Across the Universe

Khoya has arrived!!

2012-01-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

The first book of Khoya, the labour of my ove,

has arrived in App stores.

Khoya is an interactive narrative for children that uses new technology- like the iPad to bring alive a magical experience for children and It's been magical indeed.

In this last year I have seen in transform from sketches on the back of used printed paper

to a breathing, glowing interactive piece of Art.

it's been presented and Launched at the INK CONFERENCE where I also was the featured artist of the year and designed the stage,

On one afternoon my fates let it be presented to Steve Wozniak!

co-founder of apple, who interacted with the app and said that Artists were as important to Apple as the technology. Coming from Woz the Wizard, it was a definite spark of magic in my life.

and it was presented at the WIRED conference this year in the UK.

all before I graduated from University too :)

2011 has been a year of constellation making and starry skies.

And the Universe works in mysterious ways, I am grateful for it always.

there's a Kabir poem that goes :

'The Redness of my Beloved is such

that I went out in search of Red

and became Red myself.'

I feel like I've gone seeking magic through my work, and have found it in my own life.

Thank you.

More posts from Khoya coming up this week with all the artwork,

but in the meantime: Download now!!!

And if you use facebook timeline: Do use one of these images as your cover photo!

Love Always

and Happy New Year :)

Shilo

Timetravel

2011-12-25T01:46:00.000-08:00

Whilst in Jaipur this December, me and a cat called Ganjesh Meow found an

old old man by the side of the road who had a camera from the 1860's.

His great grandfather had brought this camera down from Germany in the

1860s and he proudly showed off an old Carl Zeiss lens.

what was most incredible though was that this camera transported you back to the 1800's too.

I became my own ancestor.

and it was Magic.

I saw myself as a ghost, with Jugular Bean

as starcrossed lovers like pressed rose petals.

As sisters between yellowed pages.

with family portraits that will hang on my walls for generations to come.

I'm going to start finding ways to work on a project with this man and him 200 year old camera,

but in the meantime - if you're ever in Jaipur

go down to Hawamahal and ask for the man with the ancient camera.

he sits on the side of the road clicking pictures of happy tourists and taking us back into a softer world.

The Hero's Journey

2011-12-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

So this year, I was chosen as the featured artist of the year at the INK Conference

yay! :) its been so exciting keeping a secret like this for the last 5 months!

but here it is! twelve illustrations that I'd created for the conference about

the Hero's journey by Joseph Campbell!

Campbell spoke about how every man and woman follows the same ancient archetypal journey,

be it in myth, or in real life.

here is a glimpse of that magical journey!

available as prints as well

First is a call to adventure, setting off on a paper boat into a world full of

unknown possibilities along a path less travelled

Then one meets a mentor, a friend, a co-traveller and companion that influences the

way we imagine and see things.

Connections are Made

and Choices too

'She jumps in, to choose safe waters is the route of imposters,

those who love take on the mighty river'

Fears are faced

We set off into magic flights into other worlds of silver moon and shimmer.

Challenges are over come

We have a moment of Revelation

Until we come home, where the heart is.

Looking forward we find ourselves facing a vast ocean, on one hand rockets in the sky and technological marvel, but on the other rising tides and changing climates

It was a set of 12 illustrations, 12 animations, a huge stage designed and an entire book of doodles! :)

More from my journey to Jaipur coming soon!

Love

Shilo

Threefold good

2011-10-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

Helloooo!

First off!

Here's another little sneak peak from Khoya book2.

One of the Apsaras in the Valley of Flowers.

her name is Padma. Queen of the Lotuses.

prints of this image are available if you mail me at shilo1221@gmail.com

Khoya, as you know is the big big project for the iPad I've been working on for months and is my heartchild of sorts. Let me say this- Technology has never been this magical to me. :)

It's truly been a pleasure working with friends and creating a wonderful team.

Writing it, is Jugular Bean who I mentioned in the green jacket a few posts down. :)

and holding up curtains in my room in the next photo.

It's by far some of the best work I've done to date. And I can't tell you how excited I am.

Launching December 2011!

So any of you with ipads? Leave a comment! and I'll let you know when it's been launched

Second in the Rounds of Exciting News, is that I've been asked to design the INK Conference this year! All of the conference is going to be sparkled and adorned with me doodles. ;)

I can't give away too much except this one very mysterious photograph that's a sneak peek at what's to come. *bounces *

and the Third super exciting news is that I've asked to be a speaker at the WIRED conference in London in 5 days!!! Wired is like THE biggest technology magazine in the world and so as you can Imagine, I'm completely...errr... wired!

and...

I have a visa this time! yay! (though this does mean no free wallpapers though. hee)

*bounces bounces*

two very very sweet friends Hari and Dhruv decided to do some

Guerilla Marketing for me all the way in California :)

so for all your bookmarks sake - www.shiloshivsuleman.com leads back straight here!

Bonifisheii was started when I was 15 and when random words were very amusing. they still are superbly amusing but very hard for people to remember :D

so www.shiloshivsuleman.com is your alternative when you want to link in!!

also, I've decided to embrace social media lately (apart from blogging)

so please do

join the Khoya page on Facebook! :)

and/or the Shilo Shiv Suleman page!

I've also embraced twitter (I know...it's crazy)

share the love :)

Before I could finish blogging about the TED conference,

I'm off for wired and the streets of london once again. :)

three fold goodness.

the world is bigger than I thought

(and I love it)

The Stuff of Life

2011-08-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Universe. I am yours

(andyouareme)

This is a long ado update to the story that started on my blog and that everyone reading is a part of. :)

So when I last wrote a post, I was on a desperate hunt for good vibes.
and needless to say, many tests and trials later, all the collective energy of people reading this blog worked. yay!

I wrote that last entry when I was still waiting for my visa. I didn't end up getting it, missed the flight I was supposed to take, and decided to go to chennai to explore the only leedle strand of hope there was: To land up at the embassy and jump onto a flight from chennai the same day.

So off I went, with a bag full of sweaters for the english cold, but to chennai at the hottest time of the year with practically nowhere to go! I was taken in by a very sweet friend of a friend who I'd never met also full of good vibes, and landed up at the embassy at 8am in the morning expecting my life to turn into a bollywood movie. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. I didn't get past the gate where I was laughed at by the guards and employees. Apparently you can't just turn up at the british embassy and demand visas. :D

Back on the home front, a cat was doing her best to pull some strings that also didn't seem to be working out. All looked bleak. And so I sat outside the embassy, with not much to do or go, vaguely hopeful and mostly dismal and called a number that I knew no one picked up for the visa section in the embassy.
5 hours of phonecalls later, with no real progress at all, I let go and decided to just go back home.
I realized I was still happy to be going home to all my comfort and love. I surrendered and had done what I could.
It was around the same time that the number (on auto redial) had gotten through and they said my visa was ready and on it's way to bangalore.

the next hour was a blur. me yelling that I was in chennai and not to send it to bangalore, them saying they'd try and keep in chennai except their office (far away from where I was at that point) was closing in five minutes,jumping into autos, stopping traffic, running to the vfs office, finding it closed with two comical guards outside saying I couldn't go in and telling me to leave. A burst of tears (works every time) and suddenly I found myself getting the guards to open the office for me and being ushered to an airconditioned special office where I was told to wait. (all this not even knowing whether it had been accepted or not) and offered tea, and a man in a suit handing me and envelope. deepbreathe.openfold.stamped.

and three hours later, I was on my way to the airport with my bag full of warm clothes, shaking with excitement, and very very sleep deprived.

hello universe.
i am yours.
this book is to the journey
(and letting it take you where it will)

listening to mindspaces at TED global in Edinburgh

thanks to Levi's and all the love.

what do you think (so far)?
I think the world is bigger than I thought (and I love it)
hellofate.
I trust the tests make me stronger.

heartfelt thanks to all these and more. :)

The Stuff of Life.

this is where it all began

and this is where it brought me.

the persistence of vision

(not giving up too soon)

fitted with a good pair of levis jeans.

and I found myself in a dream.

with robotic birds and all. :)

(watch this talk )

here are some quick sketches while the talks went on.

yemen from my eyes "you are the bridge"

The God Complex - trial and error. let yourself fail.

Robin Ince (a definite favourite that isn't up yet) left with me goosebumps and a hundred scribbled quotes. I breathe atoms. keep the wonder. I'm glad the universe is pointless.

A talk on Lying

JR's awesome Inside Out Project

and more and more and more.

a second round of updates coming soon. (I promise)

I leave you with a photograph taken in edinburgh accidentally. point and shoot.

but quite descriptive of how I felt.

Love and Gratitude.

Shilo Shiv Suleman

Khoya-an interactive book for children

2011-08-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Khoya- the trailer from Shilo Shiv Suleman on Vimeo.

check out www.khoya.in!

So this is what I've been secretly working on for a long long time.
and having presented it as an Augmented Reality book for Kids and now an ipad app for kids-
I'm proud to say It's also my diploma project at Srishti- and is going to be OUT there in the real world December 2011.
Share it send it click it save it fund it develop it and rotate it.

Original Concept,Art, Animation and Design by Shilo Shiv Suleman
Written by Avijit Michael
Soundtrack by Nikhil Narendra

under the guidance and mentorship of Anders Sandell at Tank and Bear

to get in touch about funding,development or any other questions- mail shilo1221@gmail.com

the background:
I’ve always been a bit of a technophobe, fearing that if I got sucked into a computer screen I would lose my relationship with the natural world. In 2009, in dialogue with Mukhtiar Ali the Sufi Singer, we discussed how nothing had changed since the Mahabharat, lofty chariots in the sky are not unlike our aeroplanes. We came to the conclusion however that Magic had been replaced by Machinery.
I found this quite disturbing.
If anything, Machinery (and technology) should enable and actualize magic, not kill it. So I started working on Khoya, a series of interactive narratives for children in the Toy Lab.
In it’s first avatar: Khoya became an Augmented Reality book for Children. It was amongst the first of it’s kind in the country and explored the boundaries of technology and tangibility.
In it’s second incarnation, I started to work on the second book of Khoya on the tablet platform.

Good vibes!!

2011-06-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello universe,
for those of you who have read the previous post - You know of the twisted turns of fate that have brought me the opportunity to go to scotland!
Except *dun dun dun* I have very little time to get my visa. 10 working days to be exact! I have my appointment tomorrow morning.
I need a few more miracles and being a firm believer in positive thinking and the power of good love-
I ask you to send me some GOOD visa vibes!
So all of you reading this post- do keep the good visa vibes going!
muchos gracias
dhanyavaad
Thanking you
Shilo Shiv Suleman

ps- Here's a free wallpaper in exchange for those good visa vibes! it's from my new book for the ipad- The second book of Khoya!! tun tun tun... This is very much work in progress though! So stay tuned to find out more about Khoya and my visa-worries.
Lovelovelove

Let the Beauty of What you Love be What you do

2011-06-20T04:03:00.000-07:00

Yay!! :) I have awesome news.

and by awesome I mean happy joyful stargazing news.

The fates are speaking :)

So a while ago I heard about Levi's Shape what's to Come Community

A community of young women being formed around the globe as people most likely

to pioneer their way into the future.

I told myself I'd apply. But went out of town, got distracted by a hundred other shiny objects.

and missed the application date.

A few weeks later- a beautiful stranger called me as I walked around the streets in Bombay

and told me I had 15 minutes to apply on the phone!

two days later I found out I was one of the 17 women chosen from across India to create the community! and I was amongst some fantastic women, some singers, some fashion designers, photographers, activists and more!

The first assignment of sorts was to create a visual diary of one's journey into our respective fields.

This made me feel like it was even more fated. I've been keeping visual diaries all my life!! :)

the whole journal can be viewed HERE

Open publication - Free publishing - More levis

some pages from the visual journal. :)

my mother and me

but but but!! the story doesnt end there. :) So in much of a hurry I sent off the journal too them with prayers and love. And as the fates had it, I sent it by the wrong courier service.

that (and get this) went on strike the day after I sent it!

And with tight deadlines and all- this caused many phonecalls between Bangalore and Bombay.

Half an hour before all the journals were being taken to the US (except mine because mine was lost)

it was found with the apartment's watchman (who ironically had the same name of someone very significant in my life) where it had been forgotten!! There we go again with divine intervention and the fates.! :)

And then and then and then (yes the story still isnt done with)

a few weeks later I got a call from Levi's saying I was 1 of the 4 women

chosen to be a creative ambassador of India

at TED GLOBAL in edinburgh.

Say what? Could this be troooooh? Yes it is infact!! :) YAYY

*bounces around the house*

this is the mothership of TED conferences and I am sooooofer excited :))

and so soon tooo.

*bounce bounce bounce *

Thank you blog for all the love.

It's strange thanking a blog...But boy do I owe this blog LOTS.

I started this blog in June 2006. When a young keyboard playing man I was charming at the time suggested I do so. I started by thinking I'd be a writer, realized I couldn't really write and started putting up my photographs. and then art too. This blog has within it 5 years of growth, of love, of visions, of tears, of joy and of gratitude. From when I was 17 to now. :)

(incidentally the man I was charming is the one drawn above.5 years later and we are still charmed)

and thank you blog readers for love too.

and thank you world for all the love. :D

omgorz. so much love. hee.

*BOUNCES *

THANK YOU.

Scribbled Paper

2011-06-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

Did I mention I've been making notebooks of my illustrations?

Well, I have! and some handbound leather,wood and paper ones are going to be in Sale in Bangalore on the 26th at the Kitsch Mandi at pebbles!
and Postcards too! and posters :) Will post the detailed list of things to be on sale soon.

In the meantime however I started to scribble in one of my own notebooks. :)

This book is to

Beauty, trust,abundance,love,light, bliss, surrender and always Peace.

Tonight my moon is blue.

Making a habit of happiness

Saraswati

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do

Forest Love

2011-06-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

Where I end and you begin, the sky is falling in.

Many moons have passed since i've posted some photographs.

This time, an old digital camera, some fading light. and the world.

see constellations.

tree beard

the temple tree

feet on rainglass

the person you love is 78.9% water

circular breathing

a photo taken whilst drawing and mapmaking

Kingdoms of Moss, forests of fern

treehorizons.

when you speak the air around you sings.

green like forests. green like the deep of the sea.

You, prince of forests and pinecones, in the tongue of crows you sing to me. ferns wind themselves around your skin. Your feet are the trunks of banyans, the strength of rocks. your heart beats, you breathe.deep.

Revenge of the Octopus!

2011-04-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

In an evil plot the Octopus™ is stealing the ability to play from children around the world. He has locked them inside huge apartment complexes, making them study all day long and forcing them to play the cello.

In the Eight Kingdoms™ a rebellion has slowly been brewing, a set of young designers have joined together to create a whole new set of toys, that will liberate children from the Octopus and allow them toy play again. Now to squash the rebellion the Octopus have invaded the eight kingdoms. To free our brave designers and allow children to play again you will need to visit Chitrakala Parishad, on April 27 and 28th. Hope to see you there!

The prototype of the second book of Khoya - an interactive series of fantasy novels is being previewed at the Toy Lab exhibit!!
Do come :)
Much Love
Shilo

Ras Leela

2011-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

So today I did this Radha-Krishna illustration for the inside of a cd cover I'm working on for

Jai Uttal's New Album called "Queen of Hearts" full of very beautiful - Full Love-Bhakti music.

It also became a gift for Neville Moncher who runs Karuna Farms

which has become a second home of sorts. :)

What was interesting however is that It's the first time I drew a radha-krishna in three years

and so I dug out the last one I did-

and was amazed at how much my work has changed and evolved in the last three years!!!

A BIG burst of gratitude to all those who've witnessed this evolution in the last couple of years! :)

and here's some beautiful Surdas that lay beneath the illustration three years ago.

And will now too :)

Love.

"Seeing Radha stand alone, Krishna came from behind and blindfolded her with his hands. But his hands could not fully cover her large and elongated eyes. They shone out from within his fingers as a serpent's gem which it had disgorged and hid between its fangs;" or as Rahu finding the sun and Mars together, had pounced and held them fast. Krishna does not have any self-interest, for there is nothing for him to desire or achieve. But he removes the grief of separation of those whom he loves. His eyes came close to Radha's, and his lips were on hers. It was as though the lotuses forgetting their opposition to the moon had opened their petals to be kissed by the moon rays. Says Suradasa, Krishna's loving embrace removed from Radha. the sorrow of her parting. "

Shakti

2011-03-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

A set of six postcards created for a cat/friend of mine (codename-ganjesh meow)
who shares her birthday with women's day. :)

'Let the beauty of what you Love be what you do'

Available as canvas prints, postcards- notebooks-boxes or anything else you can think of :)

HELLO BLOG WORLD! :)

I'm terrible. I don't update for days.

I eat too much sugar.

and I don't comb my hair often enough,

Most importantly though- I don't update for days.

and there's so much to put up and share!

and so share I will!

To begin with,

Very soon I'm going to start an inspiration page, where I'm going to try and put up as much beautiful inspirational work of other illustrators/artists and whoever else I find eenteresting online :)

Love

Shilo

Space

2011-02-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

My workspace at home :)

A little chaotic, but very comfortable.

complete with barbers chair, altars, an old remington typewriter, a hidden printer,

a portable scanner, all the books that are related to art/inspiration,

a painted cupboard full of paint and pens and paper, some lotuses, some postcards

on the wall and a table lamp to complete it.

It works as a where's wally spread also.heh.

Stargazing

2011-01-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Today's been a good day. :)

Love

Snakecharmer

2011-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

As the gods began one world, and man another,

So the snakecharmer begins a snaky sphere

With moon-eye, mouth-pipe. He pipes. Pipes green. Pipes water.

Pipes water green until green waters waver

With reedy lengths and necks and undulatings.

And as his notes twine green, the green river

Shapes its images around his songs.

He pipes a place to stand on, but no rocks,

No floor: a wave of flickering grass tongues

Supports his foot. He pipes a world of snakes,

Of sways and coilings, from the snake-rooted bottom

Of his mind. And now nothing but snakes

Is visible. The snake-scales have become

Leaf, become eyelid; snake-bodies, bough, breast

Of tree and human. And he within this snakedom

-Sylvia Plath

Print on silk,canvas,paper or anything else you like available
mail me :)

Mind Forest

2011-01-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

This came together today while listening to fever ray.
and now ee cummings speaks to me erasing all doubts in the mind forest.

"solemnly my-selves

ask "life, the question how do i drink dream smile

and how do i prefer this face to another and

why do i weep eat sleep-what does the whole intend"

they wonder. oh and they cry "to be, being, that i am alive

this absurd fraction in its lowest terms

with everything cancelled

but shadows

-what does it all come down to? love? Love

if you like and i like,for the reason that i

hate people and lean out of this window is love,love

and the reason that i laugh and breathe is oh love and the reason

that i do not fall into this street is love."

-ee cummings

the original sketch

print available.

mail me :)

When I grow up

2011-01-27T03:20:00.000-08:00

Some drawinks from when I was 4. :)

the one below is me when I grow up :D

this is my mother

my dad

and a little story I wrote called 'Love is Emportent'

the story itself is terribly random. :D about a boy called Solomon Grandy.

as you can see, my work hasn't changed all that much :D

heehee

love.

Fireflies

2011-01-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

Designed the fireflies poster this year!

"The stage, as always, is set under a banyan tree in an open air amphitheatre, adjacent to a lake and away from the sodium trail of the city. Here, through music we celebrate the relationship of oneness between man and earth. This forms the bedrock of the festival ethos.

The festival, from dusk to dawn, is a cultural experience where on offer is sounds of various genres. Taking care to juxtapose the indigenous with the international, the established with the unheard of, and the jazz man with the tribal folk. "

and here's the ticket!

Winter is here :)

2011-01-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Winter is here. :)

cold noses and

warm hugs

Apple new years

2011-01-05T01:51:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful decade begins

and with it, so much love to give. : )

Here's a wallpaper giveaways. Click on the image and download the big size of it.

I've been wanting to do a postcard swap for a while now :)

So if there's anybody out there- artists,illustrators, poets, photographers.

Send me a postcard with your work on it and I'll send you one with mine in return.

Email me at shilo1221@gmail.com

if interested.

Love.

Scribble

2010-12-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

'When we kiss'

the holiday season has begun :)

And with it comes some free time!

Which brought some experimentation-situations with some new/old styles.

'Sweet Nothings'

the INK link :)

2010-12-27T02:54:00.000-08:00

caricature of me by Raghava KK

so about a week ago,

I had just about woken up one morning when Raghava KK (an amazing artist and total inspiration) came over with Lakshmi (the organizer and anchor of TED india and now the INK conference) and took a look at some of my work.

Sleepily I showed them some of the things that I'd be working on and they asked me to be an INK/ted Fellow!

So in 72 sleepless hours, I put together a talk and found myself in Lavasa!

It was quite an honour to be the 21st fellow at 21!!
It was a year long process that included a short-list of 400 people and being found and chosen so close to the show was unbelievable!

My macbook crashed on me the day I got back, and with it I lost my final script. But this is what I can remember of it. the video should be up soon. :)

my mother Nilofer Suleman, who is now a fine artist, started her journey as a cartographer…and perhaps my journey began there too.As a child I'd spend hours pouring over those maps, watching her create rivers and mountains with her fingers. and each name delicately ink-spelt would become a gilded gateway to an entire glowing world of pirates and shipwrecks and kingdoms that lurked (and still lurk) in my imagination.

I've been doing lots of reading about Children using fantasy as a form of escapism.

Burdened by the brutality and unending trials of the real world, a child constructs a world of

images as a security blanket.But yknow? I'm not so sure about that.

I don't think as children we see the difference between what is real and what is imagined because everyday is a discovery of a fantastic world. As far as I remember- It wasn't all that bad being a child. Infact - I didn't know what I believed and what I didn't. My ideologies and theories weren't set in stone. there was an experience

with no judgement attached to it. One dreams. without saying 'I am a dreamer'.

It was egoless. I believed the moon followed me home every night.

And when I was told what actually happened- I was equally fascinated! Imagine! hundreds and billions and trillions of stars and moons and planets going round and round each other endlessly! ceaselessly!

Or when one is told 'plants don't move but animals do' one doesn't know what to believe because one has seen all of motion and all of action and reaction in the closing and opening of a very shy touch-me-not plant.

When I started painting at 12, I would spill ink bottle after ink bottle on paper and watched as it snaked and morphed into images without my mind directing it. sometimes scribbling out illegible words in notebooks, other times becoming teeth and eyes that would stare out at me..

Here's some of my older work

Now, naive as I may be- I don't think this kid has within her- that

So when I was a leeedle girl. and people would ask me how I thought of these images, I'd say "it came to me"

But here we find ourselves talking about an invisible entity- What came to me?

I'm not prepared to answer what or WHO it is that comes to us when we're looking for inspiration…some call it god, some call it the universe, some call it love, Jung called it the unconscious, Rushdie calls it the Ocean of Notions, The Sea of Stories. and I don't think i can put this giant source of ideas

into the little box of a word or sentence.

Another beautiful thing was that when I was a child, me and my friends would spend hours and hours creating invisible worlds that somehow we both could see!
It's amazing isn't it? Creating worlds that two people could imagine together
and share.
I didn't wan't to stop sharing those worlds, and so I found myself drawn towards illustrating books for children.
.

What fascinated me about the images in childrens book is that each painting would become a paper boat setting off into forests where crows speak, into towers where lovers are united,

and into the wheezing yellow ambassador of a man with a curly mustache.

and like a child, when illustrating, I find myself lost in these watercolour wonderlands,

Being swallowed up and spit out a couple of hours later.

I was in a village in North Rajasthan a year or two ago and Mukhtiar

Ali- A sufi singer in the Kabir tradition was speaking to me about how

nothing has changed since the time of the mahabharat.

Dritirashtra was blind and so Sanjaya became his eyes and told him of

the happenings on the battle field.

Which is, in one sense, what a television screen does.

Arjuna was thirsty and he shot an arrow into the ground and water came out.

which is no different from what we do now to extract drinking water

out of the earth.

Chariots in the sky are much like aeroplanes aren't they?

And so the conclusion was

Magic has been replaced by machinery.

This made me sad, I didn't understand why magic and wonder and joy had to be replaced by keyboards and mouses. If anything, technology should enable magic. Not kill it.
I saw this happening in me too, I was afraid that if I got sucked into an Iphone
I wouldn't notice the crow that had been following my train for three hours.

And thus began Khoya as a way of getting over this new found fear of touch-screens.

Khoya is the hindi word for lost

It's an interactive book for children about a dystopic world (like most worlds these days)

and uses a technology called Augmented Reality.

(see Older Posts for more about Khoya)

What Augmented Reality basically does is that it adds a digital layer on top of what we see in our screen
through the use of visual recognition and a webcam.

So hidden inside the book are black and white symbols along with a riddle, while reading the book, one picks up these markers, logs onto the khoya website and sees oneself (through the use of a webcam) on screen. When the marker is put in front of the screen, a digital animated layer is added on top of what we see.

So in some places, one sees oneself transform into a character in the book,

in other cases one has a creature from the book perched atop one's shoulder whispering secrets into one's ear.

(at this point i showed a live demonstration of how AR works.

But beyond Technology, beyond my work, what I'm here to remind myself and remind all of us about is Childhood. That wonder, that joy that I don't want to look back at with faded jaded nostalgia but want to bring back. Through art, through love and through living.

I end with a quote by EE cummings,

'love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds '

photograph by Nikhil Velpanur

I'd like to thank Lakshmi, Raghava KK, Nikhil Velpanur, Chell, Shanna

Avijit Michael, Gayatri Ganju, Diya Pinto, Dhruv, Mana D, All the Pinks,

alll of you who are reading this post, the ever conspiring universe, all the other fellows

And above all

my mother Nilofer Suleman.

It's been humbling,inspiring and blissful. :)

Much love Always

Shilo

Your eyes have their silence

2010-12-23T00:04:00.000-08:00

To the person in the bell jar,

blank and stopped as a dead baby,

the world itself is a bad dream.

Sylvia Plath

Illustration for Tehelka Magazine's fiction issue.

The return of Vector Spector

2010-10-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

So, as I mentioned before. This was a first attempt at vector illustration. :)

Some Images from the new book on Parvati in a new style. :)

Shiva Burning Kamadeva with his third eye

Kartikeya

Source

2010-10-05T02:20:00.000-07:00

Ge' means the source and is a retelling of the Mayan Creation myth- The popul vuh.

Part of a project done on comparitive creation mythology by Shilo Shiv Suleman and Nikita Jain for the Kalpaneya Yatre. It was done over a span of 7 days.

The track is 'Copal Offering' by Xavier Quijas Yxayotl

You can see more from the project here -http://storiesandstars.blogspot.com/p/process.html

Seeking the Beloved (is Seeing the Beloved)

2010-10-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

Beloved.

Be.Loved

Be Love

and Let Love be

Some samplings for the Kabir Project.

I'm working on their next cd+book on Mystic Traditions in Kutch.

Though the Kabir project has previously worked primarily around the poetry of Kabir,

A new venture into the work of another 16th century poet- Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

has just begun. :)

Bhitai's words are daggers. are occupying armies.

he leaves no room for sugar-coated-sweet-nothings.

what to do with these eyes?

falling in love

without asking me?

i am trapped

no retreat for me

these eyes

brimming with tears

clashing like monsoon clouds

such a heavy downpour

these eyes

crisscross paths

ever since they fell in love

now quarrelling

now making up

hold a steady inward gaze

swim contrary to the world’s ways

choose to go upstream

while others float downstream

I pray
for the dagger
to be blunt
let it linger
a little bit longer
in the beloved’s hand
---
if you want love
go to the tavern

cut the head
place it in the barrel
drink brave one
drown in the draught

this lethal drink is cheap
in exchange for the head

Bhitai often juxtaposes Love and Death.

And this is not the physical death he talks of..but the death of the Ego (cutting off your head)

as being the beginning of Limitless Love.

Some of me photographs from Kutch

these are the Waee singers who sing Bhitai.

They're the last three singers of this tradition left in India.

'Waee' means an intense "pukar" or Immense calling/cry to the source.

And then there are the women of that region.

Bhitai's poetry is based primarily around the 'Seven Queens'

Seven Love legends from the region of Sindh.

He uses these beautiful folk-tales as metaphors for Divine Love.

Each of these women become the protagonists of his poetry.

Tragic as these Love Legends may seem- The queens of these legends are trapped in fortresses, swallowed by rivers, turned to stone only to realize that their Beloved is not some distant thing projected far into space and time.

But their beloved resides within their own bodies.

Waves in his forehead. :)

Vector-spector

2010-09-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Parvati

So I've started experimenting with vector illustration. Weee. :)

It's my first vector book and brimming with influences.

But it's a start! :)

Coming soon in technicolour

2010-09-23T14:28:00.001-07:00

A spread from a book on Indian Poster art for children.

Timetravel

2010-07-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

Cover for Jetwings Vintage India Feature

Somehow this loosely defined 'vintage universe' seems like a softer world.

Rose petals, Old radio, Tv shows that were not just for the rich and spoilt but for everyone. Doordarshan's Ek Chidiya-anek Chidiya all tried to emphasize a secular India. An India united by it's diversity. This was a place of blue ambassadors with dusty seats, AIR radio, video cassettes and audio tapes that were precious and kept meticulously. Now between our ipods and itunes, I'm not sure how much more I can hoard.

Sigh. It's easy to get nostalgic one minute, and marvel at how easily accesible everything is in the next. :)

Some of the illustrations i did for a feature in a magazine on Vintage India.

Comical

2010-07-22T04:42:00.000-07:00

This be a monthly comic strip that I illustrate and Jugular Bean writes.

for MTV noise factory.

check them out :)

Let us compare mythologies

2010-05-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

Some of the pages from the graphic novel prologue of Khoya in one of the posts below.

“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”

-Rumi

Sky

2010-05-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

The stars, like candles
thrust at us from behind blue veils,
and as if to make the invisible plain,
a wondrous people have come forth.

~Rumi

Gokarna 2010

a weekend spent staring at skies.

Hriday Aakash indeed.

Atleast a Fish, a book for Scholastic

2010-05-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

The new book I'm working on for Scholastic :)

A wonderful tale of two little kids, three philosopher fishus,

adorable puppies, tragedy queen dog lovers and abandoned swimming pools.

Enough said :)

This be the first book I've done in black and white. Which is quite a change from

me usual technicolour rainbows.

These were some of the original iterations for the characters until we decided on a lighter younger look :)

Some work in progress:

Out at stores as soon as I'm done illustrating it and nursing a foot. :)

Khoya Khoya Chand- An Augmented Reality Book

2010-04-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Khoya is an interactive fantasy novel for children Illustrated, Animated, Conceptualized

and partly written by me.

What makes it interactive is that is uses a technology called Augmented Reality to bridge the gap between the tangible (a book) and the technological.

It also bridges my two loves (amongst many)- animation and print.

How it does this is that the book has a variety of 'markers' or symbols with limericks on how to use them, the reader, while reading a page, picks up these markers and brings it to their webcam, and using visual recognition the marker triggers off an animation in real time. So in a sense one 'brings the book to life'.

Using this technology one can become different characters in the book, unlock riddles or simply watch as the illustrations in the book start to move. :)

A User-interaction Video coming soon. But here are some spreads from chapter 1 for now.

It's designed for children above the age of 12.

Credit Roll:

Original concept, Illustration, Animation and Design by Shilo Shiv Suleman

Augmented Reality, programming and further conceptualization

Dhruv Nawani

Written by Shilo Shiv Suleman and Avijit Michael with inputs from Hari Adivarekar.

Contributers and Conceptualizers

Nilofer Suleman, Arshia Sattar, Molly and Maya, Anders Sandell, Ampat Varghese, Gayatri Ganju, Kunal Sen, Vani Sreekanta, Mana Dhanraj and the Toys Lab

Lemons

2010-04-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Though watercolours are closest to my heart, everyonce in a while

it's nice to step out of me skin and try another medium.

Lots of experimentation coming your way.

This be my first vector illustration :)

Love :)

2010-04-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

These images are from a 5 year old little girls reinterpretation of pampa sutra : )
So what these kids have been doing as it turns out, is taking the stickers from me book and making books of their own!! yay!

These books were very coyly gifted to me a couple of weeks ago :)

More pampasutra prints :)

2010-04-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

For the Kishkinda Trust in Hampi :)

More pampaprints up for grabs.

The Night the Toys came alive

2010-04-11T00:56:00.000-07:00

Come one, Come all :)

The Night the Toys came alive. A preview of 'Khoya' amongst other

wonderful interactive toys for children

Khoya

2010-04-05T13:47:00.001-07:00

This is a prelude of sorts to the book in a graphic novel form :)

Spring Comes

2010-03-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself”

Illustration of masanobu fukuoka done as a good luck charm for someone :)

Also first time with fulll-digital illustration.

Khoya

2010-03-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Another spread from Khoya :)

please do ignore the text. its just been pasted on for now.

Needs editing and layouting and more :)

Love

Shilo

a page from Khoya

2010-03-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

From Delight we came into existence.

In Delight we grow.

At the end of our journey’s close,

Into Delight we retire.

- Ashtavakra Gita 1: 18-20

Before, when the world was a spirit of itself, at first man lived in Harmony with other spirit (because he was intouch with his own).He was connected to everything by the network of light. Everyday on earth was a celebration of this love. And man's voice (strong and sweet then) was part of this great cosmic orchestra.

They would sing in crystal voices about this love. they would spin round and round with the stars. Whirling in ecstacy.Until one day man was distracted while singing. He was looking up at the skies and his heart was connected to this great network when suddenly his eye caught something glimmering in the distance.

It was a firefly.

'Light that is worn by something apart from the stars' he thought,the idea of having light was interesting to him and he thought about it for days on end.

He wanted it. And from then on, when he sang with the orchestra, it wasn't a celebration of love. It was a song of longing. Having always lived by his need- this 'want' was new and exciting to him.

7 days and 7 nights later he saw Fire again. One day when all the world creatures were asleep, he snuck up behind the firefly and trapped it in a small glass box.

He labelled this box and it gave him great pleasure that he could see it whenever he wished and it would never ever go away (it had no choice).

Soon he collected more creatures like this. He no longer sang in praise with the rest but instead arranged his collection meticulously in rows.

When the other spirits approached him to ask him why he didn't sing and why he was trapping these creatures and plants he said

'Don't you see? I discovered them and so they are mine'

The spirits didn't understand this logic at all.

But the truth is- that before any pandora's box was opened...it was first sealed up.

Long Live Fishes :D

2010-02-27T01:52:00.001-08:00

Grandfather fish's secrets to a long long long life :)

(secrets will be revealed shortly as well)

Oooooo :D

Book by Cover

2010-02-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Some illustrations for idiscoveri.

Going to be used as book covers :)

The Nasha

2010-02-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Nasha-

Concept Sketch from Khoya

the nemesis of sorts

The Rock Clan

known as 'Atut' (meaning unmovable/unbreakable in Hindi)

are the oldest creatures in Khoya.They’ve been here for millions of years.

Inherently still in nature, it is this very stillness that makes them excellent keepers of wisdom.

“Written in Stone”, they record the history of the universe. They are keen observers though their greatest sense is that of sensing movement and the sounds of the earth. They do not record by sight or meaning of the sound. By sensing the vibrations of the earth (because of their inherent stillness). this history is recorded not in the form of words but wave patterns...that change as they sense and record more. This process is wrongly called ‘weathering’ when infact it is just a manifestation of their internal recordings of 'what has been'.

Curious-reserved-silent and Still. Slow moving.

The following scientific experiment is inspiration to how patterns are made in the heads of the 'Atut'
sensing vibrations.
(the experiment is rather trippy as well)

2010-02-07T05:15:00.001-08:00

More from the vaults of Khoya

2010-01-18T05:12:00.000-08:00

Desanguination

2010-01-18T05:04:00.000-08:00

For the January issue of Tehelka Magazine.

to read the story go - here

and to see another story I illustrated for them go here

Invite to the launch of my Book!

2009-11-27T22:57:00.001-08:00

'Pampasutra'
by Arshia Sattar
and Shilo Shiv Suleman (me!)
All those in Bangalore.

Please do come :)
5th of December 2009 at 4:30 at Ambara in Basvangudi.
And if you can't make it then send me an email with an order and I'll keep a copy of the book for you.
or the stickers! or the tshirts! or the badges!
:)
Love.
Shilo

The Bangalore Wallflowers!

2009-11-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Wallflowers

pampasutra

2009-11-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

The person you love is 78.9% water

2009-10-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Character from a New book for Children I'm working on by Arshia Sattar

And the Kishkinda Trust.

Stories told by the River Tungabhadra.

Joy. :)

Watch this space

pampa and shiva fall in love

mother earth and Pampa

Hriday Maahi Aarasi

2009-09-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hriday Maahi Aarasi

The Heart is a Mirror

Inspired by Alex Grey's' Sacred Mirrors'

The Emotional Self

the physical self

The Realized Self

The Higher Self- Love :)

Down by the River to pray

2009-09-28T00:54:00.001-07:00

More from the Book I'm doing on hampi by Arshia Sattar. :)

pampasutra

Justly Married

2009-09-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

this month on jetwings :)

Nilofer Suleman's Exhibition

2009-09-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

Come one Come all. :)

2009-08-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

“Your task is not to seek for love,

but merely to seek and find

all the barriers within yourself

that you have built against it.”

-Rumi

A Book I'm creating based on the 'Four Fold Path'

The Visionary, The Healer, The Warrior and the Master.

more soon

Rangashankara's Aha-theatre for Children Festival

2009-08-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Some Illustrations Done for Rangashankara and Brittannia's

'Aha!' Theatre Festival

The two images above were used as big decorations in the venue

And the three below were billboards around the city

The Blurb where the logo is placed is mine. :)

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson, Bangalore, India
Creative Director: Anil Thomas
Art Director: Rathish P Subramaniam
Copywriter: Carl Savio
Illustrator: Shilo shiv suleman
Photographer: Kiran Nama

Fly Light

2009-07-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

this months Jetlite cover :)

and some assorted illustrations inside

The Tantricks

2009-07-03T22:37:00.001-07:00

Done for the electronicats

tempotantrick

Watercolour Wars

2009-06-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

'Artivism' was started during the Fearless Karnataka campaign. The thought behind artivism is to provide an Open space where artists,designers,writers,poets and hopefully one day musicians would link up with different organizations and provide visual identity, posters or any other artform.
It attempts to be a sort of bridge between Activists and Artists who have very different mediums and contexts but a similar vision- to promote creative energy/change rather than destructive energy.

So this is how it works- An NGO/Campaign approaches us- and if the members or some of the members feel for the cause- they design posters and whatever else required collectively. There is no ownership. Everything is open source.print it- Burn it-stick it-make it into a tshirt- put up the poster in your city-in your room. Anything. Once its online- It belongs to everyone. :)
One also has the right to anonymity. No one owns 'Artivism' or Runs it for that matter.
In the long run one also hopes that one could replace all those Che Guevara T-shirts and posters with images and icons that are contextual to the space we live in.

What you can do?
Become a contributor! post the fearless karnataka campaign there have been many many oppurtunities to provide artwork to different groups but not enough people to work on it. We need more hands.
email- watercolourwar@gmail.com if you're interested in contributing/becoming a part of the artivism mailing list. :)

the pinks

2009-06-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

To (almost) 5 years of us.

a circle of absolute love and unshakeable power. Shakti.

Winedrunk,moondriven,lovestruck,peace seeking, gypsying,

travelling inside outside-around-astound-growing-learning-freeing-overcoming-

connecting-entwining-barefoot-seeking-love-light and losenges *cough cough*

to discovering-deciphering-tying-sharing-caring-daring-wearing and bearing.

To nights on terraces, in studios, in cars, on beaches, on stars, in fields.

To reinventing, growing old together to discover that we haven't changed since we were 5. :)

To expanding, exploring, traveling, singing, crying, arguing, worrying, running away

and coming back home. To Home. To love. To shaping-shifting-becoming-whole.

to pink-to sink-to ink-to this link between.

To change and separation (in body not soul) that had to come sometime.

Love and Luck to these 5 some of whom will (soon) take on new lives and journeys across topographic oceans.

(top from left to right- me, pint and runes

bottom left to right-ganjesh-niyu and kiripotatoes)

More Tak tak!

2009-06-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

spreads from a verrrry spooky book for children by karadi tales

2009-06-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Earth is the great visible ancient of creativity

The universe is a great big cosmic heart that beats and beats and beats

2009-05-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Response to a Kriya yoga workshop I did this weekend.

Lost picking flowers in the woods

2009-05-27T00:44:00.000-07:00

Trees Colours and Wizards

with Lemons, Roses, Rasberries and Winnie and me.

lost in the 100 acre woods

(I like that you're 256 colours too)

Lucid dreaming, earthships, and love that exists in everything that shimmers.

Humming bees, Mothertrees, Long walks and hitch hiking in a confectionary truck :D

Big white clouds, Chai shops, (We're Sailing.)

Everything is Illuminated.

(streams and dreams we follow down)

Silence and Wild flower galaxies.

A council of trees with a million years of memory or mythology

moulded into their skin. They whisper primordial secrets that the wind carries.

A huge eucalyptus. The living tree that deserved absolute silence.

(Rumour has it that if you run through a forest wearing

honey you'll come out with a million butterfly wings on you)

Night wine, The city is just little dots of light from up here.

Upon a Sea of Blissful Awareness.

I've found another home. :)

(more illustrations from the trip coming up)

all photographs courtesy Hari and Ganjesh

Tak Tak!

2009-05-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

And another book I'm doing for Karadi tales called 'Tak! Tak!'

This one's a spooky story for kids *gasps *

2009-03-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

A new set of postcards

I made for a friends birthday :)

Stick em/steal em/print em.

Hriday Aakash

2009-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

Animation created for the 'Kabir Project'. :)

Hriday Aakash from Shilo Shiv Suleman on Vimeo.

Hriday Aakash was created out of the 'Kabir Project' In Srishti.
Its a fictional narrative created out of the poetry and ideas as kabir as well as true facts about moths. :)
When we see trees and mountains and rivers we connect with them because we have those very trees growing within us.
'Our body is the sky.
When the lotus in our hearts rain
The sky gets wet'
This story takes place in this Heartscape.
Wikipedia says:
Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights. One hypothe
sis advanced to explain this behaviour is that moths use a technique of 'Celestial Navigation'.
By maintaining a constant angular relationship to the moon they can fly in a straight line.
Like sailors at sea.
When they see artificial light- they get distracted and circle around it.
Me animation uses this as a metaphor and perhaps a mythology.
The moon is the divine/the truth.
And these artificial lights represents maya that distracts us off our path.
Along the way this moth encounters a Firefly (desire), a Streetlamp (maya/illusion) and
A candle flame (love)
While in search of light.

Done over a month. Wish I had more time with this one :)

Hriday Aakash

2009-02-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

'Hriday Aakash'

The Landscape of the Heart.

A short animated film for 'The Kabir Project'

at Srishti.

Kabir talks of a 'Sky in

one's heart'.

When we see trees and mountains and rivers we connect with them because we have those very trees growing within us.

'Our body is the sky.

When the lotus in our hearts rain

The sky gets wet'

This story takes place in this Heartscape.

I'm not going to give the whole story away but it's based on true stories of moths. :)

Wikipedia says:

Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights. One hypothe

sis advanced to explain this behaviour is that moths use a technique of 'Celestial Navigation'.

By maintaining a constant angular relationship to the moon they can fly in a straight line.

Like sailors at sea.

When they see artificial light- they get distracted and circle around it.

Me animation uses this as a metaphor and perhaps a mythology.

The moon is the divine/the truth.

And these artificial lights represents maya that distracts us off our path.

Along the way this moth encounters a Firefly (desire), a Streetlamp (maya/illusion) and

A candle flame (love)

While in search of light.

'The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it' says Kabir.

The moth following a Firefly (desire) through the forest

She leads him to Maya (an artificial light/a universe of illusion within a lampost)

More soon!

Come for the Kabir Festival

to see/watch/hear love spoken and sung.

2009-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

Some spreads from a Children's book I'm doing for Karadi Tales.

Do buy it once its out! :)

The Desert and Mirrorwork Skirts

2008-12-10T05:20:00.000-08:00

Book no 5. 2008.

"To Surrender"

Rajasthan

Back from teh desert :)
LOTS of stories to tell. the universe conspires. orange half moons. Sand and Silence. Stillness. Winds. Perfumed oils. 21st century mystics. Moondrunk encounters by the edge of a sacred lake. Lost at a local full moon festival. Shared Cigarettes with a beggar at the edge of the train door. A tiny little village on the indo-pak border where sufi musicians sing by night. bagpipes and strange contortions that create music only imagined in dreams. Embroidery Villages and Fab-India Conspiracies.
De-mystifying the mystic. Breaking down the exotic.
Got so used to looking at things as 'symbolic' that real life becomes a representation rather than realism.
So so many questions. and answers that are lost in translation.
I've been assaulted by sounds. Like occupying armies. Been surrounded. astounded. confounded.
I'm understanding what it means to really Listen.
To Love. and to Surrender.

these are just the drawings on the way there whilst on train. :)

things following the train:

and there's so much love to give.

I also held a rat in me hand in the rat temple. aaaaaaaarkh

The person you love is 72.8% water

2008-12-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

This space was silent for a while.

I've been meditating upon stillness.

'Close the language

door (the mouth)

Open the love window

(the eyes)

The moon (the reflected light of the divine)

won't use the door.

Only the window.'

a single brushstroke can erase the storm

(I'm back :))

pornographic skelingtons and all

Across the Universe

Khoya has arrived!!

Timetravel

The Hero's Journey

Threefold good

The Stuff of Life

Khoya-an interactive book for children

Good vibes!!

Let the Beauty of What you Love be What you do

Scribbled Paper

Forest Love

Revenge of the Octopus!

Ras Leela

Shakti

Space

Stargazing

Snakecharmer

Mind Forest

When I grow up

Fireflies

Winter is here :)

Apple new years

Scribble

the INK link :)

Your eyes have their silence

The return of Vector Spector

Source

Seeking the Beloved (is Seeing the Beloved)

Vector-spector

Coming soon in technicolour

Timetravel

Comical

Let us compare mythologies

Sky

The stars, like candlesthrust at us from behind blue veils,and as if to make the invisible plain,a wondrous people have come forth.~Rumi

Atleast a Fish, a book for Scholastic

Khoya Khoya Chand- An Augmented Reality Book

Lemons

Love :)

More pampasutra prints :)

The Night the Toys came alive

Khoya

Spring Comes

Khoya

a page from Khoya

Long Live Fishes :D

Book by Cover

The Nasha

More from the vaults of Khoya

Desanguination

Invite to the launch of my Book!

The Bangalore Wallflowers!

pampasutra

The person you love is 78.9% water

Hriday Maahi Aarasi

Down by the River to pray

Justly Married

Nilofer Suleman's Exhibition

Rangashankara's Aha-theatre for Children Festival

Fly Light

The Tantricks

Watercolour Wars

the pinks

More Tak tak!

The universe is a great big cosmic heart that beats and beats and beats

Lost picking flowers in the woods

Tak Tak!

Hriday Aakash

Hriday Aakash

The Desert and Mirrorwork Skirts

The person you love is 72.8% water

The stars, like candles
thrust at us from behind blue veils,
and as if to make the invisible plain,
a wondrous people have come forth.

~Rumi