Simple365

Viking ship in stormy waters watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

Near And Far

Posted on May 11, 2022
by Soma Acharya
Paintings, Photography, The Girl And Her Cat

Hi Everyone! As chance would have it, exactly one year ago, I shared my paintings from the very first little Blue Book called Lost Pages. It was also the beginning of The Girl and Her Cat stories. As I started working on the little Blue Books with a series of paintings, I was finishing up a series of black and white photos taken over the previous 365 days.

These photos played a big part in my life, and I have been sharing them here every now and then. Here is the next set of my Simple365 photos.

Simple 365 – Set 8

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

Memories from past travels

We went to Italy for our very first overseas trip. After spending a little over a week in Rome, we spent a couple of days in Florence. It was a such a wonderful way to wrap up the time there. We brought back these bottles of wine. Not only did I save the bottles for nostalgia, I also love the beautiful labels. It’s contains a few lines from a poem Rosa fresca aulentissima.

In The Present

Looking at these photos made me think of what I can work next –

- Sow seeds for plants that I can use for dye or ink making
- Work on a few more ink making experiments
- Hand bind journals
- Sew flower blocks for Garden Path quilt
- Finish kitty blankets

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here. This way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos like in an old album.

These photos are of the world around me, taken when I hardly left the house. Photographing these little things daily provided me with much-needed focus at the time and brightened my spirit quite a bit.

Distant Pages

In contrast, the third blue book is called Distant Pages.

Adventures tend to begin with a stormy sea

I have been obsessed about the north ever since I had conscious memory. I was given a few books about voyages and expeditions, and about the mythology and stories of those faraway lands. As I got older, the yearning for visiting those lands only got stronger.

So it didn’t surprise me that I ended up making a whole book full of paintings with the adventurous Girl And Her Cat travelling through those lands. In case you are wondering, The Girl And Her Cat is a series of paintings about an adventurous little girl who loves to travel and wander around with her little cat.

By the time I finished hand binding the little book, I could already picture the first painting. These paintings are reflections of my travels to those places, specially Svalbard.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures and read about their wanderings –

The Girl And Her Cat travel to a stone ship

After walking and playing around for a while, they settled down with packed lunches and made up stories about the stones.

Far Horizons

A painting for my dearest friend who made me listen to the same music album for hours on end while we worked together.

I do hope you enjoyed this set of b&w photos and the paintings from the Distant Pages book. Wishing you a lovely time whether you are in the comfort of your own home, or venturing into uncharted waters… or perhaps doing a little bit of both.

Until next time,
-Soma

May 25th, 2022

I am taking a break this week from Wandering Camera. See you next week. If you are in the US, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them.

Little Stories – Unwind

Posted on December 15, 2021
by Soma Acharya
Bookmaking, Kitties, Paintings, Photography, The Girl And Her Cat

This Little Stories collection is all about finding comfort in everyday things, celebrating them, and unwinding. Unwinding is a hard word for me. I tend to reprimand myself for sitting around and doing nothing, but it is so important for any work. So, when I struggle with focusing and need to unwind, I let my mind wander while letting my hand do some easy work.

This is another set of the daily photos of simple, everyday things I took between Feb. 2020 – Feb. 2021. They possibly represent my version of unwinding better than I could ever do with words.

Simple 365 – Set 7

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I also created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I will add more photos to that page as well, as I share them here.

Little Memories

I learned to play chess from my grandfather. He and I used to play every night after having dinner together. If I had too much homework, he would always wait for me so we could spend that time together. These are his fountain pens. I love to jot down little thoughts and notes with them. My love for printing and book making is a credit to him.

A Little Story

Mr. Nigel Forsythe Castleton is the proprietor of the Lost Pages Bookstore. Owing to the bookstore being in a very old stone building, it is very drafty and cold, even on the warmest of days. Mr. Castleton loves nothing more than to spend his days in the bookstore, but the poor thing is always very cold even though he is made of wool. Luckily, the bookstore has a wonderfully big fireplace, where he keeps a fire going at all times. He pours himself a glass of ginger wine and sits by the fireplace, perusing those lost pages.

This time he is visiting his friend who also has an antiquities book shop full of books of magic and alchemy. He loves the old city of York, so he has decided to spend some time there.

I have knitted and introduced Mr. Castleton before, but if you are new here and don’t know him, he is a very gentle fellow who loves all things books.

A Not So Little Celebration

Winter is a celebratory season at our home with tons of birthdays, starting with Charlie. He celebrated his 18th birthday very recently. Even though he is not allowed, he loves to sneak in sweets made of dairy. For his birthday, he got a special treat – a very sizeable portion of cheesecake.

He was looking up at my husband to sit with him while he enjoyed his birthday cake. They have a very special bond. Although Charlie is a perpetual kitten, I thought I paint this dignified version of him for my husband.

Little Journals

Growing up as an only child, I have always lived most of my days in the worlds of stories and books.

Hand-binding books for those stories while listening to an audio-book is one of my favourite ways to unwind while staying mildly focused. This moss green journal was the very first 3″ x 4″ journal I made for myself with a special drawing theme in mind. I look forward to starting on that soon.

(handbound by me pocket journals are available in my shop)

Girl And Her Cat – Wandering Pages

I painted the Girl and Her Cat stories in little 2″ x 3″ books. This is the last set of paintings from the the Girl And Her Cat – Wandering Pages book.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures and read about their wanderings –

You can see the full Wandering Pages book here.

The Girl and Her Cat decided to become lost in the mist for a while, visiting the land of the snowy owls. It is also time for me to go on my winter hiatus. I wish you the most magical holidays with lots of rest.

Thank you so much for being here with me and for your most lovely and encouraging words. I will be back around March.

See you then,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them.

P.S. The Ink Torrents Graphics shop remains open. I will continue to mail orders, as always. You can also purchase quilting patterns, which you can access immediately via Instant Download. I will also be available via email. Thank you for continuing to shop from my store.