The Indian Artist, Revamped: The Festival of Bonfires
Good afternoon everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! Today I wanted to share with you the origin of a Punjabi holiday that took place this weekend. I will admit that even though I was born and raised in a traditional Indian household and have grown up practicing the traditions and festivals, there is still so much that I learn every day. There is much that I don’t know. When I found out that Lohri was on Saturday the 14th, I decided to do some research to learn about the origin of this festival and share it with all of you!
Lohri marks the New Year for Punjabi farmers. On this day, the farmers show gratitude for their crops before the harvesting begins and pray to Lord Agni (the Lord of Fire) to bless their land with abundance. They chant while moving around a bonfire fire, praying for honor to come and to eliminate poverty. It is also believed that if one walks around the fire on Lohri, it helps in bringing prosperity. In Punjab, this festival holds special value for new brides. Many devotees believe that their prayers and concerns will immediately be answers and granted and that they will receive prosperity, good fortune, and a healthy life. Lohri marks the end of winter, and is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun’s journey to the northern hemisphere.
Lohri is celebrated by lighting bonfires, eating festive food, dancing and collecting gifts. There are special desserts that are made during the time of Lohri out of the crops that farmers are able to harvest this season. People eat corn, sugarcane (also called gurh and gajak), and nuts. It is traditional to eat Gajak (sugarcane), Sarson da saag (spinach curry) with Makki di roti (corn tortillas), radish, ground nuts and jaggery. It is also traditional to eat “til rice” which is made by mixing jaggery, sesame seeds and puffed rice. As is the custom of all Indian festivals, people just come together, laugh, eat good food, dance to great music, and enjoy time with friends and family. 
If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to reach out! Also, please let me know if there is anything that you all would like to see from me this year. If any questions or thoughts arise, please comment or reach out to me via my socials!
Until next week,
Riya
Instagram: @riya_aggarwal.art
Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/
A Day In Our Lives #13
Hey guys!
This week I thought that I would show a comic that I worked on last semester. I really like incorporating science and science fiction into my work. I like dinosaurs and wanted to pursue a minor in Paleontology but didn’t have room on my schedule. It has a little bit of humor at the end. This comic took roughly half the semester to work on all of the individual panels. I used a mix of colored pencil, Copic markers, pen, and procreate on my iPad in order to get all of the different textures. It was convenient to be able to use procreate last in order to use it for the final editing and coloring.
See you guys next week! 
Chroma: ARE YOU SURE?
Hey everyone, welcome back to Chroma. This week, I painted someone looking into a mirror in a bathroom, having a crisis about their reality. I feel like bathrooms, whether in your home, a club or bar, or even just random public bathrooms, are almost liminal spaces. Somewhat unconsciously, I’ve gravitated towards drawing them for my backgrounds in a lot of my illustrations. Looking at your reflection, specifically your eyes, can sometimes be freaky in different contexts, which somewhat inspired the text written in the mirror. Additionally, this character I drew here has accidentally become someone that I’ve been including in a lot of illustrations, so prepare to probably see them again soon.
Evolving Emotions: Anger- Poetry
Morning
Flecks of glass across hardwood
shimmering in refreshed morning light
like faux emeralds.
Chair legs rest
splintered and sharp
near the toppled kitchen table
that you bought with her.
Looking down
knuckles: green and yellow
with blistery red accents.
Your eyes are red too
like burst fireworks
or spider webs.
Spent, you sit
on an old wine stain
the carpet carries
letting an empty home fill your head
with silence deserved.
Fable Friday: Succubus
In many myths, there is the idea of a beautiful, usually sexual, woman, that will bring men to the brink of death. In Greek myth, it was the Sirens. Of course, there is the Succubus demon mentioned in Christian texts. This is my modern take on the Succubus. I imagine she would wear combat boots and decorative bodysuits.
