you would like to see how a loom works and discover the story of textiles?

The good news is that you can do all of these things this week. A series of interactive sessions and craft workshops will be organised by the well-known Delhi-based design studio People Tree, at the Mini Open Air Auditorium, Kala Academy. They are part of an exhibition-cum-sale of People Tree’s products. From February 10 to 13, it is from 4 pm-8 pm. February 14, the last day, is a full day affair, starting at 10 am. T-shirt painting sessions will be organised on two days – paint your T-shirt, paying only for the raw cost of the T-shirt, and take home your masterpiece!

All workshops are free, and there are no entry restrictions or registration requirements.

The sessions planned are:

• February 10 (4 – 8 pm): Chandra (Alessandra) will work on her loom and narrate the story of textiles – how it comes to the weaver, how it is woven, what happens to it before you can wear it. Chandra is a hand weaver and textile designer, inspired by the Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya (welfare for all). She is active in the promotion of khadi and malkha textiles.

• February 11 (5:30 – 6:30 pm): Bookworm will have a reading-cum-visualisation session for children. As a story is read out, children can draw and paint their own interpretation of the story.

(4 – 8 pm): ‘Paint your T-shirt’ session.

• February 12 (6.30 – 7.30 pm): Rahul Alvares will cover identification of venomous snakes, first aid (in case of snake bite), how to handle a snake in emergencies, how to reduce the chances of getting bitten by snakes, snake myths and superstitions.

• February 13 (6.30 – 7.30 pm): Clinton Vaz will talk about waste management issues that affect us, and demonstrate how you can recycle many common household wastes.

• February 14 (10 am – 2 pm): Goa Center for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP) will talk about pinhole cameras – how to make them at home, what materials to use, and how to take photographs with them. In addition, a Camera Obscura – which can hold two people – will also be set up. It will capture the surrounding scenery and produce a reasonably large inverted image on a screen inside the camera. People can then sketch the image on paper. This is a demonstration of techniques used by some of the Renaissance Old Masters, including Rembrandt and da Vinci, to achieve lifelike realism in their paintings.

(5 – 7 pm): Kanwarjit Nagy and Yashodara Kundaji will hold an origami session, teaching you how to create beautiful shapes out of flat paper.

(4 – 8 pm): ‘Paint your T’ session.

People Tree started life in 1991 as a design studio-cum-shop in Delhi. It is committed to the promotion of hand skills, self-expression and quality workmanship. This small enterprise has now became a meeting ground for art and ideas, leading to an exciting fusion of modern and traditional ideas and skills from all over the Indian subcontinent. It combines a sense of social purpose and ecological responsibility with the spirit of collective creativity.

For more information, check out facebook.com/peopletree and www.peopletreeonline.com; or contact: Anjali Sen Gupta at 9860089733, peopletreegoa@gmail.com