Penguins and Winter Wonderland

So since I'm falling behind on the challenge, I'm going to cheat! :) Hope that's OK Faye :)

Here are my Penguins in a Winter Wonderland!

Cheerio!

Advent Challenge Day 3... Christmas Ornaments

Oooo I'm playing hard to catch up...

Here's my Christmas Ornament for the Advent Challenge 2014 Day 3...

Christmas Ornaments by Aisha Khan

Advent Challenge 2014

Here we go!

Ahem, I'm trying to follow the Advent Challenge of 2014 started by Faye Brown on December 1st, 2014. It was an open call for anyone to join in and well... I joined (am joining?) in!

I started with Day 2, which was to draw a Christmas Tree.

More to come soon...

Suzani- is that what these are called?

Hmm... so I've been admiring Suzani art for months now and just waiting to get my hand at drawing them.. but not until a week ago did I simultaneously learn what it means and discovered that a few friends were taking Making Art That Sells (3) again and one of their assignments was to create a tableware piece inspired by Suzani art! Coincidence? Umm no... I think the Universe conspired to get me to move and create a few more pieces... Just like the Bavarian theme had lit a fire in me, Suzani art did the same :D And it's no surprise that the Urdu word Sozankari (needle work) comes from the Central Asian Term Suzani (Needle)- duh I should've guessed the meaning especially because it was an art form I had seen all my life in one form or the other!

[PS: I am not taking MATS again... so I'm stealing a brief here, but honestly I couldn't help it! :( ]

I know I'll be doing some more based on this... so this is titled Work In Progress ok? ;)

PPS: Sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself- so guys you mind leaving a comment here? Or sign up for updates? Thank you :) xo

I got to hold my plate!

I got my plate in actual form in the mail last week! And I'm so happy with the first sample! Had to share it with you here.

 Remember it came from my last assignment in Make Art That Sells course this past spring. (Scroll down the post from May 2014 and you'll see the flat artwork of this plate)

Long long summer

It took forever for the summer holidays to end. And now they are a distant memory. Laziness and the heat of June enervated me. Took some time out to (re) design some of my cushions and scarves and made a debut on the editorial blogging world.

Here's what the new cushions designs look like:

Some designs got a slight make over:

[The cushions are on sale at the Warehouse in DHA Phase 2, Karachi (10-7 M-S)]

Here's what the display looked like:

I made a wall art for a dear friend who left us for a heavenly abode on June 14, 2014. I called it 'Sumer's Garden'

And finally here's my editorial debut :)
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/22813/from-pakistan-to-survivistan/

A look at my scarf designs too:

and they turned out like this: 

Paradiso...

My new design for dinner plates... I call it Paradiso

Make Art that Sells- Part B

Five weeks came and went! Where did they go? I was having too much fun to notice! I didn't notice the heat rising, the power outages, the late nights... I didn't notice that I was going through a growth spurt while I worked. I didn't notice that I was forging a bond with my class mates and developing an eternal love for my teacher Lilla Rogers! I didn't notice that I was perhaps standing at the precipice of a new and wonderful beginning as a designer, illustrator, artist.

My work during the weeks as follows:

WEEK ONE:

The assignment was to design greeting cards with gingerbread houses as inspiration! I went with my gut and sketched. I couldn't get the two girls hugging picture out of my mind so I brought them out of my head...

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WEEK TWO:
Baby apparel! Yay!! I love designing clothes for my girls and I loved this assignment. The theme was to be pirates! I did some pirate portraits and then a radical groovy pirate girl :D

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WEEK THREE:
Scrap-booking! This week I discovered textures... and loved it. The assignment was to use vintage ink bottles as inspiration for scrabooking material...

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WEEK FOUR:
Rediscovery! This week was one of my favorite as it was very personal. We were asked to design a map of our city. No one (in my knowledge) had done a fun map of Karachi ever! And while thinking of how to do this one, I discovered so many things about my city and my latent love for it. My city is crazy, wild, dangerous, multicolored, multicultural, and beautiful and welcoming! Its a city that doesn't sleep (much!). In the little time we had to finish this, I only managed this... but I plan to revisit this and do much more!

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 WEEK FIVE- FINAL WEEK:
Coming full circle! This week I ran on all cylinders! I poured it out and had the most fun ever! I loved what I created and I was satisfied with it. I really was. The assignment was a delight to study (Ukrainian/ Bavarian Folk Art) and the market is something I think I am going to delve more deeply into - party paper!

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So that wraps up my MATS experience! And boy I know its going to be a life altering one! I have made a vow to my teacher to keep creating art and have fun with it. I hope you will join me in my journey of self discovery!

Ciao for now!

Some latest work in progress

This past week, I've been messing around with some doodles, and flowers... still work in progress but I'm having a great time moving things around :)

Take a look!

Some black and white designs:

Taking the same icons and giving them some color:

Ciao for now!

My journey in surface pattern design!

I probably sounded like an obstinate kid and frustrated my father when at 15 I told my father that I was going to pass on the chance to go to med school. I threw my chances of a secure career and chose the path less traveled.

But the same voice triggered and played with my brain all these years, even after I did a 'respectable' MBA and went on to work with some big names in the corporate world.

While I have been doing what I love slowly and steadily, in the shadows, now I'm ready to delve in with a more organized approach.

Here I share with you my journey so far:

2000/02:
Hand painting boxes and trays:

2005/06:
Children's furniture:


2007:
Experimenting with printing art:

2008:
Ceramics!

2009/11:
Wall decals!

2012:
Trays and lamps:

2013:
Cushions and wall art:

2014:
Coming soon: Dinner table linens, home accessories and more...!