She was influenced by the arts from a very young age itself. But it was in the last two years, after she quit her job as an HR professional, that Hema took it upon herself to pursue her passion. She is now an expert at mixed media artworks, which are called mixed media scrap layouts or scrapboards.
“I’ve been a creative person since childhood but I soon got busy with studies and work and couldn’t follow up on my interest,” she says, adding that she is self-taught and still prefers to call herself a learner.
Ask her about her inspiration and she says, “I used to watch videos on YouTube and visit other blog sites. I started my journey by making greeting cards, dye cards, flowers and albums but felt saturated after a point.”
That was when mixed media was making an entry into the Indian market. “I used to watch live streaming by a mixed media artist called Marta and found it very inspiring. I started off by watching her and now have at least 250 scrap board pieces,” she says.
The different materials she uses for her works include gesso, texture pastes, mica sprays, acrylic colour sprays, fabric, cheesecloth, heavy gel mediums and metal charms. “I source my material online; most of them from abroad.”
Explaining a particular type of her creations, she says, “These have a three-dimensional look to them. Different mediums are placed in layers, one above the other, to make the theme pop out. A work like this takes about 30 minutes to make,” she explains.
Hema recreates her products on request and sells them through social media.
She is a part of many WhatsApp groups through which people approach her with requests.
“Usually they want my products for special days like celebrating the arrival of a baby, birthdays, wedding anniversaries and so on. Some people even like
to get their holiday memories preserved and would like something like a travel journal where they can add their photographs,” she says.
Hema draws inspiration from anything and everything around her.
“None of my works are repetitive. It could be a material that inspires me or the photographs or videos that I see on Instagram,” she adds.
What’s next? “A new artform called altered art is my focus now. But innovative mixed media ideas will continue to be my goal,” she says.
(Hema can be contacted on 9902542585)