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Art Workshop in Chetla Government Home— July 25, 2013

A Report Supported by Peace-work; an initiative of the seagull foundation of the arts.

http://www.seagullindia.com/peace/peacehome.html

In my art work-shops I had some specific aims. I have been interacting with these kids for some time. They are very achievement oriented and look for approval. Some of them have approached me on their own, and shown me their art works,. Some of those are very conventional and rigid but some are drawn from imagination and very creatively done. In my workshop I just wanted to show them that there is more to making art than copying and depicting objects. So I got some crayons and paper and thought about asking them to draw something abstract. Then one kid came up and showed me a poem that he composed. It was wonderful, rhythmic and matured beyond his years. It was about monsoon rain. (Translation will not do justice to the poem, so I put up his hand written version). I asked the kids to draw monsoon rain and cloud. I myself stated to draw cloud and rain, with chalk.        

.I told them to forget all the pictures they have seen before and asked them to draw how does cloud and rain feel like. I encouraged them to use different colours in cloud, to experiment and to play with the process of mark making. Which they did and I can see that some of them opening up and moving the crayons freely.       

     I had, in an earlier session, related Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘Little Mermaid’ and the Greek myth called ‘Icarus’s Flight’. The two paintings were exquisitely done—they were emotive and vivacious. These paintings filled my heart with happiness as I realized that without being asked he had illustrated the stories I had told him

A few days later I got the chance to take a few more art sessions. This time is we were to colour cardboard boxes with acrylic paint, markers and crayon. We had to make them look pretty because they are to be used as container for game tools and storybooks. I showed them what to draw and where to draw. They carried on and kept inventing new patterns and using the colours and materials in different ways. I joined in and gave them some instruction and also the freedom to be spontaneous and having fun.

Collective Memory and Cathartic gestures:- a collaborative exhibition between two young artist Asmita Sarkar and Katarina Chomova February 11, 2012

For this show Katarina,[originally from Czech Republic, her paintings has its subject matter in Chernobyl] has stated that childhood memory and memory of the home is the driving force of her work. The aftermath of a tragedy has emigrated into her painterly gesture and mark making.  Katharina’s works are subtle and are not overtly resonating with the dark theme.

        In contemporary art theories the gesture of mark-making has been dealt seriously. According to some prominent theorists compulsive mark making indicates a ‘…loss of something that has never been’. Making a mark has been compared to combating with loss and displacement.

While I created installation drawings of ‘creepy crawls’, flowers depicting blood, bruises and pain which are inspired by cultural memories of India. Making mark has been compared to combating with loss and displacement. My work deals with a romantic vision of ‘.A loss of something that has never been’. Essence of Baudelaire find it’s visual equivalence in vermilion, henna and Japanese water-colour technique. Mythical beautiful Orient reveals it-self in pretty patterns written in blood. I used decorative patterns from Bengal, far-eastern water-colour techniques to create a surreal and poetic narrative of pleasure and pain

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