My prized possession is my oldest sketchbook from 2005, which has scenes from Bangkok based on my grandma's then-recent vacation. The day she returned from the trip, my family gathered to hear her experiences. I rushed to draw the scenes that my grandma vividly narrated and presented the piece to her. She gleamed with joy and told me that she felt as if she was reliving the moments. Although this is not my most appreciated work, it reminds me of the beginning of my journey as an artist. As I flip through the pages of my sketchbook even today, I can only see my grandma's face which inspires me to use art to imagine, express and connect.

To explore my art style further, I enrolled in Artforte academy. Despite the aesthetically pleasing work, I found it unfulfilling as I only drew using images from the Internet, and it lacked originality. Determined to develop my own ideas, I decided to pursue 'Art and Design' with the CIE curriculum. However, this required me to change school and my city. This was definitely challenging, but I had a steep learning curve and was able to expand my comfort zone. To add interdisciplinary dimension to my work, I studied Psychology and Business Studies at A level. With the change in learning style and the subjects, I have been able to diversify my interests and pursue different themes through art. With every new piece, I am able to learn more about the world around me and myself.

While growing up in India, I had numerous encounters with murals, block-printing, textile designing, dyeing process, which helped me to understand how art can exist in different forms and influenced by different cultures. For example, I took part in a ‘blue pottery’ workshop, which is a traditional art of Jaipur, my home city. This gave me a chance to reflect upon my culture and the importance of craftsmanship and the handwork involved in the process. However, I had limited knowledge of art around the world, and thus, enrolled in two short courses, which were organised by the Central Saint Martins. The first short course ‘Workshop in Art and Design’ helped me understand the core components of fine arts. I practised live figure drawings for the first time and found it to be very stimulating as I had to capture the posture and the expressions of the model in 30 seconds. During this, I had to limit the use of eraser and make the drawing as accurate as possible. This was a new experience, and I started to realise that art is less about perfection and more about the process and expression. The second short course was ‘Portfolio Development’ where I had an opportunity to identify my unique style by experimenting with different media. For example, I created a series of monoprints
with plasticine clay. According to the tutor at the course, it was ‘unique’ and ‘inspiring’. Her words had a lasting impact on me and motivated me to use more contrasting materials and unconventional combinations and explore beyond traditional boundaries.

Upon returning home, I joined a foundation skills programme at Unolona academy, where I experimented with different components of Fine Arts like painting, sculpture, photography and many more. I was also able to experience the power of teamwork as I actively engaged with my peers to brainstorm and critically evaluate projects. Moreover, for different projects, I made thumbnail sketches and prototypes, which helped me to critically evaluate the possibilities of making them. Once, I was working on a jewellery designing project inspired by a toolbox. For that, I shortlisted the tools I wanted in my final design and also, how I wanted the shape of the tool in the jewellery piece. Further, I evaluated the feasibility of the designs.

Throughout my development as an individual and an artist, music and poetry have always intrigued me and matured me emotionally. I got inspired by Rupi Kaur's powerful words in her book 'milk and honey' and practised writing poetry for my portfolio. For a digital art course at the foundation programme, I even curated a vinyl cover with my favourite music artists alongside honing technical skills for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fusion360 to showcase the importance of music to me. Having explored art through various lenses from a young age in India, two short courses at London and honing technical skills through foundation academy, I was convinced that I want to study Fine Arts further. Later, I discussed this interest with students pursuing arts-related degrees at the university level and their description of the course content and learning process gave me the conviction that this is the right path for me.