A Wickedly Creative Mommy

Talent and Patience -Pencil Sculptures

2010-08-12T09:32:00.006-04:00

Here's another 'made me stop and look', may be I'll make a series of these. Work like this not only takes talent and passion but an incredible amount patience. Those who know me know that I have the patience and dedication to pursue things I'm passionate about and sometimes may go overboard. But I can definitely say I lack this kind of patience. We're not going to address if I have this level of talent or not (#sheepishgrin).

Any guesses how long it took him to finish this series? I bet no one thought 2.5 years!

The creator of these incredible sculptures is 45-year-old carpenter, Dalton J. Paul Getty. He says, “When I was a schoolboy, I made gifts to my friends, carving out their names on a pencils. Later, I decided to try sculpture, and after a long searching the choice fell on a pencil lead.”

Tidbit: Getty definitely gets attached to his pieces (who wouldn't if you spend all this time on them). He keeps the broken pieces in what he calls the "cemetery collection".

Visit to the Zoo

2010-08-09T11:20:00.008-04:00

This was Lil A's second trip to the zoo. For the intent of a zoo a more successful one. Her first trip was in April on a beautiful, crips day in early Spring. The animals were out and 'on parade' as I like to say. Me thinks Lil A was too young (at 15 months). She couldn't care less about the 4 legged species, maintaining focus and enjoying the variety of the 2 legged human species.

At 18 months (what a difference 3 months makes for a toddler) she showed a keen interest in the fauna and repeated after us all the names of the animals. Since this was a much warmer day, a lot of the animals were hiding in shady corners, but a few came out to greet us.

The elephants came out for a meal just as we approached their area.

Rhinos (or Hippos as Lil A remembers them) were out of luck as they did not have a 'shady' spot to hide in.

The Emu ate the whole time we were at the zoo.

The meerkats were happy to be indoors and very playful.

We're now looking forward to the exclusive member Evening at the Zoo in a couple of weeks.

Made me stop and look

2010-03-17T10:09:00.012-04:00

How often do you spot something that makes you stop? Stop and look, feel, get excited and take you back to what up love most - for me what I love most is design. Waiting in my inbox this morning from Tom (my boss) was a link to 30 beautiful logo designs. I had to share. Not only are they beautifully executed, they're down right clever. Here are some of my favorites, please check the Ivan's blog to see all.

Love the use of negative space. Like Joel said, once you see it you can't help 'seeing' it.

The graphic of the pencil being below the logo is unexpected. Kudos to the designer.

This took me a second to process, so clever.

I have a feeling @tostina's going to love this one.

Longing for an Umbrella

2009-09-29T16:57:00.004-04:00

There are days when I love the rains - days when I get to sit indoors and drink hot cocoa. The monsoons were my favorite season in Bombay. But these days I find the rainy weather annoying - it's hard to lug Lil A, the car seat, a zillion bags while try to keep everything dry.To make matters worse my husband stole my umbrella since he now works in downtown and has a long walk to the office as well!

I know what would make me feel better - this umbrella that I saw in Niagara-on-the-lake. So wish I'd have bought it.

Sagmeister to talk at RIT

2009-09-23T10:19:00.006-04:00

Just found out that Stefan Sagmeister is going to be at RIT to talk about 'Design and Happiness'? How cool is that? If you're interested it's open to the public.
Oct 5, 2009
8pm
Ingle Auditorium

Close Up Photography: Nature

2009-08-28T14:18:00.017-04:00

You can probably tell by now that I'm a nature, design and photo addict. My friend Jenny aka ljc has inspired me to take super close up photos of flowers. Here's a few I've taken, some along the canal path, others not.

Closeup of Cherry Blossoms

Closeup of Lilacs - at the Rochester Lilac Festival

Closeup of a plant in my yard (yes it's a little blurry - the iPhone needs better picture taking abilities)

Close up of Narcissus from my neighbors yard

Closeup taken at Niagara-on-the-Lake

Closeup of Pine Needles taken in the Poconos

Walk Along the Canal - Inspiration

2009-08-26T10:58:00.009-04:00

Regular walks along the canal, have not only helped keep me in shape, de-stressed me and inspired some beautiful photographs but have woven their way into my house too. These painting are proudly displayed at the entrance of our house and bring the outdoors inside.

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer 4: Paula Scher

2009-06-30T17:47:00.007-04:00

The fourth in the series of blog posts where I'm sharing what struck me about each interview from the book, "How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer" by Debbie Millman.

Que: What do you do when you when you experience the feeling of “eureka” about a design solution and your client doesn’t? How are you able to convince them to see things your way?

Ans: …With one particular client, I made a presentation before I showed any work and logically explained why they had to do what I was presenting. I proved my thesis before presenting creative solutions. I’ve done that a number of times, and I’m getting better at it. It’s a lot of work but I’ve been trying to do this more and more. I know I have the tendency to jump to an answer without taking the time to express the logical steps.
(What a great idea. If more designers could implement this – we would have less opportunity to say that the client does not get it).

I loved the new NYCB logo the moment I saw it - of course it had to be designed by Scher (with Lisa Kitschenberg) of Pentagram and the NYCB's Luis Bravo. The identity aims at giving the company a dramatic, contemporary new aesthetic linked to its legacy and location. According to Scher, it is "designed to be powerful and graceful at the same time, like the company."

Da Noise Funk Poster is legendary - it greatly influenced typography of the '90s - imitation they say is the best form of flattery. © Paula Scher

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer 3: Milton Glaser

2009-06-29T17:43:00.009-04:00

The third in the series of blog posts where I'm sharing what struck me about each interview from the book, "How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer" by Debbie Millman.

Que: What’s your first creative memory?
Ans: …I was eight years old, and I had rheumatic fever. I was at home and in bed for a year. In a certain sense, the only thing that kept me alive was this: Every day , my mother would bring me a pound of modeling clay, and I would create a little universe out of houses, tanks, warriors. At the end of the day I would pound them into oblivion and look forward to the next day when I could recreate the world. (my first thought was – wow, what a waste and how destructive)

So I knew that my life was linked. My life and my psychology and my sense of self were linked to making things and the satisfaction that I derived from making things. The fact that I could maintain my attentiveness the whole day to make things was a very powerful stimulus in my life.

Que: How did you feel at the end of the day when you dismantled your creation?
Ans: That was another great part. Dismantling it meant I would have another pound of clay to start again.

Que: So there was no sorrow?
Ans: Quite the contrary. The pleasure was in making it and destroying it. I have never thought about this but basically, I realized that in order to have the experience, I had to eliminate what I had done.

I think that, to some degree, this is part of my character as a designer: To keep moving and not get stuck in my own past. (now it all made sense) This is what I try very very hard to do.

…I think this is the way you stay alive professionally.

The infamous I love New York logo.

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer 2: Carin Goldberg

2009-06-29T16:49:00.019-04:00

This is the second in the series of blog posts where I'm sharing what struck me about each interview from the book, "How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer" by Debbie Millman.

Speaking of compromise, I remember for my first job at CBS Records, I hired Milton Glaser to do an illustration for a Carole King ad. As I was dialing his phone number, I was shaking in my boots. It was like calling the pope. (Wow, It was heartening to learn that even Carin Goldberg was once scared of) I remember I rang him up, and I asked him to an illustration for a full-page ad for Carole King. He sent me an illustration that was–well, let’s say it wasn’t his best. I knew it, even though I thought of him as God’s gift to the universe. So I called his rep and told him we were hoping he’d give us something different.

Milton absolutely refused. He just said, “Sorry, what you see is what you get.” And I went home and cried and didn’t sleep for a week because I thought I had offended Milton Glaser. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized that he had done the right thing by standing up for what he thought was right. If you don’t people will take everything you have. You may risk loosing a job, but in the grand scheme of things, I believe that by standing up for yourself, you’re doing the graphic design business a service.

© Carin Goldberg. New York Times Magazine key cover: Rem Duplessis, art director of the Times Magazine, asked Goldberg to create the cover for the premier issue of key, a magazine focusing on real estate. Duplessis’ only request was that Goldberg somehow use the image of a key. Goldberg chose to create her key by using addresses of all the places she had lived throughout her life. The type mimics the ubiquitous labels used on urban apartment doors and buzzers.

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer: Michael Beirut

2009-06-12T09:20:00.018-04:00

I just finished reading this awesome book "How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer" by Debbie Millman. It's the only book that I'm re-reading. I went right from the last page back to the first page. The candid nature of the interviews and the different perspectives each designer brings to the same questions is what I loved most. To note the similarities and differences across the board of these creatives has been a thrilling read.

In a series of blog posts I want to share with you what struck me most from each designer's interview.

Starting with Michael Beirut:

“When I first started talking directly to clients, I had some moments where I got so obsessed with obtaining approval about a project that I mistook that for doing the job right. By the time one project was about to go to press, I remember my boss – Massimo Vignelli–saying to me, “What is this?” And I said, “This is a job for so-and-so.” And he said, “Why does it look this way?” And I started to say, “Well, they did this, and then they did that, and it had to be this,” and he said, “No, this is awful. We can’t let this go.” He picked up the phone at my desk and called up the boss of the boss of the boss of the guy who had been jerking me around for weeks and said, “You know this thing you’re doing for the blah blah blah? I’m not sure it’s quite right. I want to do it right. We’ll send it over after we do one more thing to it. We have time right?” Then he sat there and scraped off all the shit that had accrued on it over the past three weeks and did something crops and right and perfect.

Massimo had this saying: “Once a work is out there, it doesn’t really matter what the excuses were.” It doesn’t matter if you didn’t have enough time or if the client was an idiot. The only thing that counts is what you’ve designed, and whether it’s good or bad. These are words to live by.”

If you haven't read this book - you can treat this series of blog posts as excerpts. And if you have read it - share with me your thoughts and your take aways.

“Light Years” poster, The Architectural League of New York, New York, NY, 1999.
© Michael Bierut/Pentagram,

A talk about Social Networking

2009-06-11T13:06:00.004-04:00

Last week, I was a panelist at the annual Spring Forum for the Women's network at Kodak. Along with my buddy Tina (@tostina) and Mary Irene (@maryirene) I (@shrutigoradia) spoke to a full house of over 150 Kodak employees about how the 3 of us use Social Media personally and professionally.

Mary Irene blogged about it on the Kodak blog. Check it out.

TWITTER GIVEAWAY: iPhone 3G 16GB Version! | Week in Rewind/Movies

2009-06-05T08:36:00.000-04:00

TWITTER GIVEAWAY: iPhone 3G 16GB Version! | Week in Rewind/Movies

An awesome chance to win the iPhone 3G. Check it out.

2009-05-07T13:06:00.001-04:00

Spring Cake Decorating

Last spring I took a cake decorating class, just because. Vishal and co-workers we so happy, coz cake decorating class = lots of cake every week.

For the final class I decorated a spring inspired cake. Being heavily focused on decorating the cake, I didn't do a great job of capturing all the steps, but here are a few. The hardest thing for me was to resist the temptation of licking the frosting off of my fingers.

2009-04-17T15:31:00.002-04:00

Walk Along the Canal Path

I live right by the canal path in Brighton and frequently walk/jog along it. These are some pictures I took last evening with my iPhone. I'm impressed with their quality and clarity.

A giant tree and a lonely leaf.

Facing the sun.

Facing away from the sun.

2009-04-15T17:00:00.002-04:00

The Growing Belly
While I'm still on the maternity/pregnancy/baby high, I want to share this picture taking excercise I did while pregnant. I took a picture in the same t-shirt, at the same place, (almost) every week.

I'm missing pictures from the last month or so - as is obvious from the jump in the last 2 pictures. I'll have to hunt them down.

It's so much fun to see the progress. I'm sure Lil A will one day be amazed at how she grew in my belly. I hope she appreciates that we've recorded every moment of her life.

2009-04-13T17:19:00.001-04:00

Ok, I've been horrible about maintaining my personal blog. Albeit a little late in the year - but to update regularly is this year's resolution.

Since the last time I blogged, I've been blessed with Lil A. She's beautiful (well of course I'm biased, I'm her mom). Born towards the end of January, in the wee hours of the morning at 7lbs 12oz and all of 21.25 inches tall! She sure took her time coming into this world (yep, 24hrs and 2 minutes!!)

Life has changed and how? Motherhood is a mixed bag of tricks. The first month was tricky - but it's been a beautiful ride so far. My baby's truly an angel - she sleeps through the night (yes!) Her smile melts my heart and her cooing makes me forget about everything else. And what they say is so true - you quickly forget the discomforts of initial motherhood. Smile, coo, smile, gurgle!

Welcome Lil A, mommy loves you.

2008-11-20T17:03:00.003-05:00

Time's been flying. Feels like just yesterday - that it was my birthday and we found out we were having a baby girl. Fast forward a couple of months, Nov 15 was my Baby Shower - wonderfully hosted by Nipa, Jenny and Tina. It was an awesome awesome shower, thank you N, J and T - I am forever indebted.

They were creative right from the start creating a Fall theme, that incorporated colors from the nursery (pink, orange, lime green and brown). Jenny designed and Tina put together unique invites.

The decor was all Fall themed, as was the yummy cake.

Mom and Vishal arranged for Indian food.

Nipa kept the many guests well entertained with lots of fun games - word jumble, guess the chocolate in the poopy diaper, guess the girth of the mommy and tag the tummy. She also had everyone write down friendly advise for me and had them bid on guestimated baby birth day and time. I will award a prize to the fortune teller with the closest guess.

All of my wonderful friends gave me tons of gifts. (Vishal thinks we need a new house to put the gifts in). While I opened the gifts - everyone played baby gift Bingo. I took a picture with each and everyone of my friends as they gave me the gifts - I am so glad I thought of doing this - now I will have the memories forever.

Thank you to all my wonderful friends, I feel so blessed.

2008-10-03T15:02:00.001-04:00

This is the beginning of many firsts for me - my first personal blog post! I am pregnant with my first child, which has brought with it many firsts: The feeling of discovering that I was going to be a Mommy for the first time. The joy of sharing the news with my husband for the first time. Breaking the news to our parents for the first time. The first visit to the Doctor’s. The first congratulations, the first sickness, the first blushes, the first stare at my belly, the first ooh’s and aah’s.

But nothing can compare to the feeling of ‘seeing’ my baby for the first time – my first ultrasound. My husband was with me and the memory of the joy on his face the first time he heard the heart beat still brings tears to my eyes.

Being the techno-geeks my husband and I are, we were all set to capture those precious moments. Armed with various cameras – point and shoot, camera phones, the latest Zi6 video camera we felt invincible. Imagine our disappointment when we were informed that none of these capture devices were allowed. We could only get a copy of the ultrasound on a VHS tape! Ummm, we got rid of our video player years ago. The glimpses of my baby were held captive in a black plastic ‘box’ that I could only stare at helplessly.

Friends of mine at work helped me (thank you) convert the black plastic box into a DVD that we could view.

Hubby and I have seen it so many times just in the last few days. I even feel the baby move when I watch the DVD now :0)