Crafting Traditions

Being able to use my creative side for my bestie engagement, was an experience and time I will cherish forever!. It was insane amount of fun. Never thought i would do anything like this. So thnx love for allowing and trusting me to do this Here are the Henna and Trays we made for her. 

"Peace Lies Within"

I submitted this piece to an art contest held by Bay Area Maitri, an organization devoted to ending domestic violence against women. The theme was: "What does peace look like?" Because of time constraints, it was not as good as I expected it to be. However, I do hope that you appreciate the message I tried to convey. I would like to thank the Maitri organization for giving me an opportunity to share my art.

"Peace Lies Within"
by: Shirsha Basu

Eye See You

Eye See You
by: Kayze Abbas

I created this art piece to show how I think the world is constructed in this digital age. This digital painting portrays how media or through social media and our devices, we are constantly being watched and there is no escaping it. When we are on web, the ads 'surprisingly' are of our interest. We hear stories about people's personal pictures being leaked out. Simple things like getting located by GPSs or satellites when we use the devices. Yes all these devices have benefits that I think are great but at the same time I wonder if I sold my privacy to get these benefits. I just tried to capture that scary thought and made it in a surrealistic art piece. These are just my feelings about media and the constant watch. 

All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values. -Marshall McLuhan

The message I want someone to get from this picture is to be aware of what they do and keep in mind that they are constantly being watched. Its quiet scary to know that my little naive mistake can lead to a bigger circumstance that i didn't even anticipate. Often times people (specially young teens) create fake ids to spread negativity and harm others, thinking that they are not traceable. 

- Kayze

Sketching on a Sunday - Anastasia

Growing up my favourite movie ever! has been Anastasia. I still love it as much as i loved it as a young kid. Here is my quick unfinished pen sketch (hence the messed up nose). Enjoy!

- The other page bleeded through :(

Durga Pujo 2014

Durga Pujo is the biggest religious celebration of the year in my culture. We spend time together with family and friends in order to celebrate Durga, the goddess of purity, and the power of good over evil. I am thankful to be able to celebrate my culture here, in the Bay Area, because of so many organizations that organize these events and make us feel a little closer to home during the holiday season.

Goddess Durga and her children, Ganesh, Lakhi, Saraswati, and Karthik
Fremont, California
by: Shirsha Basu

Goddess Durga and her children, Ganesh, Lakhi, Saraswati, and Karthik
Foster City, California
by: Shirsha Basu

Goddess Durga
Fremont, California
by: Shirsha Basu

Here are some of the pandals (shrines) in Kolkata, India:

Kolkata, India
by: Samrat Basu

Goddess Durga and her children, Ganesh, Lakhi, Saraswati, and Karthik
Kolkata, India
by: Samrat Basu

Kolkata, India
by: Samrat Basu

Nail Arting

I obesses over nail polish. It alwayz brightens my day. I am not a professional like alot of girls out there but its lovely to be able to create different designs and play with polish! Hope you enjoyed it. 

Kayze

"A Dollar and a Dream"

This post is a little different from my other ones, but I thought it was important to share. I saw this picture above a water fountain on campus a while ago, and it made me think.
We live in our own world, so oblivious to what is going on around us. We never take a moment to be thankful for what we have, and to be generous towards those who don't have as much. There are places out there that don't have basic resources, like water to drink, food to eat, clothes to wear, a home to live in. So decided to share this post, just to have people stop and think for a minute, not just about being grateful, but also about making a positive change in the world around them. 

Art with flour! - Baking Breads

Beauty exists in everything, and food is one of the most unique forms of art! I love to cook and bake (nothing sweet!) as a way to relax. Food presentation is an important way to ensure that even a picky eater is tempted to taste the food! I love baking breads as there are so many form and shapes you can give the flour. Its like working with a clay, but alot easier and with the benefit of being able to eat it afterwords! I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you like to see more of these. 

Kayze

The Toronto Islands

Serenity
- Toronto Islands
by: Kayze Abbas

It's lovely to be able to see underwater. Its a complete different dimension and life!

The Departure
- Toronto Islands Ferry
By: Kayze Abbas

That Meeting Point
- Toronto Islands
By: Kayze Avvas

The Edge 
- Toronto Islands
by: Kalsoom Abbas

Perfect Shot
- Toronto Islands
by: Kayze Abbas

Tranquility
- Toronto Islands
by: Kayze Abbas

Nature Walk

When I don't want to be around people, I find comfort in nature.

"Berries"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Brides"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Island Flower"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Petals"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Mariposas"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Translucent"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Friends"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Friends II"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Warm"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Age"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Smile :)"
by: Shirsha Basu

"Pink Veins"
by: Shirsha Basu

Sketching on a Sunday

Flame of  Beauty
by Kayze Abbas

Sketching this firelily for my friend.. This design will be avalible for purchase soon on my society 6 page. Stay tuned!

"Fall Colors"

Foster City, California
by: Shirsha Basu

I love how leaves change color in the fall.. they remind me how fast time has gone by, how quickly each day, week, month passes us. How people change, lives change, how nothing is permanent. How, soon, all these bright, radiant leaves will crumble and fall to the ground, but at the end of the season, new leaves will grow once again.

There's no place like home

I always post pictures of distant, vacation-places, so I thought I'd take a moment to appreciate my local areas.
(Again, I apologize for some of the pictures being in low-quality resolution.)

San Francisco, California
The Bay Bridge from Embarcadero
by: Shirsha Basu

The Bay Area, California
A walking trail nearby
by: Shirsha Basu

Foster City, California
The lagoon next to my home
by: Shirsha Basu

Treasure Island, San Francisco, California
My favorite place in the world.
by: Shirsha Basu

Shoreline Park, California
A lovely place to walk in the evenings
by: Shirsha Basu

I also tried my luck out on panoramas last night at Treasure Island. Again, the quality wasn't as good because I used the camera on my phone and zoomed in a lot, but I decided to share them anyway because I love Treasure Island and the city skyline so much. :)

The SF skyline across the bay from Treasure Island
by: Shirsha Basu 

The western span of the Bay Bridge, and city skyline
I'm not sure what that bright, really distracting light is
by: Shirsha Basu

The city skyline
This picture turned out really blurry but I liked the way the building lights changed the color of the clouds
by: Shirsha Basu

The skyline from the Bay Bridge
by: Shirsha Basu 

Fusion Melody

Fusion Melody
- Kayze Abbas (@kreativedelight)

So I recently did an experiment with Art Journaling after watching few Youtube videos. I must say if you got OCD (even a bit like me), you will hate it. However it is an amazing practice to let go and do things differently. I remember I had anxiety and I was cringing, just very very annoyed when I was creating this. But on this art piece I got the most compliments and to be honest I am not a fan of this because every time I look at it, I still cringe and want to clean it up. By the way I didn't know I have OCD until I tried this, so try it. The background is a combo of paints, inks, and scrapbook paper. The henna pattern is down with Henna. When I was making this I had no idea where this will end up and how it will look at the end. I didn't plan anything I just went with a flow. One thing I like about this is how the color and patterns all mend together. Hope you enjoy it and share your experience in the comments below. 

 Kayze

Mountains

I'm a bit obsessed with mountains...

Aspen, Colorado
by: Shirsha Basu

Santa Cruz, California
by: Shirsha Basu

Aspen, Colorado
by: Shirsha Basu

Somewhere between Denver and Aspen, Colorado
by: Shirsha Basu

Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada
by: Shirsha Basu

Catalina Island (22 miles off the coast of Long Island), California
by: Shirsha Basu