Sunday, February 27, 2011

Artist profile - Abhilasha Jain

Many of us have a lot of talent and dream of starting our own venture, but few of us have the entrepreneurial spirit to translate that into a reality. Meet Abhilasha Jain - artist, dreamer, art lover, painter, photographer, jewelry designer and merchandiser who defied the odds and did exactly that. Now meet Abhilasha's creative baby - MISH MASH DESIGN.

The dictionary defines mish mash as "a confused mixture of things"....but Abhi's work is anything but that! Boo to you Webster! Mish Mash designs is a collection of the most vibrant, colorful gorgeous Indian inspired hand painted items you will find. At MM, Abhilasha paints all of her products. When I asked her about the design ideas and inspiration behind them, she said they come to her at any time - while she is walking on the beach, while she is day dreaming. Abhilasha has been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember and has always been part of some creative process or another all her life. Her work does not belong to any "school of art" persay but every piece is unique, handmade and made by her single hand. When I see her work, I am reminded of this quote I read  along time ago..."There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect".  What her heart conjures up via pure imagination and creative genius, is translated directly to her work.

As of now Mish Mash Designs is focussed on cushion covers, pillows and tote bags and the fabric used is silk cotton and organic cotton. The entire range is grouped under 3 collections:

The Royal collection which is based and inspired by ethnic India, Jodha Akbar, Mumtaz, Shah Jahan and the royal Rajput princes and princesses and evocative of an era in our history when India was the richest country on earth, handsome mustached Maharajas ruled gently and fairly, while the Maharanis strolled the palace grounds with perfumed roses in their hair, gossamer veils on their faces and tinkling anklets on their feet!





The Tribal collection features paintings of bold faced men and doe eyed women amidst the eternal theme of love and romance, brave rugged tribal men wooing and courting shy coquettish women with flowers and songs, Krishna serenading Radha with his bansuri/flute.




The Dreamer collection aptly features the dreamer in all of us....moments of quiet solitude, a girl deep in her thoughts smelling a flower before the fragrance disapperas, ethereal butterflies and dragonflies hovering by.
 In addition to these 3 collections, Abhilasha has also made some miscellaneous designs which fall under the Mish Mash Potpourri collection!



Gorgeous stuff! To browse more and lay your hands on her work go visit Abhilasha's site here!

4 comments:

Neha@ Allthingsbeautiful said...

So sooo beautiful...each and every piece!
Thanks for sharing these Kamini. Will surely visit Abhilasha's site.

Shilpa Kamath said...

Beautiful cushions and the artwork is amazing! She is extremely talented. Thanks for sharing.

Abhilasha Vivek :) said...

Thanks ladies for all praise and appreciation... and likes and for such a wonderful comments.. :-)

Love,
Abhilasha

Celeste Goulding said...

I love the Jodha Akbar pair of cushions and the prince with the beautiful face! Really lovely work! :)