Stone breasts, peacocks and crocodiles

A sketch from Trichy/Srirangam (most of the stone goddesses look as if the sculptors back then had been taught using hentai mangas as anatomy books...).


Now, to all the people who keep telling me I shouldn't be shy about sketching in public because "realistically speaking, nobody is interested what you're drawing anyway". Realistically speaking, whoever says that hasn't ever been in India (sketching, that is). I was drawing this Nandi statue peacefully sitting on the stairs of the temple and within minutes I was surrounded by a huge knot of curious people who didn't only block my view but eventually took my sketchbook, passing it around and asking for my email and complete biography... I was almost thrown out of the temple by a brahmin who thought I was giving autographs (after he understood what was happening, he just chaised away the crowd and told me to continue drawing immediately). However, only a few minutes after he had left, everything started over again... (I took flight and finished the sketch in the evening in my room).


Mamallapuram/Mahabalipuram - very touristy (actually, the first time I saw any tourists other than myself) but stunning (all the rock-cut temples, monolithic monuments and sculptures...) and comfortably small. And not to forget: the SEA!


Probably one of my favorites: a trip to the nearby crocodile bank in Vadanemmeli. They also have lots of turtles and snakes, and you can watch the venom extraction (which they do without harming the snake).

Puris and biscuits

Probably the most popular karma yoga assignment in the ashram: Rolling chapatis (or here: puris).


Alfie, our little sweetheart. He'd kill for a biscuit (or, well, just look at it very longingly until someone shows mercy).


My journey across Tamil Nadu:


First stop: Madurai (where I got myself a sari for undercover missions).

Saris, chapatis and Norwegian singers

There we go, another four.
This shows the awesome woman we met on a walk. It's fascinating what a nice time you can have together without speaking the same language (I must admit my Tamil is... substandard).


In the ashram I met a Norwegian girl who wrote her own songs (the lyrics in the next sketch are totally Christin Larsen's and not mine!). She had the most angelic voice on earth, seriously.


Everytime I look at this one, I feel the urge to apologize. Sorry Shannon and Polina. I didn't mean to...


This lady isn't only a great yoga teacher but also a fantastic ayurvedic cook. I loved the food but I know my(lazy)self too well, so I didn't even try to remember any of the recipes except this one: Chapatis - one of my favorites and simple enough to make it at home (Yes! I swear! I actually already did!).

Mantras, toothpaste and a hammock victim

And there's the next four sketches, also done at the Tureya ashram near Kodai, Tamil Nadu, where I spent my first fabulous three weeks.
The first two sketches are actually cheat sheets for the mantras we were singing for puja every morning and evening...



Once a week we took a taxi to Kodai to buy stuff and indulge in diabetes provoking coffee shakes:


Taking sketching advantage of innocent sleeping people:

CoE - comeback and culture shock

Still struggling a bit with reverse culture shock and devastated gut flora, but hey! For all the people who've been wondering what the hell I've been doing since I got back last week: Here's the comeback of Chronicles of E*phi (aka "the uneventful diary doodles of some girl you probably haven't even met").

Bye-bye India

Hello my beloved readers! After such a long time, you might be as surprised as my granny to hear that I haven't been killed by a tiger (or - statistically more likely - by that nasty plague I caught at the end of my travels). Indeed, I've been looking for tigers (not for mean stomach bacteria though). Although, unfortunatly but not surprisingly, I couldn't find any (although the bacteria found me).
Anyways, I'm back and, even though I didn't meet my ambitious goal of filling my whole book, I've got some sketches for you as souvenirs. All of them (but two, which have an acrylics background done with leftover paint before my departure) are ink sketches done with a brush pen with a splash of watercolor. Perfect travel equipment in terms of minimum weight and volume, but as much as I love watercolor, by now I can't wait to get my hands dirty with acrylics or doodle around with coloured pencils again. I get bored rather soon if I have to limit myself to only one medium for too long.
Alright, enough blah, here are the first four (as usual, bigger version after the jump):

Tata for now...

Or should I say அப்புறம் பார்க்கலாமே?
I'm leaving for India tomorrow morning and I won't take my laptop and scanner with me. Therefore, this blog will probably be on a hiatus for about three months (I say "probably" because... you never know. Maybe I'll find a way to post some photos every now and then or something...).
However, I bought a nice little book which I'll use as my travel journal (absolutely non-megalomaniac that I am, I got the one called "Leonardo da Vinci", heh). I challenged myself to completely fill it until I'm back - so, even though during the next few weeks it might be rather quiet here, you'll definitely get something to look at once I'm back. Here's the first page already:

CoE - sketchy nominations

Still deadly busy even in my "free" time, organizing my travels and fighting rabies and stuff. But I know I've got the bestest readers in the whole universe and you'll all be understanding! To give you a little something to look at in the meantime, here's another diary thingy and some more pages of the not-so-top-secret-anymore sketchy sketchbook:



And this is what happens everytime I visit the park or any other public place to try sketch real people:

The holy charm of ecstatic danced through nights...

I sketched this out months ago but finally got myself to add some color (which took about three minutes - goddamn laziness!).


And here comes... fanart!

Transcription/Translation:

VIRGINIA PAINE
has been enchanting me
with her comics for a while already.

...but I didn't know
until recently
that she also makes magic talismans.

*time-honored holy charm of
ecstatic danced through nights
and awesome surprise sex*

Two weeks ago, I treated myself to some goodies from fantastic Virginia Paine's shop. I've definitely got a new favorite necklace! I've been a huge fan of her diary comics for quite a while but didn't know she also crafts magicked jewelry (she makes supercute wallets and skirts, too)...

Oh, in case you're wondering what that ugly blotchy stuff (on the left) is: it's proof that (copious amounts of) india ink isn't a desirable option for Moleskine sketchbook paper.

CoE - two birthdays and a bunch of biscuits

Surprised by an unexpected (though very due) longing for hygiene, I spent most of the day decontaminating our bathroom and vestibule. Which means that if my beloved sister can bring herself to clean the kitchen next week or so, it'll be safe again to walk around barefoot in our flat. Does this already count as passive aggressive note? [Probably not, because she doesn't find my blog interesting enough to read anyway. (Now this does count, I guess? Hehe.)]
Anyhow, despite a severe case of cleaning exhaustion (Seriously! I risked my life! You know, my granny broke both her arms - CLEANING!), I selflessly pulled myself together to provide my dear readers with the following two diary doodles. Enjoy!

(physalis = Cape gooseberries)