The Beacon - October 2023
Editorial Team : Harini Thiagarajan, Anishka Gogoi, Anvika Bheemarasetty
Art is the greatest form of hope. —Banksy
〰️
Art is the greatest form of hope. —Banksy 〰️
Art Event at Google, Kirkland
Recent Highlights
Ms Deepti Agrawal was felicitated by the City of Redmond for her partnership with the city in contributing to the enrichment of the creative economy and for adding to the cultural landscape of the City of Redmond.
She, along with few other renowned artists, were recognized as part of the reading of the National Arts and Humanities Month proclamation by Mayor Birney.
The event took place on October 3rd in the City Hall.
Kenmore Children’s Business Fair
The Kenmore Children's Business Fair, an event by Thoughtful Citizens, was organized on September 9th, 2023, at The Hanger in Kenmore, WA. Over 50 kid entrepreneurs had an opportunity from the local community to display various forms of artistic expression.
Adithi Siva, a student of Deepti Designs, was a part of the fair showcasing Madhubani artifacts. She generated lots of interest and sold most of her art pieces. Adithi describes her experience as “empowering as it instilled a sense of value and purpose in my creative pursuits."
Thornhill Saint Louis County Library Show
Aditi Satrasala, one of our younger artists, received an opportunity to showcase Madhubani Artwork at the Thornhill Saint Louis County Library Branch in Missouri on September 12th. She showcased her wonderful art pieces along with many others who showcased art collections from various other countries. It was a unique visual art treat for all the visitors that visited.
Artist: Aditi Satrasala
Homeward Pet 5K Fundraiser
Rama Panchap, a 10-year-old, represented Deepti Designs as a vendor at Homeward Pet 5K’s recent fundraiser and sold earrings with Madhubani designs and pretty wax candles.
Homeward Pet Rescue is a no-kill animal shelter in Woodinville. On September 16th, they organized a 5K where people could walk/run with their pets to have fun while raising money for the shelter. All proceeds from sales were donated to the shelter. Rama expresses, “I was proud to represent Deepti designs at the Homeward Pet 5K rescue event. It was fun to see everyone else’s ideas at the event and I enjoyed raising money for the shelter.”
Association for India’s Development Showcase
Siyona Rao recently raised funds for development projects in India implemented by the Association for India's Development (AID is a 50 1(c)3 registered in the US) by donating one of her Madhubani Paintings for a silent auction. This silent auction was held during a fundraiser event for AID at Hotel W in Bellevue on September 23rd, 2023, and her painting attracted four bids and ended up selling for $60. Thanks to Ms. Nikita Thakalath, her Madhubani teacher, for helping her in her art journey.
Google Workshop—25th Anniversary
Deepti Designs is honored to have been invited to Google for numerous workshops. The two recent workshops that happened were on September 27th and October 12th at Google’s Bellevue and Kirkland offices.
Google, Bellevue Office
Google’s Bellevue location invited us to celebrate their 25th anniversary on September 27th where around 25 Google employees took time off during the workday to create small keepsakes such as bookmarks, coasters, and photo frames, all while getting to learn a bit more about Madhubani. The core team comprising of Ms. Deepti Agrawal, Ms. Shilpa Sherigar, Ms. Deepthi Ganesh, and Ms. Nikita Thakalath lead the event, successfully. Deepti Designs is so grateful to have been a part of this special event, and we hope to return for future successful workshops!
Google, Kirkland
The Kirkland office of Google invited us back October 12th from 1-4 p.m. to host a larger company-wide event. Our team comprising of Ms. Deepti Agrawal, teaching artists Ms. Nikita Thakalath and Anushka Bains and artist Ms. Archana Kulkarni conducted the workshop where around 70 Googlers participated and created their Halloween and Diwali-themed photo-frames, coasters and bookmarks.
They were appreciative of the heritage art and passed their compliments to the digital team comprising of artists Ananya Vaidyaraman, Anvika Bheemarasetty, Mahima Kolar, Meenakshi Iyer and Yashvy Patni who created the design sample sheets.
Microsoft Event
Deepti Designs hosted an art event in Microsoft’s Redmond Office for Window’s team on Oct 5th from 11-1pm.
Many participants enjoyed learning about the Madhubani art form and making a piece from coasters, bookmarks, and frames. Other Microsoft employees stopped by and showed keen interest in the displayed paintings.
Overall, it was a successful event and we have quite a few other events coming up in Microsoft with various other teams.
Kathith Events
Pattachitra Workshop
The third batch of the Pattachitra Workshop started on Sept 26th and will go on until early December.
The course is taught by artist Mr. Ashish Das from Odisha, which is where the Pattachitra art originates. Students get to learn “the motifs of flora, fauna, mudras, face, and develop [their] own composition of Odisha pattachitra” as described in a Kathith Instagram post. Make sure to follow Kathith on Instagram to learn about similar future workshops and get first access to a possible fourth batch!
Chitrakathi Workshop
The Chitrakathi Workshop, held on September 30th, October 1st, and October 7th, has just concluded! The workshop was taught by Shilpa Shastra artist Shanmughapriya, who also instructed the Nayakar workshop back in February. Chitrakathi is an art form from Maharashtra whose subjects are “robust and painted with a flat profile, featuring unique round eyes that mimic the human gaze, with a central spot and subtle projections,” as quoted from the Kathith Instagram account. It is the only folk art with two distinct painting styles, Paithani and Pinguli. Mr. Chetan Gangavanae, son of Padma Shri awardee Mr. Parshram Gangavanae, appeared in the workshop to share how his family had kept the art form alive for over 500 years.
Digital Folk Art Classes
Ms. Supraja Ganesh of Aditiyeva Studio will teach a course on traditional digital art starting on October 26th twice a week. The course will last a total of 12 sessions, with each session an hour long, plus a complimentary 15 minutes of digital jamming! This beginner-friendly course taught on Adobe Illustrator is meant to showcase all the possibilities that one can achieve with digital art in the field of traditional arts.
For more details and to sign up, please click hit the button below.
Kaavi Kale Workshop
Kaavi Kale, a wall fresco art which is on the verge of extinction, originates from the Konkan region of India.
It is a beautiful art form that uses the red pigment made from soil as an important supply for the art creation. The name Kaavi Kale itself actually translates to “red oxide art form.”
We are fortunate to have Kaavi Kale reformer Dr. Janardhan lead a four-day workshop teaching in detail and from scratch, the ancient monochromatic art style.
The workshop would be held on the 4th, 5th, 18th, and 19th of November. The registration for the workshop is closed. Stay tuned for other such workshops by following Kathith on Instagram!
Upcoming Events
&
Opportunities
Diwali Events and Workshops at Libraries
We are invited to conduct numerous Diwali workshops in-person and online around the Greater Seattle region. All these workshops are open to the public and are FREE of cost with registration.
Artists are invited to volunteer. Please find the details below -
In-person:
KCLS Lakehills Library
Grain Rangoli Workshop
October 21st, 2:30 - 4:30 PM — three volunteers neededEverett Library
Diya Painting Workshop
October 28th, 2:00 - 4:30 PM — three volunteers neededKCLS Bothell Library
Speakers’ Bureau Talk on The Ancient Art of Madhubani Painting
November 7th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM - three volunteers needed
Online:
Sno-Isle Library at Mountlake Terrace
Folk and Art Customs of Diwali and Grain Rangoli Workshop
November 16th, 6:15 - 7:45 PM
Please reach out to Ms. Deepti Agrawal if interested in volunteering for any of the above events.
Events and Workshops with Corporates
Below are the opportunities with the corporates that are upcoming and for which we volunteers are needed. These events are held during the weekdays at daytime, thus parents and high-schoolers are welcome to join. If available and interested, please contact Ms. Nikita Thakalath 425-894-5984 (Whatsapp only please)
Microsoft Events
Date: October 20th | Time: 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: Microsoft Redmond Campus
Date: October 25th | Time: 11 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Microsoft Redmond Campus - 1 volunteer neededDate: October 27th | Time : 12Noon - 3:00 PM
Location : Microsoft Redmond Campus - 2 volunteers needed
Expedia
Date: Tuesday, November 7
Time: 12noon - 3 pm
Location : 1111 Expedia Group Wy W, Seattle, WA 98119 - 3 volunteers needed
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Date: November 14th
Time: 11 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Gates Foundation, Seattle - 2 volunteer needed
Please reach out to Ms. Nikita Thakalath 425-894-5984 (Whatsapp only please) if interested in volunteering for any of the above events
Shilpa Shastra Annual Showcase
September 2023 marks the completion of the first year of our Shilpa Shastra curriculum course with the prodigious guru Sri Drdha Vrata Gorrick. To celebrate this momentous milestone, we will be hosting an online art gallery showing off some of the participants’ works.
Gallery days : October 29th - October 30th
Live Artist Reception over zoom - October 29th | 8:30-9:30am PST
To request an invitation to the reception, please click on the tab below.
Young Artists Showcase
Date: November 11th | 11-5pm
Location: Seattle Center Armory
Deepti Designs’ annual Young Artists Showcase event at the Seattle Center Armory is coming soon! This is an excellent way for students to display their artwork publicly and practice presenting in front of a professional setting.
At the event, we will also be recognizing students who have contributed to the school, including PVSA nominees, The Beacon’s editorial team, Creative Voices mentors, Kindness Crew participants, and more, so be sure to attend! Details for participation and the exact scheduling and sign-ups will be released soon in the internal community group.
Featured Artist
Ananya Vaidyaraman
Put your hands together for our newly graduated artist, Ananya Vaidyaraman! Ananya recently completed her solo show at the Redmond Community Center. She showcased all the wonderful and unique paintings she made over the years and received a certificate stating she is a professional Madhubani artist.
Reflecting on her experience, she details, “Through this exhibition, my aim was to not only share with others my 5-year journey in Madhubani art but also raise awareness about social goals of importance such as environmental sustainability. Seeing the show come together on September 30th after hours of effort and collaboration was a very rewarding experience. We were also able to feature some origami artwork done by my sister, Anjana, which served as an artistic complement to the show. I would also like to give a huge thanks to Deepti Aunty for constantly supporting my endeavors in the arts, my parents for playing an immense role in organizing the exhibition, and the student volunteers for creating an enriching experience at the show.” Congratulations to Ananya!
ActivityTime
Featured participant of last issue’s game is Ashwini Talanki who solved the memory game in 32 seconds! Congratulations!!!!
This Navratri, the House of Kathith is thrilled to present -
9 heritage art forms in
9 compositions by
9 traditional artists
On each day of the Navratri, 1 printable uniquely composed by artists to celebrate the power of femineity will become available to download, at the same link.
These are downloadable and can be printed at home or office printer.
Please do email us your completed work at newsletter.thebeacon.dd@gmail.com and we would be happy to feature select artworks in our next edition.
