Foodie Art Tales is a post about working through your emotions with the help of food, art and other forms of creativity which make you feel more at peace.
I write with a lot of pain today. I’m tortured from both sides now. My mother and brother have used and abused me. So have my in-laws and husband. Every moment of my life that I try to work or create something, someone has been quick to pull it down through some nasty ugly efforts to demean and make fun of whatever I have done. To be honest, I find much of my own clumsy bumbling through life comical too. (But then sometimes I lose sight of my sense of humour.)
Foodie Art Tales with a Dark side
The solution provided by all is to go and seek a legal divorce, find a job/source of income, find magically a new partner/husband/family, find a temporary abode, find a solution of permanent housing, tackle banking, bills and other financial requirements for yourself. Find a way to educate yourself further and do all of that as you live alone with no support system. And as a middle-aged woman without a husband/partner by your side you will attract multiple people giving you continuous solicited and unsolicited advice.
Ahem! I’m actually amazed at how all this can be done by 1 person on their own -yet spend some time/money to heal themselves physically, mentally and have empathy towards others who maybe in a worse condition.
I believe there are such supermen/women in this world somewhere. 🙂 I’m not one of them. I’m an average woman with some limitations. But every conversation I have with others makes me learn and makes me want to do just a little bit more.
Which is why, I love when others reach out to help me in my journey! I’m grateful to them because sometimes, I myself don’t know the next step ahead.
Comrade in Arms- Foodie Art Lover
Antara and I have kept in touch since our reconnecting sometime last year. I have received a lot of new ideas to work on different small art projects from many friends including her. Sometimes deciding what not to do becomes a challenge. 🙂
We caught up over a quick conversation recently where she shared more of her journey from being an independent artist, creator, to now being an art teacher.
When I asked her about her artwork- I found out that most of it is around food, local ingredients, tribal cultures rooted in folklore and storytelling. That was fascinating for me as much of it is now perhaps getting lost through the growing commercialization of the food industry with an emphasis upon fast food, convenience and lower costs. Some of the local tools and implements are now more of heritage or museum pieces. But they are familiar to a few others who perhaps grew up seeing previous generations using them.
The conversation was engrossing as I see a different aspect of fresh ingredients, fresh cooking and fresh inspiration coming from another passionate foodie, creator and artist.
Foodie Art runs in the Family 🙂
Her son Rik has now grown up to be a young teenager who has his own interest and passion in dramatics, food and cooking- albeit his interest area is a little different. He loves to make pasta and now experiments with handmade pasta. Something which I tried and enjoyed with a few of my friends & neighbor’s kids earlier. There’s a healing power in creating and channeling your mind into something new which you can take pride in yourself. It’s a form of self-expression which I found very soothing at one point in my life.
But artists and creators need some rest as well. I joke about this- most creative people just take a short nap once in a while when they are working. (And sometimes they go into long hibernation mode…. Or so I figured. ;)) I learnt from her and from others how certain people benefit from learning through others and then go on to steal their ideas to further their own interests.
Nothing new there- I guess it happens all the time. Though it is heartbreaking when it actually happens to you! Very recently I found a book while browsing through a bookstore and gifted it to a friend- it was a bestseller in 2024, and some people may have read it. The book revolves around a woman who steals another person’s idea/plot and then gets caught in the web of her lies. Sounds like a typical fluffy potboiler- maybe I should read it after I finish my current task of sharing excerpts from an older tome of 83 Neurobic Exercises.
Two different perspectives from fictional and non-fictional books which serve different purposes for people with different mindsets.
Flip a Coin or a Memory Pad
Antara had to take a call in between and I explored her wonderful sketchbook and notebooks which had a mishmash of drawings. Done by herself and others- a few children and elders. Some of it triggered a few happy memories of travel and childhood for her (and for me too).
Some of the memories were of work that she had done for others who are no longer a part of her journey. But she had a vivid recollection -hallmark of a deeply involved artist who had poured in a lot to create something original. She had to translate somebody’s half articulated vision into a visual language which evokes a few feelings that go beyond normal sense and sensibilities. If they speak to you, they are a part of your past or perhaps even today a part of your present.
Do check out this video of my afternoon with her which perhaps captures the essence of our conversation and her work much better. And to read more about her- check the detailed bio here.
I’m delighted to have her contributing further to MLD through some interesting work ahead. Do watch this space for more! 🙂
