Her foray into Chinese Ceramic Craft has enriched Preeti
Ravindran's artistic abilities.
She is a "born artist". If you enter her home at Kalyana Nagar,
Banasawadi, in Bangalore you will find a gallery of beautiful
ceramic artefacts that draws the viewers admiration.
She has won the 'Delhi Sahitya Parishad Administration Award',
a national award for her oil paintings. Preeti's
inspiration was her father, C Dharmaratna, a renowned
artist and sculptor, who worked at the Central Lalit Kala Academy,
regional section. So far, Preeti has had 30 exhibitions
of her paintings and artefacts in India and abroad.
"I learnt this Chinese ceramic craft from a Chinese lady
in Darjeeling, who taught me how to make grapes and roses.
After that, I began to experiment on my
own," Preeti told bangalorebest.com. But Preeti
did not confine herself to fruits and flowers. She began to
craft whatever came to her mind, including models of buildings.
She has been teaching this craft to enthusiastic students
at her residence. During the summer holidays each year, not
less than 30 students come to her to learn the craft. "Some
even come from out of Bangalore and stay here for a month
or two to learn from me," Preeti says.
Preeti has created colourful ceramic models of flowers,
fruits, vegetables, plants, animals birds, Chinese dolls,
Roman dolls and murals. She has done beautiful oil paintings
and other creations on various items such as flower vases,
tiles, glasses, bottles, plates, PVC pipes, terracotta, walls
and stone pots. At a glance, the bunch of flowers adorning
a plate look fresh and lovely, though an attempt to smell
their fragrance ends in disappointment. "One has to paint
the colours in varying shades to get the natural look," she
says while working on a flower vase. She has employed a few
trained artists to help her in this aesthetic Chinese craft.
Canara Bank had organised a workshop by Preeti under IRDP
(Integrated Rural
Development Programme) for the benefit of unemployed women.
Preeti says that she has clients for ceramic handicrafts
in India and abroad. Her ceramic works are priced between Rs
25 and Rs 1,000. Anyone who wants to learn the craft, or would
like to buy her artwork, can contact her.
Address:
Chinese Ceramic Art and Craft,
# 701, 80 feet Road, HRBR Layout,
1 A R Block, Kalyana Nagar, Bangalore - 560 043.
Phone: 2545 2527, 2545 8939
| Text and photos by Y
Rama Mohan |
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