I am Chitra Shekar, a free spirited, self-taught artist. Exploring different Art forms has always been fascinating, exciting and a source of happiness & contentment, almost as if I was born to explore various Art Forms. Even as a child I would be drawn to colors and couldn’t resist picking them up. I would and still find it difficult to leave a painting midway. I need to be happy with the outcome.
As they say, Art is never finished only abandoned. Marriage changed priorities and responsibilities took up all my time. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to strike a balance, so Art was put on the back burner. My husband however has always encouraged me on to pursue my passion. He found my old paintings, got them framed and displayed them in our home as a reminder to me of my life purpose.
All this while I was working as an interior designer for my bread and butter, but my heart was not in it and my health wasn’t able to keep up with the demands of it either. Life, meanwhile kept throwing curve balls in the form of financial crises, health, responsibilities etc. Courage and motivation had been building up and one fine day, I decided to make my passion for Arts, my Profession & I founded Sattva Arts.Creations.Designs
I followed my heart and started creating. I also began conducting art workshops at home. Most of the
Art forms which I do are self-taught & self-explored like Marble Paintings, Clay Murals, Relief art, Paper
quilling, Coffee Painting, various Folk arts – Madhubani, Warli , Lippan Kaam etc. I have learned Mosaics; Stone Carving techniques from artist mentors . Now, I take workshops on various Art Forms & work on Commissioned Orders also.
In the year 2010 I came across Mud Mirror Art (Lippan Kaam) and was fascinated by it. The fusion of glittering mirrors with mud was astounding! So, the Explorer in me started research on Lippan Kaam, read about it, and met a few people who belong to where this art form comes from. After gathering enough information, I made my first piece of Lippan Kaam and fell head over heels in love with it. My experience in clay helped me handle this medium with ease.
Through workshops, I now share the techniques and knowledge of this beautiful art form. It is also my effort to keep this unusual art form alive and thriving, for times to come. I aspire to spread knowledge about this unique Art form to as many Cities as well as Countries possible. I also take commissioned order of Lippan Kaam. So far, I have done workshops in Gurgaon, Bangalore & Bhopal. My upcoming Lippan Kaam workshops are on 8th Dec 2018 (Saturday) in Gurgaon & 9th Dec 2018 (Sunday) in Greater Noida.
Thank you Chitra for sharing your creative as well as inspiring journey with us .
Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea-Edward de Bono
Very well deserved Chitra. You always had this spark in u. Way to go… best wishes.
Thankyou so much Sumit Bhaiya. You & bhabhi have always encouraged me for my work during college days, which has always given me a lot of strength & belief in myself 🙂