Let’s hear from Ashwini, an artist, a professional, a homemaker and a mother to a beautiful girl Aditi. Art is her passion and after practicing art for more than 25 years, she is in the process of launching ‘The Color Factory’ a place where art is for all and all is for art.
Why art?
Master artist Picasso once said “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. I completely believe in this saying and live by it.
I am a Financial Consultant by profession, a mother, a wife, a homemaker and many other things, but when you add art to the equation I become Ashwini. Art is what defines me, nurtures me, elevates my spirits when I am dull and keeps me sane through life’s ups and downs. It is also my way of venting out my creative energy into something beautiful, something that I will leave behind as my legacy.
Above all, it is the medium through which my daughter and I connect with each other. I spend many hours and days doing what I love the most: creating beautiful pieces of art. When I am not painting, I love books, music, dance, travel, art supplies, beautiful stationery and all things colourful.
What is TheColorFactory all about?
The Color Factory is my dream venture. We offer art classes, art projects, online art lessons for children and adults, painting workshops by artists, art events, painting exhibitions, beautiful and vibrant products for sale and much more, all under one roof. “ART FOR ALL, ALL FOR ART” – is our dictum.
Your daughter was the national winner in art competition held by ICICI Bank? As a mother and artist yourself, how did you recognize the talent and encourage it in your daughter?
My daughter Aditi who is 7 years old, is a gifted child. When she was born I had hoped that she would be interested in fine arts and be an artist like me. Luckily for me, Aditi is turning out to be a better artist than I am.
She is naturally endowed with a high degree of creativity, imagination and observation, which are the key skills for an artist. Just when she was a baby just 9 months old, I observed that she has this innate ability to identify colours, hold a crayon perfectly and fill a paper with lines and patterns. Her drawings were always colourful with great amount of detailing. A great talent needs a great deal of encouragement, which meant a lot of effort and dedication from me. I have been teaching Aditi to draw and paint from a very young age. I have always encouraged her to draw what she loves. I have constantly recognized her efforts and monitored her progress. All this has given Aditi a good head start in her artistic journey and creative adventure.
How do you both prepare for any competition?
Before any competition, Aditi and I discuss what should actually go into the painting considering the theme or topic of the competition, if any. We come up with a lot of fun and crazy ideas (mostly Aditi’s) which we later sketch on a paper and fill in colours. Once we both are satisfied with the end result, we practice it one more time just to be sure. Later we collect all art supplies and organize it in such a way that, she can easily access them during the competition without hindering her artistic flow. Aditi recreates the art work during the competition with her own finishing touches and signature.
What’s been your greatest artistic success?
My greatest success has been making my daughter an artist and leading her to win multiple state level and national level awards in art. Conducting joint art exhibitions with my daughter has also been one of my achievements.
Any advice to other mums?
According to me, there are few simple things parents can do to make a powerful difference:
- Identify your child’s natural talents and passion.
- Foster your child’s interests, recognize efforts and monitor progress.
- Offer inspiration in whichever way possible.
- Provide reassurance and show pride in their achievements, no matter how small.
- Get creative yourself.
- Don’t forget to have fun with creativity.
Inspiring Eve Series aims to inspire and motivate moms (working or those contemplating getting back to work). If you have a story to share, please write to us on contact@proeves.com