Creating Success Around the World

Welcome to worldwide blog hop,Creating Success Around the World which introduces you to the artsy and creative people around the world...

The hosts for this month's Blog Hop are,

Suzy from the USA

Jill from Australia

Leigh in the UK 

Deepthi in Asia ....That's me :)

Hannah in New Zealand 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's guest is a bit different from regular bloggers.....You might be thinking what would be that..... So let me introduce to you the fabulous Dr Pritesh, a scientist and an artist from Pune, India from Quilling Me Softly . Yep she is a scientist!!! Wanna know more??!! 

 

Tell us something about you and your country ? Though I am from India too I would like to know your views....... 

Hello, I am Dr. Pritesh from India, a scientist by educational training and a self-taught artist. I come from India, the country that embodies all that is fine, aesthetic and colourful. It is impossible to list all the art forms practiced in India but I will still try, madhubani paintings, warli paintings, thanjavur paintings, mehendi art, pottery, stone sculpting, wood carving, pashmina weaving, jute art, silk weaving........you name it, India has it. Having grown up in a family where nearly everyone practiced some form of Art in their spare time, it was but natural for me to catch up. With a mother who excelled at embroidery, cooking, stitching and singing, I had a role model to look up to. In spite of doing my Bachelors, Masters and eventually Doctorate in Chemistry, my love for Art (and passion for practising it) never left me. I have meddled with various forms of art, namely acrylic painting, b/w and colour sketching (specially portraits), Rangoli, embroidery and now Quilling.

 

 

Wow !!!! You have tried so many different forms of art!!!! What do you create? I mean what are you really interested in?

I am a slightly whimsical artist so I pick up a random Art and practice it, sometimes it is sketching, sometimes Rangoli.....it varies and depends on my mood really. I am specially fond of making Rangolis, sketching people and paper quilling. Paper quilling is the most recent acquisition to my skill set and I truly enjoy the rolling paper taking up myriad of forms and breathing life to otherwise mundane perception of paper.

We can see that you enjoy quilling very much...You creations are just .... amazing!!! So much of patience and delicacy......and so much of work...... What inspires you?

My creations are usually inspired by the idea flashes I get from time to time. I am constantly thinking of Art and how I can convert something I am looking at into a work of Art. In that sense, I am a 24x7 artist. Often, these creative sparks are ignited by my husband, who in spite of not practicing Art has an eye for the unique. Apart from his suggestions, Mother Nature is my biggest inspiration. The flowers, the leaves, the animals, the scenery that she has created remains unparallelled and I, in my own humble way, pay a tribute to it by copying it in my creations.

Do you sell your creations? If so, how? Where? Is it profittable? I am all ears......

I have recently begun selling my creations, mostly through my personal contacts so far. I never thought of Art as a career before but now, I am into it full time. Being an artist after having been a scientist for nearly a decade is a huge change and my learning curve it steep. It has been profitable so far but I have a long way to go. I do have an Etsy shop but I haven't been keeping it up to date. Most of my sales so far are through personal contacts and are customized designs. Facebook has been a lovely platform for meeting people who have both appreciated and encouraged me.

You have so many works to your credit....I want to know if you have made any mistakes or lessons you have learned in your crafting? I know ....I have made quiet a few......

I am too new to have made mistakes or learnt much from Art as a profession but ya, there have been times when I have been agitated by the acts committed by certain pilferers who are more than ready to take credit for the work I have done. I am a firm believer of sharing knowledge but some people take undue advantage of my online presence and download content from my blog. The very same content then reappears elsewhere under their name as creators and I have often got to know from others that such things are happening. I have had to take immense care with water-marking every single image I upload. This is tiresome but, unfortunately, necessary as well.

Ya I know what you mean.... Sad things like these happen and I have been thinking of that watermark thing for sometime now ......

What to you is success and have you acieved it or are you on your way towards success?

To me, success takes on a definition depending on the context. When I was an artist for hobby, success was doing better than I did the last time. But now that I am an artist for a profession, success has an added dimension of financial gain. If I am able to make a decent living out of Art, I would consider myself successful. I certainly have achieved some degree of success but I think it is a journey that never really gets over. Success is in redefining one’s goals and achieving them as time goes.

 

Well said......So what next...I mean what are your next goals and objectives?

I intend to teach crafts to school-children (and other age groups as well). Apart from that, I want to have my own store some day, where I can display and sell my creations. I also intend to teach underprivileged children these crafts and provide them a decent means of employment as artisans, as opposed to the menial jobs they might otherwise do. I have started on this path with our maid’s son alerady having learnt basic quilling. I hope to be able to employ many more of such unprivilaged women and help them improve their lives.

All the best Pritesh for all your goals and objectives.....Thank you for taking out time for this interview. 

You can visit her at Quilling me softly and her Facebook page over here.

Do you want to meet other creative people around the world or want to be interviewed and featured on my blog then hop on and link your posts to this blog hop below......and do mail