Spend the weekend looking up at trees, dabbling with pressed botanicals, and creating art at an interactive workshop in the outdoors
An artwork of the artist
If Sundays are meant for slowing things down, including taking a walk, or a digital detox, here’s another activity to keep it light. Arts-based educator and theatre-maker Sananda Mukhopadhyaya, who spends her Sundays leading nature enthusiasts on tree walks around the city, will be teaming up with botanical artist Riya Bhartia for a two-part event — a tree walk and a floral art workshop.
“This is an experiential workshop where I will demonstrate and guide participants on the process of botanical art,” Bhartia shares. Much of her art involves the creation of patterns and symmetrical shapes made from pressed flowers glued to paper. She explains that her technique involves taking a closer look at seeds, leaves, and petals as well as an understanding of form when creating the artwork.
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Riya Bhartia
“We approach [our canvas] with intuition and intention; we trust the process,” she adds. This is one of the main takeaways. Bhartia ensures the art expresses the inner state of the mind. Once it is prepared, participants are guided to reflect on the arrangement and understand their feelings better. “The workshop is more about [inner] conversations, perspective shifts, and healing, which is what I experience with my artwork,” the artist explains.
Bhartia calls herself a travelling artist with no one city as her home. She collects a range of botanicals from her travels for her art and workshops, including this one, where she will bring along pre-pressed buttercups, roses, gulmohars and leaves from Assam, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Boston, San Diego and New York. “Each person collects or approaches botanicals differently. These artworks are a reflection of their unique selves. So it’s fun to see the shape they take before we return to the method,” she notes.
Bhartia first held the floral art workshop in Kolkata last month
Since flowers take three to six weeks to lose moisture and dry, participants can take home the botanicals they forage and repeat the process that has been taught. “I call this floral collage a painting with flowers. It’s a curation of memories, feelings and nature in one little arrangement,” Bhartia signs off.
On: May 21; 7.30 am to 10 am
At: Method, Chapel Road, Bandra West
Log on to: @riyabhartia
Call: 9930086252
Cost: Rs 2,500 (all materials included)
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