ABOUT ME
I like to describe myself as being at the intersection of creating art, illustration and writing primarily for children with a focus on filling the gap in authentic stories about and from India.
I grew up in a simpler time, in a simple Indian town with a simple life. While my little town didn’t come with malls or TV, it came with the now rare gifts of freedom and time.
Time and freedom I used to roam the hills around my house and delight in the smells and tastes of trees and grass, fruits and flowers. I spent most of my afternoons chasing butterflies, climbing trees, chomping on guavas.. and drawing.
My free-range country living gave me not just time, but also the wealth of knowing time – not from a watch or a smartphone, but from the movements of sun and shadows, the changing color of the sky and the rise and fall of bird chatter. When the sky grew pink and the shadows long, I knew that just like those birds, it was time for me to fly home.
All my outdoor living naturally made me curious about nature which I aimed to fulfil through a love of science. I was also enamored with its irreplaceable beauty which I satisfied through drawing and painting.
As I couldn’t decide between art and science when the time for college rolled around, I got a bachelor’s degree in Architecture, and an M.S. in Sustainable Building Design.
UNBUILT WORKS
During the years that I spent working as an architect in India, I refined concept drawings and worked as a site architect, never losing site of my core principle of working with the land, local materials and imbibing sustainability at its core.
As a building scientist in San Francisco, I had reduced tons of greenhouse gases and improved the air quality for thousands of workers and children, by working on individual buildings and developing mandates and policies using computer models, testing parameters, and visualizing and analyzing the resultant data. Lots of data! Fun stuff!
I also continued to draw during my commute.
My illustrations appeared in a few books and posters.
. 2004. (The Loudest Firecracker by Arun Krishnan. Tranquebar Press. 2009)
Even though I had never quite completely outgrown my love of picture books, that love intensified as I stepped into middle age. Just like my beloved trees, whose roots have grown deeper and spread wider with age, perhaps, so, too, is the case with my cranial pathways, which seem to burrow deeper and stronger into the joys and memories of childhood, like drawing.
So, I decided to leave building science and give life picture books of my own, using those very same themes of sustainability and co-existence that have remained constant through changes in professions and homelands.
While, the tropical thickets and abundant smells and sounds of my childhood have been replaced by the clearer skies and more urban existence of Berkeley, nature continues to inspire and energize me.
Thank you for visiting.
-Aditi
luna'space 
‘Tis indeed fun stuff you have here, and I look forward to seeing more of your creations. 😀
Cheers,
Nancy
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thanks, Nancy. I don’t update too often- but would like to. Comments like yours a remind me to.
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I look forward to following your imagination.- Sharon
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Thanks!
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Very nice writeup, Jhumki. Apart from having developed your artistic talent, you also have a gift for writing which comes through in the intro and in your other writings. Write and paint more, and have fun!
Dadabhai
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Thank you, Amber! I hope to be more productive in the future than I have been in the past – ….
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Hey! You should have your picture on your About Me page!
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Meghan: Coming soon – i hope!
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Hi! I happened upon your blog when looking for other books by Chris Raschka, and I saw your blog profiled him (my two-year-old son’s favorite book is Yo! Yes?). I followed the white rabbit down the internet hole and saw you have profiled many other wonderful artists and authors, and i am sharing your blog on Facebook and will be checking back. I hope you are able to pay the bills, because your writing is fantastic, and you have done very diligent work to profile and gather all these artists and authors!
Best of luck in life to you.
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Hi Bethany
Thank you so much for your kind comments. As you can tell, I haven’t had updated my blog in a while… but your comment is inspiring me to start updating it again. There is a great illustrators blog out of Oakland, CA, called http://grainedit.com/. No, i have nothing to do with it- but it showcases great talent. You can check out my work at lunaspace.wordpress.com
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Aditi,
You painted in school with (with me as well) and you are still painting beautifully. amazing writing skill. When are you publishing your first book?
Would love to read it!
Keep up the good work.
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Dear Aditi, I want to use Jamini Roy’s Crucifixion as the cover image of my forthcoming book. Do you know in which musewum this painting is housed? If I knew this, I could contac the museum about copyright permission. Many thanks, Nandini
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And then I stumble upon this…!! Memories of the Odissi dance, the fun times at Raurkella flood thru.
Hope you doin well….
And, best of luck with your book and the yes the chocolate mousse!! ;D
Take care.
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Hi Aditi, it was a pleasure meeting you at the SF Center for the Book. Thanks for the kind words about my work; I enjoy your blog and see that we share a lot of the same interests and aesthetics! See you around ~
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Looking forward to more of your wonderful works. Best, aditi
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hi aditi,
your work is original..i connect with the indianess of the stories..i am a jewellery, accessory designer and chanced upon your site while looking for panchatantra stories .
great work!
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Hey Aditi…You never stop amazing me ..
How true it is to let the inner urge find a medium of expression!!
I am happy.. you have already started your journey…The creative impetus is yet to see its finest stroke!!
Best
Ellora
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Hi There!
We have found your interesting blog on the net. We are Tracing Vincent, a fast growing online community and resource about the artist Vincent van Gogh. As a Van Gogh enthusiast, you might be interested in our website: http://www.tracingvincent.com. Here you can rate Vincent’s paintings, stay up to date in the blog section, share your thoughts and opinions in our forum, read all about Vincent’s life and much more!
Please feel free to post a link to our site on your blog and keep us up-to-date on any interesting posts about Vincent van Gogh. If you have any questions or ideas about our community, please let us know!
Kind regards,
Renske Pronk
The Tracing Vincent Team
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Your writing conjures up images in my minds ey that is whre the success of the writer lies. keep it up great
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Sweet, very sweet.
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