Stinky Mapiguari

I found some thing that sparked my curiosity this morning from the site I subscribe to, Brain Pickings, about Monsters and Legends, a book by two very talented artists and illustrators, Davide Cali and  Gabriela Giandelli. This book is sure to stimulate the imagination young and the older person alike.

Most of us may not believe in monsters, but they certainly are often alive and well in our subconscious. I think we all have our own inner monsters, that we wrestle with in life. I've had many that's for sure, that were more like demons. However, I have sort of become old  friends with them now, in the way that I accept they exist and we co-exist together now. They have been a big part of my personality, once dictated my behaviour, and often preoccupied my thought, taking up space in my head. Thank God today they no longer control me, but I do understand and know how they could easily be unleashed again. So now I have learned how to temper them and keep them confined with the tools I have been so freely given in recovery. Some times what we most fear and think of as being a monster, actually turns out to be a friend and what we learn the most from. They can be blessings really, in disguise

I believe we can learn a lot from monsters and legends.

This is one of my paintings I did of a Baubo Belly Goddess. She looks kind of like a monster, but she is not, however I wouldn't really want to run into her, say in a dark alley. She definitely scare the begeezus out of me but once I realized who she was we'd do coffee I'm sure and have a grand chat..

Baubo Belly Goddess

 

Manjari Sharma

A few years back I had the privilege and opportunity to travel to New York City and saw lots of art. Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was definitely one of the major highlights of the trip as was visiting the Museum of Modern Art.

 My interest in world religions was somewhat satisfied visiting the Met. At MoMA my passion for photography and being able to see such great photographers like Walker Evans, Diane Arbus and Alfred Stieglitz collection left me breathless.
 In the Met I went to a part of the museum, where I saw statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses , which was an amazing experience. It was like entering a sacred temple. One of the statues that fascinated me was Lord Ganesha. Below is what I saw. I took a photo and made sure to leave Lord Ganesha some cash because I was a poor student of art about to graduate and definitely seeking education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth!

God of Education, Knowledge, Wisdom and Wealth

I've been thinking a lot about Goddesses and God's lately. Mostly because I have been involved in doing Tarot readings and studying the cards which more often than not have symbolic meanings based on Goddesses and Gods.

Today I learned about a wonderful photographer http://manjarisharma.com/darshan
She embodied Hindu Gods and Goddesses through her photographs, by using real models, and going to painstaking heights and great lengths in making handmade costumes. All of the props and materials used to create these final photographs resulted in such realistic detail and inspiring beauty.

 

Lord Shiva

 

Lord Shiva - Father of Ganesha