Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad Archives

Five tea bag mini paintings by Oormila that, according to ChatGPT, “combine organic textures, delicate botanical illustrations, and an ephemeral quality, transforming an everyday object into a work of art.” Read full descriptions of each at the end of the post.

Five Botanical Micros + Mini Tea Bag Paintings by Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad

aromatica poetica February 20, 2025

A note from Oormila: Each of these micros has been paired with a miniature painting I made in mixed-media, on used and dried tea bag silk. These are part of a series of over 150 paintings that I painted on tea bags last year when I weaned myself off coffee and started drinking tea. I wanted to recycle the tea bags and I had the idea for making them into mini-canvases. The paintings in this submission have the same title as the micros …

A steaming gold teapot with a wood handle and purple knob on the lid on a background of swatches of color: red, yellow, pink, purple, orange. It’s a mixed-media painting that Oormila made to go with the first poem - Masala chai.

Masala Chai & Other Poems by Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad

aromatica poetica December 22, 2020

Masala chai always reminds me of rest stops and rain – Himalayan apple orchards wrapped around rugged trails, the smell of mountain soil, tatters of sky flashing blue smudging to thundercloud grey – a lot like your eyes – I could never tell where the gold ended and the filaments of green began. Nothing comforts the soul like a cup of masala chai, you whispered, savouring the milky decoction of black tea and cloves. Cardamom pods bobbed like boats, in …

Original acrylic painting titled “Mariammachi’s fish” (8”x12”) by Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad.

Two Poems of Wizardry and Cookery by Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad

aromatica poetica May 14, 2020

In the wizard’s lair Mariammachi rose with the sun – my Nana’s trusted right hand woman she cooked for a grateful household an enchantress with a culinary wand she could turn anything – the humble tapioca, the nondescript okra into Michelin star feasts. She would seat six year old me on the black volcanic rock of Nana’s hundred year old kitchen and I would study with wonder the paste of ash and water she scrubbed the clay pots with gutting …