Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Minnesotan Ganesh Chaturthi....


I was overtaken by a huge wave of 'festive nostalgia' as I posted a photograph of our last years eco-friendly Ganesha on Facebook this morning. Instead of basking in it too long I decided to celebrate my favorite God and festival the Minnesotan way!

Rummaging through drawers I found a small packet of sandalwood powder tablets that I seem to have brought from India along with few incense sticks.

Thus in the late afternoon today in my kitchen I decided to mould my dear Ganesha with fragrant sandalwood powder, turmeric and water and captured the process to share with all of you.


The paste took form gradually...

...and a pebble forms His throne.


Peppercorns and cloves...

Vibrant colours enhance the features...

I 'paint my prayers' on a pebble and offer it to the Lord.


In the absence of my favorite Frangipanis I offer Him flora from here, a few pine cones, acorns and grass from my front yard.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi from Minnesota! May Lord Ganesha remove all your obstacles and shower his blessings on all of you!

P.S. The readers who entered in the Artnlight Blog Anniversary Giveaway, do stay tuned as Vineeta Nair announces the winner on 19th September, 2012.

(Images by Arch)

38 comments:

healthyforbetter said...

Wow thats such a innovative and cute looking Ganesha. Happy Ganesha Chathurthi!

Amtrips said...

this is just mind boggling...! i am amazed with this creativity...! simply speechless..! May lord ganesha shower his blessings on you and your folks..
Amen.

Amtrips

Papillon said...

Archana I'm an avid follower of your blog and love the way you portray the simple things of life. Ganesh Chaturthi has a very special place in my heart and I was sooo happy to see the cute little Ganesha you created.. Hats off to you. I love life- interiors, cooking, blogging, travel and photography and try to pin down my experience about these in my blog.
Do visit me when you have some time at my blog .

Welcome to the US Archana and look forward to such simple powerful creations from you.

Have a blessed Ganesh Chathurthi

Cheers,
Swapna

Amtrips said...

My my... this is simply awesome.. You are so creative archana..! innovative, traditional.. this post made me speechless.. seeing your lovely post, I will be off to bed... May lord Ganesha shower all his blessings on you and your folks.

Amen
Amtrips

Priti said...

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi Archana, yet again another creative piece of work, may god shower blessings on you and your family.

My Dream Canvas said...

Beautiful Archana.

about me said...

Happy Ganeshana Habba Archana!!
Ganeshji looked adorable, absolutely loved this post and the pictures. Somehow wasn't too happy seeing the acorns and the pinecones next to him!!

Archana Srinivas Pottery said...

Jayashree Rao~ I completely believe that what ever offered with love is accepted by Him:-)
Frangipanis or Acorns!

Hema said...

Lovely Archana! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you :) Hema

International Decor said...

amazing ideas wow :)

Sangita Pillai said...

Very Creative, Archana. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you too!

Kamini said...

I love it. I bet Ganesha never thought he'd be sitting amidst acorns and pine cones....a change from frangipani and marigolds :-)
Pic # 3 is mind bloggingly beautiful!

Unknown said...

Love the yellow ganesha and the arrangements that you have made...lovely set of pictures!! Happy ganesha habba to you and your family :)

Anonymous said...

Archana,

Simply wonderful..

May Bappa bring you happiness galore...

Pachhai

Sudha said...

lack of things around makes us reinvent stuff...loved your manjal and chandanam pillyaar :)...god bless and have a great year ahead

Vids said...

lovely.....seasons greetings and best wishes..

Vineeta said...

LOVED this post!!! This is brilliant living and blogging and one cannot happen without the other.

I think this is my all time favourite post from Rangdecor.

I loved. each. and. every. frame. in this post. You are so good at this!!

Unknown said...

You cease to amaze me Archana! It's amazing how you find beauty around you and see it in a whole new perspective. My daily dose of inspiration you are :)

Woodooz said...

Very beautifully done. It is so amazing how you have created this idol in quick time using whatever you used.

Thanks for sharing this post and a happy Ganesha Chathurthy to you.

Cheers,

Priya Sebastian said...

What an absolutely stunning, unique and delightful Ganesha Archana. Love it!
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you and your family.

notyet100 said...

Happy festival,...Ganesha looks so cute

tinu said...

Beautiful... at first I thought it was idli n chutney.... lol...too cute...

Dita said...

That is the best set of Ganesh Chaturthi pictures I have seen so far...so innovative!...simply awesome!

(and my friends thought I was innovative because I offered Pumpkin Soup to Lord Ganesha...what would they have thought of this I wonder!!!)

Dita
www.meetDita.blogspot.com

Namrata said...

Absolutely Brilliant!

lovelifeunderthesun said...

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you and your family,Archana!What an amazing post this is!Loved going through it and Ganeshji looks real cute!

A Sunny Yellow Window said...

Sheer poetry Archana! What lovely photographs and the simple idea behind it all.

Bong Mom said...

That is the cutest Ganesha I have ever seen. Wish you a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, shall I say a "Minnesotan" one ?

Color Resonance said...

Absolute delight to watch the making of your very creative Ganesh idol.

Aarthi said...

completely blown away by your ingenuity..Happy Ganesh Chathurthi to you too

My bIRDING TRAILS said...

Simply beautiful...Wishing you and your family a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi .

Sia | Monsoon Spice said...

I am amazed at your creativity, Archana! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you and your loved ones.

Deepa said...

So beautiful! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

FL Mom said...

Hello Archana

I really like the KOLAM paint on the pebble. would you mind sharing the way you paint? The accessories you use?

I did do a little bit Home Work. Browsed through and found the stones with Krishnar Legs. You did mention somewhere that you used Acrylic Paint (hopefully Iam correct).

I would really apppreciate if you can share the specifics. I went to Michaels & had no clue of what to buy. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Fall in love with your little little beautiful Ganesha..:-) u r such true inspiration...

Anitha said...

Archana, This is the cutest Ganesha i have ever seen :)
Hope you had fun and contentment:)

Madhu Gopalan said...

You are an amazing person, you really are! I can't think of anybody better to learn positivity from. !

Shruti said...

Nice post. Really glad to see your designs and witness the creativity involved in it. Each of idols that you made of Ganesha was really creative and mind blowing. Your innovation is worth appreciation. Keep up the good work. Good luck!

Jassica Harrik said...

Really awesome! Your ideas helping me for creating new designs. Thanks a lot for sharing.