Ajmal – Page 51 – The Border of a Mind

Influencing choices

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Ajmal

Quotes from this book resonate well. I have thought about this previously and it’s good to see somebody articulate it well. Often the best ideas albeit not making any rational sense are found to be catering to our psychological realms and aspects of the “experience” delivered by a product or service. The art of influencing people’s choices by bypassing reason is postulated. Very interesting!

…In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead, we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant, and the absurd – from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think
From Rory Sutherland’s “Alchemy”

“Influencing Choices” – Original Fine Art from the *The Border Of a Mind* Studios.

gaze from the teacup

January 16, 2021January 16, 2021 by Ajmal

Back here after a pretty long hiatus. Worked on this piece of art wherein we’re putting Netta in a teacup. As they say magic exists for people who believe in it. Our sharp senses are patiently sought out to unravel the magic around you.

“gaze from the tea cup” – fine art from The Border of a Mind Studios.

..“Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind, and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live..”
― Nora Roberts

Moments of Shadow

January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 by Ajmal

Love the shadows generated from the candle light

Here’s a decor slice with a pinch of photo edit powered by artificial intelligence and with some shadow art. I’ve been tinkering around with Luminar AI, which is an AI-powered photo manipulation software. Love such beautiful blends achieved by the poetic sync of technology and liberal arts.

“It is in moments of shadow that illumination happens.” ― Cheyanne Ratnam

In Pursuit of Obscure Waters

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 by Ajmal

So long that I’ve worked on a video : ) This is a visual version of a recent mountain trail with Netta.

unfolding narrative

December 16, 2020December 14, 2020 by Ajmal

Had an interesting trail in Khorfakkan and in the vicinity of Hajar mountains. Planning to craft a video soon on this endevaour.

..“We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.”
― John Muir
My First Summer in the Sierra

“Did I live? The human world is like a vast musical instrument on which we play our individual parts while simultaneously listening to the compositions of others in an effort to contribute to the whole. We don't choose whether to engage, only how to; we either harmonize or create dissonance. Our words, our deeds, our very presence create and leave impressions in the minds of others just as a writer makes impressions with their words. Who you are is an unfolding narrative. You came from nothing and will return there eventually. Instead of taking ourselves so seriously all the time, we can discover the playful irony of a story that has never been told in quite this way before.― Stephen Batchelor

the invisible fulfillment

December 15, 2020December 13, 2020 by Ajmal

This is an illustration inspired by a product that I had designed as part of my job for an engineering application for use in an infrastructure project. Although not technically relevant, I always glance at the entire art of it. The products that I usually work on as a part of my job are not directly seen, but they’re embedded in structures that serve a larger purpose. They form parts of bridges, tunnels, offshore installations, stadiums, buildings, etc. Although not directly, there’s some sort of professional fulfillment and gratitude in working behind the scenes, invisibly for engineering projects that serve you indirectly from the roadways and tunnels you drive on to the buildings you visit, to the water you drink.

An artistic snap of an engineering component used in the construction of a stadium structure

Bridge Bearings explained for the layman

Lantern in the clouds

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 by Ajmal

The quality of this photograph is not in line with the usual standards that we look up to, but I wanted to record this beautiful moment that I experienced at night. The room that we sleep in has these glass panes on one side of the wall. It allows us to gaze at the sky when we lie down and the usual pastimes include wondering at the cloud patterns forming or to count the number of flights passing through. (We live somewhat near to the airport). One night, the moon was full and it was flourishing on the clouds and Netta woke me up to show this. Although the photograph couldn’t even capture one-hundredth of the magnificence of this frame, I vibrantly remember the view.

..“It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the Moon.”
― Galileo Galilei,
The Starry Messenger, Venice 1610: “From Doubt to Astonishment”

art color life

December 13, 2020December 13, 2020 by Ajmal

There are visual treats that come with exploring unknown spaces. The slice of time from an early morning walk with the sun warming up the sky and the buildings gleaming in this vibrancy. Sometimes we get humbled by the privilege to experience this piece of art forming around you every day in a different hue.

..“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.”
― John Lubbock,
Quoted from The Pleasures of Life

new storylines

December 2, 2020December 2, 2020 by Ajmal

From an early morning trail. The rising sun is creating the perfect silhouette on the horizon.

Captured from Muweilah in Sharjah during a morning trail

“Part of what makes roads, trails and paths so unique as built structures is that they cannot be perceived as a whole all at once by a sedentary onlooker. They unfold in time as one travels along them, just as a story does as one listens or reads, and a hairpin turn is like a plot twist, a steep ascent a building of suspense to the view at the summit, a fork in the road an introduction of a new storyline, arrival the end of the story. Just as writing allows one to read the words of someone who is absent, so roads make it possible to trace the route of the absent. Roads are a record of those who have gone before and to follow them is to follow people who are no longer there…”
― Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust

glances with intention

November 21, 2020November 19, 2020 by Ajmal

..“The really magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of the time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already there. And if you look with a bit more intention, you see it.”
― Vik Muniz

In fact, unraveling this same magic is what keeps our Ponder Series up and running. It’s my humble effort to explore beauty and purpose through awareness and intention. Photography and liberal arts are marvelous brushes to paint these themes.