Breaking the mould

It was only after her marriage that Srigowri Rajesh took to the arts in a full-fledged manner.

"Though I was interested in arts and crafts since childhood and used to create stuff with paper, there was not  much exposure and opportunity in the small town I grew up in. After shifting to Bengaluru, I have had more avenues to explore and exhibit my interest," she says.  

Apart from being a mural artist, Srigowri has  dabbled in all many forms of art and craft like decoupage, paper crafting, mixed media, miniature creation and more. "I love making things with clay. Apart from jewellery, I have made miniatures of a South Indian food platter, fruits, trees and more. Combined with the decoupaged boxes and bottles,  this has transformed my entire house into a gallery of sorts," she says with a laugh and adds, "Sometimes I feel that having an interest in so many things is a disadvantage. If I had concentrated on just one thing, I would have become an  expert by now. But I enjoy exploring and learning new things."

Traditional designs are her forte and her choice, a love  that grew because of her background as a mural artist. Interestingly, the inspiration for these traditional motifs comes from new-generation platforms like 'Pinterest' which Srigowri swears by.  

Her family has been very supportive of her ventures. "My husband never says no to any art supplies or materials I want to buy; in fact, he will go and buy it himself.  My children  have been seeing me do all this from the day they  were born so they also don't disturb me when I am immersed in this pastime."

Srigowri feels that her interest in the arts is a genetic one, one that has trickled down over the different generations in her family. "My mother used to do excellent hand embroidery. She learnt everything on her own and this was around 40 years ago. Her grandfather used to draw free hand pencil sketches. So I guess this runs in the family," she says.  

And Srigowri is doing a good job of taking it forward. She was one among the five 'art experts' selected from Bengaluru in a competition conducted by Fevicryl a few months back.  

 Challenges remain, of course. "It is not a very cost-effective hobby, even if  I   try to supplement it with the workshops. People try to get the cost reduced as a personal favour. Apart from this, there are no artistic challenges since I love what I am doing," she details.

Her future plans include exploring all kinds of art forms ("I like to try my hand at whatever new trend the artistic community comes up with") and setting up a website which will document her initial steps into the industry.  

(Srigowri can be contacted on [e-mail])