Unravelling the unique within you at Kalamkari art workshop

Rajshwii Bhattacharjee

In the humble abode of a small café – Hobbmob studio at Vasant Vihar, a world of colours and imaginings came to life. Artist Astha Bhatnagar along with her team of creatives painted her mind in the face of the Terracotta and wooden plates. She is a veteran when it comes to mastering the art form and also a mentor to the budding artists who sat with her striving to create something new and bright. The art exhibition was organised by two youngsters who are also the founders of the studio, Garima Bansal and Rajvi Sanghvi.

On the little surface of the plates one could find a dancing girl, delicate and plump, taking little elegant steps to convey her depth as the dress she wore glinted vibrant colors that were poured on the figure as creatively as any artist possible can. Her hands swaying in delight and wonder as if she’ll jump right out of the plate and give a performance worth a lifetime. Just beside her classic dance was the picture of a peacock with its ever colourful feathers that seemed to sway in the breeze shedding distinct colours that were more vivid than a real peacock in action. Its eyes held the glow of the moon that from a distance blessed the creature whose bliss seemed to know no bounds.

 
Some of the works created at the Kalamkari workshop

The artists behind such regal creations were hard at work, drawing and painting the figures under the guidance of Bhatnagar who drew while giving instructions on how to make the creations more animate than they appear. “I came up with this idea in 2019 and began creating products for home décor by improvising on the traditional Indian art forms like Kalamkari and Madhubani. I also do a lot of mixed media which I try to portray through my home décor products,” says Bhatnagar, who takes Terracota as the base because of its environment-friendly and sustainable nature.

Conscious that each one must contribute towards the society, she sources her raw material from local artisans, and has also trained the maids this skill. “They work with me on these when we get bulk orders, and along with painting they also help in packaging,” she says.

“We conduct art workshops, and art meet-ups like we have today. We take-up art projects in order to make the myriad artists out there more visible, so that they can showcase and market their talent. Our main aim is to encourage artists to promote their art,” says Bansal.

One of the grand paintings among many others was that of Buddha deep in meditation bringing to light the fact that the traditional Indian art form, if nurtured well, can go places.