Treasures from the sea

Her childhood was immersed in colours; a wide range of hues and shades. She learnt to caress a love for art from a young age and it paid off. Even though Sanghamitra Kaviraj took a break from it for a few years, the skill she honed as a child never left her and now, she finds herself, once again, exploring the depths of brush strokes.

“Every state in India has an art form that is unique to it and I’d like to learn about each of them,” she says. Though she is well-versed with acrylic and oil on canvas, it is these traditional forms that draw her to the creative side. She took her first step towards understanding these techniques better last December, when she made a visit to Puri in Odisha. “I went to this village called Raghurajpur, near Puri, which is known for its ‘Pattachitra’ artists. I was amazed by what I saw. The work they produce is so intricate that I don’t think anyone else can reproduce it that well,” she adds.

This is when she got the idea to work alongside rural artists. Her first venture was with an artist from Raghurajpur. “When I was there, I bought 5 seashells and asked one artist to paint particular motifs I wanted. I didn’t know what I’d do with them but when I got back home, I assembled them into individual neck pieces. I kept one and 4 of my friends gladly took the other.” This is when she contacted the artist again and struck a deal with him — Sanghamitra would send him designs and motifs she wanted and he’d work on those.

Since Sanghamitra has a keen eye for prints and designs, she was able to convey exactly what she wanted. “I didn’t want to do it myself because I don’t think anyone but these rural artists can do justice to the art. They paint with brushes that have 1 or 2 hair strands on them!” Once she gets the painted shells, she converts them into beautiful necklaces.

She is also looking to popularise Kerala mural painting through shell art. “It is important to use resources that are found naturally in that region. Odisha and Kerala have access to seashells, but art from other states can be used differently, through clothes and more,” she says.

Sanghamitra also has her eyes on ‘Warli’, ‘Gond’, ‘Phad’, ‘Patua’, ‘Kalamkari’ and ‘Tanjore’ works. Since she lives in Bengaluru, she also looks for Karnataka-based techniques but she’s yet to find artists for most of these categories.

Along with collaboration with artisans from different states, she also does Origata (not to be confused with Origami). “It’s a technique that processes paper into something cloth-like. I make flowers using this technique.” And since she has learnt various other techniques like oil and acrylic painting, on different mediums, she uses this knowledge to create something new. “Art is soothing and satisfying. Many take to dance or music but art keeps me calm,” she says.