The Rashtriya Kalidas Samman and Rajya Roopankar Kala Puraskar Prize will be awarded

Governor Shri Mangubhai Patel said that the exquisite stone art of Khajuraho will gain worldwide recognition at the Khajuraho Dance Festival. He will leave an indelible mark not only on the state and the country but also on the cultural landscape of the world. Governor Shri Patel was addressing the 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival-2022′ at the world famous tourist destination Khajuraho on ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Governor Shri Patel said dance is a universal art, which originated with human life. It is a confluence of crafts, theatre, music and literature. In the Puranas he was considered the destroyer of evil and the medium of divine worship. Khajuraho Dance Festival is an event worthy of practicing this classical dance. Governor Shri Patel inaugurated the ceremony by lighting the lamp together with Minister of Tourism, Culture and Spirituality Usha Thakur, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shri Omprakash Sakhlecha and MP Shri Vishnu Dutt Sharma. He also offered floral tributes to the portrait of Mother India.

A reference center will be established for classical dance – Minister Sushri Thakur

Culture and Tourism Minister Sushri Thakur said spirituality is the underlying vision of all arts in India. Dance styles emerged from temple traditions in India. Bharatanatyam from Tanjore temple, Odissi dance from Lord Jagannath Puri temple, Kathak inspired by dance of Natwara Krishna, Kathakali from Guruvayur temple in Kerala, Mohiniattam based on Mohini avatar of Lord Vishnu and Manipuri dance from Vaishnava sect. Dance is a rhythmic presentation of all kinds of expressions. The entire universe also functions due to this rhythm. Khajuraho’s sculptures in the form of these rhythmic dance postures are the living pictures of Indian philosophy. The four Purusharthas of Sanatan Dharma represent Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. It is a journey from the outer world to the inner world. Considering the greatness of dance and its contribution to human life, a classical dance context center will be established in Khajuraho.

Minister Shri Sakhlecha said the combination of art and culture was established in the form of temples between the 9th and 12th centuries by the Bundelas. This temple is a marvelous specimen of geometry, mathematics and architecture. The sculptures here depict the art of living, which is not seen anywhere in the world.

MP Shri VD Sharma said Khajuraho is a confluence of art, culture and spirituality. It has the distinction of being one of the 17 iconic cities of the country besides being the land of Mritangeshwar Bhagwan and the World Heritage Site. The cultural and tourism development of Khajuraho will reach new heights with the construction of a world-class auditorium and the organization of the Khajuraho Dance Festival.

The Principal Secretary for Culture and Tourism, Shri Shivshekhar Shukla, said the Khajuraho dance festival scene holds a special place in the world. This step is very important for many prominent artists at home and abroad. It is the effort of the government that in the times to come, artists from different cultures at home and abroad have the opportunity to show their talent. He thanked all the dignitaries and ambassadors and high commissioners from 8 countries for attending the Khajuraho Dance Festival. He said that the presence of all of you gave more grandeur and dignity to this function.

Ambassadors and High Commissioners from 8 countries attend performances

Ambassadors and High Commissioners from 8 countries joined the family to watch performances at the 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival. Ambassadors and high commissioners from Korea, Argentina, Vietnam, Brunei, Finland, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos attended the festival. Vietnamese Ambassador Shri Pham Sanh Chau, Laos Ambassador Shri Bounneme Chauanghom, Finnish Ambassador Shri Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Brunei High Commissioner Shri Dato Alaihuddin Mohamed Taha and Shri Hamid Abdul Hidayat, High Commissioner from Malaysia, witnessed a fascinating and captivating family dance performance.

Rashtriya Kalidas Samman and Rajya Roopankar Kala Puraskar conferred

During the ceremony, Rashtriya Kalidas Samman, was given for classical dance to Sunaina Hazari Lal for the year 2019-20 and Smt. Shanta and Shri VP Dhananjayan for the year 2020-21. They received a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a plaque of honor, a shawl and a shriphal. Also, Rajya Roopankar Kala Awards have been given for the year 2022. Devkrishna Jatashankar Joshi Award was given to Priya Sisodia from Badnavar, Mukund Sakharam Bhand Award to Shri Swapan Tarafdar from Indore, Syed Haider Raza Award to Shri Durgesh Birthare of Jabalpur, Dattatreya Damodar Devlalikar Award to Shri Narendra Jatav of Ashoknagar, Jagdish Swaminathan Award to Shri Sanjay Dhawale of Ashok Nagar, Vishnu Chinchalkar Award to Shri Muni Sharma of Gwalior, Narayan Shridhar Bendre Award to Shri Agnesh Kerketta of Bhopal , Raghunath Krishnarao Phadke Award to Shri Rituraj Shrivastava of Jabalpur, Ram Manohar Sinha Award to Sushri Jyoti Singh of Sagar and Lakshmi Shankar Rajput Award to Dr Sonali Chouhan (Peethwe) of Dewas.

On the first day of the Khajuraho Dance Festival, the disciples of Pandit Birju Maharaj from Kalashram New Delhi gave an enchanting performance by the Kathak group. The rhythm of the feet on the beat of the tabla captivated the audience. In this sequence, an attractive presentation of Bharatnatyam group dance was given by Shanta-VP Dhananjayan and his group. The spellbinding performances of the accomplished artists in a musical environment with traditional costumes captivated the audience. Odissi from Sujatha Mohapatra Bhubaneshwar, Bharatnatyam from Nirupama Rajendra Bengaluru and Kathak from Samagama and Kuchipudi from Jairama Rao and group on the second day of the ceremony.

The dance festival is organized with the joint effort of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Archaeological Survey of India and Chhatarpur District Administration along with Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet and the Academy Department of Kala culture, Madhya Pradesh Sanskriti Parishad. Director of Culture Shri Aditi Kumar Tripathi, Director Alauddin Khan Sangeet and Kala Akademi Shri Rahul Rastogi along with senior officers from the department and district administration were present at the ceremony.

‘Khajuraho Dance Festival’ from February 20 to 26

The Khajuraho Dance Festival, following the ancient tradition, like last year, will become the aura of the temple premises this year as well. It will be an unparalleled confluence of devotion to God and dance. Renowned artists from across the country and around the world will perform their dance performances at the 48th Dance Festival. The celebrations will continue until February 26.

During the ceremony, the cultural landscape of Indian dance styles and the art-travel exhibition focus on Kathak, the Art-Mart art exhibition of other countries in the world including India, Kalavarta, a dialogue between artists and art experts, artistic contribution of senior painter Shri Laxminarayan Bhavsar will take place. There will be major events like Pranati, Indigenous Knowledge Fair and Parampara – Art Tradition with Skill and Artist Centered Film Adventure – Cinematography. The dance festival is organized with the joint effort of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Archaeological Survey of India and Chhatarpur District Administration along with Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet and the Academy Department of Kala culture, Madhya Pradesh Sanskriti Parishad.

The San Saba Garden Club (SSGC) held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 5 at the clubhouse in Mill Pond Park. The historic building was framed by immaculately tended beds of late summer and early fall flowers; a garden cart overflowing with fresh green foxtail ferns sat at the entrance.

Inside, members were greeted with Halloween-themed refreshments. Hostesses Sherrie Clarkson (President), Kailey Miller, Lisa Foil and Cindy Sloan had prepared delicious cheese tea and raisin bread sandwiches, “graveyard” cupcakes decorated with RIP boudoirs, a cauldron of Texas trash and a little of nostalgia in the form of candy corn. Drinks included coffee and bottled water.

The October program was a hands-on “Happy Garden” art project created by club president Debbie Shahan and overseen by multi-talented member Dianna Furlan. Using colorful glass marbles, shards of stained glass and natural pebbles, participants created take-home concrete stepping stones with unique inlaid designs ranging from butterflies and bees to abstract designs. Special thanks to Jan and Paul Beaver for providing the stained glass windows and to Terri Dickey, Debbie Shahan and Dianna Furlan for donating additional materials.

SSGC is proud to be a member of the National Council of Garden Clubs, Inc., an organization founded in 1929 with branches in nearly every state in the United States. The mission of this 165,000 member group is to “promote the love of gardening, floral design, and civic and environmental responsibility”. The Garden Club of San Saba, continuously active since 1936, has always taken these goals seriously and continues to be actively involved in a variety of community causes and projects.

The Garden Club welcomes visitors and potential members to its monthly meetings. You do not need to be a resident of San Saba to be eligible. If you would like to join this dynamic group or have any questions about SSGC, you can contact Membership Committee Chair Beth Griess .

PS Don’t forget the fall decorating contest sponsored by SSGC, with categories for residences and businesses. Entries must be completed by Friday November 12, as judging will take place on November 13. The winners will be featured in the San Saba News and Star. The prizes are delicious homemade treats donated by Garden Club members. Your participation in this contest will be a boon to San Saba’s growing reputation as a mountain destination for Texans and foreigners.

A walking stick used by Republican leader Michael Collins, artwork by loyalist killer Michael Stone and a metal door to Maze Prison are just a few of the items related to the conflict on the island of Ireland which were auctioned next week.

loomfield Auctions in Belfast will host the auction next Tuesday, with a range of historic items available for collectors and those interested in the Troubles.

Other items include Nazi memorabilia, including a porcelain jug linked to the upper echelons of the Nazi Party during World War II.

22 paintings of Milltown killer Michael Stone, an avid artist, will be included.

Among the paintings are an image of the Queen with Union Flag glasses, a Titanic-themed work and a painting bearing the words “No longer the silent majority – challenge Republican revisionism”.

The Bloomfield Auctions website says the event will also feature “police, military and related jewelry and watches”.

The Michael Collins walking stick has already been sold, with the website saying the last bid on the item was £ 460.

On the list it is written: “An important silver walking cane that belonged to Michael Collins.”

The article also comes with a letter of provenance.

A prison door at Long Kesh Detention Center, which was later renamed HMP Maze, near Lisburn, is also listed as follows: “The heavy Long Kesh prison door is said to be H5. It has UVF striped [on a metal bar on the inside]. ‘

The Nazi porcelain cream carafe is described as a “small Nymphenburg porcelain milk / creamer jug ​​from Joesph Goebbel’s personal wagon, 207”.

Inmate Prison art will be available along with an original death card by Michael Collins and hurling sticks made in Portlaoise Prison and signed by various Republicans including Joe Cahill.

Loyalist killer Michael Stone was forced to stop painting because of arthritis in both hands.

’65-year-old man, who was paroled from Maghaberry Prison last month after serving 26 years of a life sentence, made a small fortune from his art when he was previously released under the Good Friday deal.

Some of the work has sold for over £ 10,000, but the debilitating stiffness of Stone’s fingers means he’ll never pick up a brush again.

A Facebook group with nearly 85,000 followers is enough for a young Japanese artist to sell her stone paintings. It rarely takes more than ten minutes for them all to be sold. The artist is Akie Nakata. Within seconds of uploading an image of an artwork to the band, a customer reached out to buy it. In Tokyo, his stone paintings are sold in a gallery called Seizan Gallery. The other physical space with his works is the department store named Ginza Mitsukoshi. But it was the social media network Facebook that allowed him to build an audience beyond his native country.

His works have a wide range. She simply paints on palm-sized river pebbles. On them, she paints with acrylic gouache. The prices for his works are huge, ranging from $300 to $1,500. She often paints pictures of animals – and almost all of them. Lions, tigers, birds, cats, peacocks, fists, polar bears and elephants, among others. She started painting in 2010. However, she only found five stones that could occupy an octopus.

Akie Nakata on his Facebook process and success

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Facebook has been a blessing for the artist. But she confessed that her inspiration comes from the rocks rather than the animals she paints. She said she paints any animal she can see “inside those rocks.” She noted that she follows the structure and the bones that are shown on these stones. She says she feels them inside the rocks, and she lets the animals “manifest” the surface of the stone.

In addition to Facebook, she has several other accounts on other social networks. They include Twitter and Instagram. She posts all her work on each forum, depending on the availability of her work online.

It takes less than 10 minutes, and sometimes as little as two, for Japanese artist Akie Nakata to sell his hand-painted stones on Facebook. Just seconds after sharing a photo of his latest creation, a fan will stand up to buy it.

Although Nakata sells her work through the Seizan Gallery in Tokyo and the Ginza Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo, Facebook has provided a way to expand her audience outside of Japan. His Facebook group currently has nearly 85,000 subscribers.

Nakata’s pieces are palm-sized river stones depicting detailed images of realistic animals, which she paints with acrylic gouache. His pieces have sold for between $ 300 and $ 1,500.

Let the animal emerge

Her artistic process does not begin with the intention of painting a particular animal, but rather the rocks she sees guide her. “I paint the animal that I feel is inside the stone, following the spine and the body structure that is visible on the stone,” she explains. “I believe that it is the stone which decides what should be painted, rather than me which decides … I color the animals which I feel inside the stones, in order to let them appear on the surface.”

“What I aspire to draw is something that has just been born in my hand, through my dialogues with stones. I want to paint the “life” of animals that I felt in stone, ”she says. “At the end of my painting process, when I put my brush on the stone to paint the eyes, there is that moment when I feel it’s over, when the eyes are looking at me.

“As a way of working, it’s important to me never to alter the shape of the stone – no polishing / sanding, or any application of undercoat,” says Nakata.

His work has included animals ranging from dogs and birds to lions, cats, owls, lambs, fish, elephants, possums, turtles, koalas and polar bears, to name a few. only a few. Although she has been painting since 2010, she says that she “only encountered five stones sheltering an octopus”.

Nakata collects her stones on several favorite banks of Saitama, where she goes to look for “good encounters with the stones”. Through these encounters, animal images emerge to him. “Stones are not for me canvases; they are more collaborative partners that I meet on the banks, ”she says. “Most of the time, I’m lucky enough to meet good people and I take several stones home, but other days I might not be so lucky,” returning home empty-handed.

A born artist

Nakata’s foray into stone painting happened almost by accident, as she was walking by a river while in college and “encountered a stone that just looked like a rabbit,” recalls. she. “I loved it and took it home, and painted it as the stone led me.”

“I’ve always loved drawing, natural stones and animals – all living things,” she says. However, his university education was not strictly in art – it was in arts education. “I studied in the education department to become a junior high school teacher,” she says, studying “the broad spectrum of the arts curriculum.” However, his painting process is self-taught.

Today, she devotes herself to her profession full time. This year, her goal is to create more than 100 pieces, although she says her workload, or productivity, varies depending on whether she has gallery exhibitions scheduled.

In addition to Facebook, Nakata has an account on Instagram and Twitter, where she posts her work as soon as it is available. She didn’t use any form of paid advertising and organically racked up 105,000 Instagram followers and 15,000 Twitter followers, in addition to her tens of thousands of Facebook fans.

“I always hope that every piece of my work reaches someone who enjoys the encounter with the stone, just as I enjoy my encounter with this particular stone,” says Nakata. She suspects her social media fan base has grown because her audience “feels empathy” for the connection she feels to the animal, stone, and earth from which it emerged.

Led by a native of Orange County, It’s CARV’D offers custom designs for beautiful slate sculptures while supporting the Hudson Valley Fathers.

Can your art stand the test of time?

It’s CARV’D, founded and operated by SUNY New Paltz graduate Andra Roig, immortalizes designs of all kinds in rock. Roig’s magnificent garden art can withstand the elements to last for several lifetimes.

In addition to invaluable illustrations, Roig uses steel and carbide scissors to carve logos, letters, and any other designs that can be crafted into slate. For pieces meant to live outdoors, he cuts deep enough to ensure that the letters stay as crisp with 50 years of acid rain and corrosion as they were the day he carved them. Customers also receive a collection of photos detailing the process that brought their design to life.

Roig puts exactly what is given to him in slate, not just a replica. A meaningful poem, a first attempt at art, or a character born from a child’s imagination is raised into something enduring.

“Part of my business plan is to take sketches of kids, maybe something they did during the pandemic, and hand carve them in stone. It’s pretty surreal that they’ve been around for hundreds of years, ”Roig says.

Custom designs for slate carvings have always been central to Roig’s idea for It’s CARV’D, but offering a way to preserve children’s drawings came when his own son, Max, gave him an adorable look. pencil from Marvel’s Iron Man.

Many parents can relate to the experience of receiving a work of art that might be thrown away or put in a box or folder and forgotten. Roig wanted to make this moment a living memory and, with the drawing, engraved the name, age and date of his son in a piece of stone. Now, memories that seem fleeting can last forever.

Although the products live many lifetimes, the art itself is dying.

“Most of what I’ve learned honestly comes from books. There are very few – maybe less than a dozen – stone craftsmen who carve slate and hand carve letters in America, ”says Roig. “I am honored to be one of the only people in the country to use old school methods and, in my research, the only person of color in the field.”

Roig carries on a tradition about as old as the human race itself. He stumbled upon lost art while taking a graphic design class at university. One of his teachers asked the students to paint a typography on the stone and then carve it. “Everyone in the class was like, ‘What is this? I’m going to be a graphic designer who works on computers and he wants us to carve stone, ”Roig recalls.

After awhile, Roig picked it up and found the medium fascinating. In a way, it’s high-risk art. There is no way to hide mistakes, and every mark you make on the web is permanent; so permanent, in fact, that it will outlive the artist.

He took the form with him to the Bronx after graduating from college and carved small stones for friends as gifts. His whole apartment was covered with a layer of dust from his maniacal chiselling. Finally, he put his mallet and chisel away in a box, where it remained for the next 15 years. He married, returned to the Hudson Valley, and had three children.

One day, while moving boxes around his house, Roig heard a rattle. He once again took out his beloved tools, and he has not put them away since. Fortunately, a stone quarry is only three kilometers from his new home. It’s CARV’D is a company born out of the pandemic, the perfect setting to spend long hours working on projects at home.

It was also not the only project Roig started during the COVID-19 crisis. Fathers are often seen as the rock of their family, but they also need support.

A friend of Roig spent some time in hospital during the height of the pandemic and was deeply traumatized by the death and suffering he witnessed.

“When my friend came out he said, ‘Andra, you were the only one I could talk to while I was in the hospital. I thought I was going to die, and I had no one around, no community to support me, ”says Roig. “That’s when I knew we had to do something for the Hudson Valley Fathers.”

Wine Wednesdays, Facebook gardening groups, and online parenting resources are primarily geared towards mothers. For all the fathers quarantined at home, Roig wanted to foster a new community.

Fathers Love, Fathers Heal began as a weekly Zoom Call to ensure fathers in the area had the resources they needed to support their families throughout the pandemic. The group started a free garden club (online Mondays at 7 p.m.) to teach fathers how to grow their own food if family members were immunosuppressed and couldn’t risk going to the grocery store.

Slowly the group has grown into a larger community that supports the development of local businesses, connects people with mental health resources, and spotlights exceptional parents in the Hudson Valley and beyond. For her spotlight series, Roig wrote about Salahadeen Betts, the director of the Cullen County Community Center in Harlem, an example of what a community pillar should look like.

Programming continues to increase and diversify, with the development of a network of small businesses. Roig wants to be the type of father his kids can look up to, and he’s been successful.

“It’s CARV’D, it’s not just me carving the stone. I’m carving an idea, a foundation and an inspiration into something that, unless you try to physically destroy it, won’t, ”Roig says.

Related: 10 Ways To Use Stone In Your Landscape

To experience the art of Dick Stone at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons is to experience many stories. There is the story of how, as a boy, Stone sold the Saturday Evening Post in a canvas bag during the height of the Depression and fell in love with Norman Rockwell’s work. There is the story of how Stone became the youngest student, at age 12, in the Art Students League in New York. There is the story of Stone becoming an iconic commercial illustrator and later a filmmaker. And of course, there’s the story of the devastating fire in Sag Harbor that destroyed much of Stone’s work and ultimately inspired him to paint even more.

Stone, at age 95, continues to paint in acrylics in his home in the Hamptons. Her daughter, Julie Stone, chose 20 of her acrylic works for display at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons as part of a socially remote gallery experience that she hopes will show people the remarkable skill. of his father with a brush.

“I’ve been painting for what, 100 years? Stone jokes. “Julie has been watching me work for years…. After the 1994 fire, most of my stuff that I really liked, I’ve done since. I didn’t show for various reasons. It seemed like a good idea. This is really how it happened.

For some, losing all their work in a fire would kill their resolve, but for Stone, it was inspiring. “The fire has been one of the best things that has happened to me in a creative way,” he says. “As much as it was traumatic when it happened, it also helped conceptually.”

That resolve has been with Stone her entire life, notes Julie. “It wasn’t like he was born into a family of artists,” she says. “It was this prodigy from New Jersey who went to Yale, and he went right into the Art Students League illustration. But it’s not like he’s sitting around an old Connecticut estate with generations of artists who know what to do.

Stone went on to become an illustrator, commercial producer, and Clio Award-winning director. He shot commercials with Gerald Ford, Burt Lancaster, Joan Rivers, Reggie Jackson and Henry Fonda, who became one of Stone’s good friends. “It’s an interesting study on the personalities when you get a celebrity,” Stone recalls. While Stone wasn’t the star-struck type, he quickly learned to adapt to larger-than-life Hollywood figures. When he shot Lancaster and called out “action,” Lancaster stopped filming. ” He scared me ! He said, ‘Just a minute! Nobody tells me to act! ‘ He was a really tough guy. Conversely, Stone remembers Stewart going to the studio and being gracious. Stone describes Fonda as someone he has become “a quick friend” with and they have traded designs over the years.

Throughout his long and successful career, Stone continued to paint. “I tried to keep my painter’s brain alive,” he says. “During this time, you have a lot of days where you don’t do anything, so I was painting. It was ideal for me because deep down I wanted to be a supposedly good artist, no matter what.

Julie, also in advertising, still meets people who know her father’s work and is constantly in awe of the things she learns and the stories she hears. But through all the stories and all the work, one thing has remained constant. “Art was the first in her life and always has been,” she says. “It has always been integrated. “

See Dick Stone’s work at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons through January 7.