Interview

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I was born and raised in New Delhi India, where my art journey started when I was very young in school. I used to watch my aunt, Prem, my father’s sister, who is a great artist of her time, draw figurative drawings on paper so easily without too much effort, at least it felt to me being an observer and a future artist. Watching my aunt made me feel like wanting to start drawing myself, so I started doodling and tried to draw women nose, ears, eyes and face, it was okay not easy to do that. Then I asked my aunt to draw something for beginners on a paper, which I could look at and practice on, and it was very helpful. I found beauty in Indian women so I always tried to make their face and features. With practice I was able to draw good, which gave me a chance in 10th grade at school to take on the project of drawing a Shakespeare portrait on a 20”x20” round surface by looking at a small coin size picture. I was very excited and put all my focus and effort to finish the project successfully since it was going to be the centerpiece of our school exhibition, which was an honor that my teachers and fellow students were relying on me, it felt very good. Later, I made a few watercolor paintings of a Tibetan mother working in a field with her child tied to her back, it was fascinating. Mother and child relationship meant very dear to me so I drew them often. Little later in life, in 12th grade, my focus changed to batik art and I took some beginners classes from a woman in the neighborhood, I loved it, and made several small pieces in the class using wax as the resist. In the following eight years while I was doing Masters in Economics, I made some watercolor and batik paintings.
In 1984, after getting married, I moved to Zambia, Africa, where I made some of my best and favorite batik art pieces, which I am proud of since it all happened when my children were little. During that time I also painted my mom’s Saree in a floral design using acrylic paints, which gave me confidence that I could paint in different mediums comfortably.
In 1997, when I moved to United States, in Rockville MD, I brought my batik art pieces with me and they are still with me, I didn’t want to sell them.
In 2000, I took some oil color painting classes while doing certification in Web and Graphic Design and a full time job, it was challenging but felt good. In 2003 when I graduated from my certification, I did an Internship with Library of Congress and created a brochure for them, which was used for many years to come and my final presentation was featured in their local weekly newspaper. During that time I made several oil paintings, until I moved to Columbus, Ohio to live with my kids who were in school and college at that time.
In 2010, I graduated from my bookkeeping certification and didn’t do art for many years since I was working and taking care of my family. During that time I also authored my self-published cookbook, ‘Cook the Indian Way’, which is available on Amazon.com and Whole Foods in Dublin, Ohio.
In 2014, my art focus shifted to Silk art, when I was planning what gifts to give to my two daughter for Christmas that year, and I felt like hand painting silk scarves in floral designs for them, and so I started my new art journey with silk medium.
Since then, I have hand painted several silk and chiffon floral scarves, acrylic paintings, charcoal drawings and sold all of them at the art events I went to during 2015 till 2018, and I am still making them in 2023. I love nature and so have made most of my scarves in floral designs, but now I have added landscape designs and silk wall art to my list. I am a self taught silk artist and challenge myself to learn different techniques everyday, which keeps me at my toes so I don’t get stuck with one type of silk art. The silk art is something in between watercolor and batik medium, it is made by painting with silk color dyes on silk fabric, while using resist to prevent colors from bleed into other areas of the painting. I am happy to say I have progressed in my approach to silk art and made better paintings and scarves over the years. All my a education has played a role in my art journey in some or the other way.”

What inspires you?

“Nature, and everything in it, such as; animals, mountains, flowers, plants, trees, birds, lakes, ocean, sky, waterfalls, scenery sun, moon and galaxy inspires me. There is so much beautiful things to look at in the nature and this world that I am amazed and want to paint them all if I can in my lifetime.”

“There is so much beautiful things to look at in the nature and this world that I am amazed and want to paint them all if I can in my lifetime.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I choose themes like flowers, animals, mountains, water, sun, trees and want to add more things to my list. My message in my work is that there is so much beauty to capture in this world through art, and so many techniques and types on art to learn from that anyone can go as far as one wants to and feel proud of their achievements.”

How would you describe your work?

“My work is hand painting on silk fabric with silk color dyes. My canvas is a blank silk fabric, which I stretch onto a wooden or a meta or a plastic frame, then trace my design, apply a resist like wax in batik art, then paint with silk dyes and brush, until it’s complete. Once the artwork is dry, I steam the fabric in a steamer so colors infuse with the fabric and stay vibrant. Final step is to immerse the fabric in a dye set solution to make the colors permanent, and then wash in cold water with a mild soap changing water until it’s clear of soap, then iron while it is damp. Voila, it’s ready to use!”

Which artists influence you most?

“Karen Sistek, a master silk artist influenced me the most because of her techniques she uses in making her silk art. Watching her make silk art taught me how I can make landscapes on Silk.”

What is your creative process like?

“I look at other artists work, whatever their medium is, on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, that gives me inspiration and thinking about what I feel like making at that time, then I research online about that particular subject and find some images I like and make a sketch on sketchbook for my project. The relaxing videos and different country videos on YouTube also inspires me to make landscapes, which then I research online, take some snapshots and make a sketch on sketchbook for my next project.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“The artists roll is critical in communities, they are an inspiration, their creative expression is important to bring a healthy influence on people of the society, inspire them, and help them to stay open minded. Artwork inspires people and can touch them spiritually that words cannot. The world would be a boring place without the beautiful contributions of visual artists, whether it is drawing, painting, sculpture or architecture, visual artists enrich the human experience. Viewing art inspires others to use their creative brains to help solve challenges of the 21st century. Viewing the work of visual artists include reduced stress, lower blood pressure, elevated mood and sharpened focus. Some visual artists, use art to bring social change, make a political statement about inequality, sexism and women’s rights. Viewing art can lead to higher levels of social consciousness and political engagement, including voting. Governments use murals, paintings, sculptures, drama, movies and songs as propaganda material to change public opinion and launch public informational campaigns.”