My journey to becoming the Architect and Artiste of my own life.
I almost did step into the world of architecture. I had got an opportunity to spend a week in Columbia University to see if architecture was something I would be interested in. But it wasn’t for me. Didn’t move my heart and soul. I have always been fascinated with creation and creating things since I was little. My hands were always dirty into art, crafting things, needlework, playing musical instruments, pottery, flowers made out of bread, painting. But as I grew up my fascination was chemistry. I loved the complexity of equations, experimenting with gases and liquids to create formulas. But still that wasn’t quite it what I was looking for. But the most interesting thing was I was looking everywhere, above me, below me, around me but never what is in front of me. And what was in front of me? ART.
Yes. I was an art student since kindergarten. I had messy clothes, room filled with paints and colors, palettes lying around telling me to pick them up, paint, mess around, splish splash, colors, brushes, paints, pencils and erasers. I did Art. That was my main major in school. I had tuition teacher come home to teach me art and paint canvases. Drawing nature, portraits, canvas paintings, creating flowers form bread, sculpturing. It was something that came naturally to me.
And I have to say I did take that for granted to something that which came naturally to me. I did not even consider that as a gift. And this behavior was coming from a place where I grew up where art wasn’t considered a gift. It was “a pass time, hobby that “women who were not smart got into it” Because the culture of India was about engineers, doctors, lawyers etc. If you are not in any of these profession that make you money then you are not smart, intelligent and so best thing for you is to get into art the lowest form of education in there eyes. Where the culture thinks and believes education is about money. You are educating yourself because you will then make money and making money is not good or bad but the intent is you are not making money to support you but to support the family. You are out of the picture, your dreams are out of the picture. You live for others. Your prime purpose to be born is to make money, take care of your “biological family”. And art wasn’t going to do that in their minds. But here’s the deal the irony was “rich” people can do art no issue there but middle class, low class people could not afford art and there affordability was about making money to take care of not you but the society, biological family. And if you are not able to make money from your education then your next step as a “women” artist would be to get married and have kids, cook and be at home and serve your husband and his family until your last breadth. That wasn’t me.
Art is a gift. Gift of Soul. Without art you and I would not exists. There goes your dream. And there went my dream. And because of this belief I buried my dreams of doing art. I didn’t realize this until recently. But as the story flows I chose Textile Design as my major a form of art but still not art. I made a carrer from it, I even earned from my textile design degree. (which at that point in time textile career wasn’t big or thriving) But I took a plunge and dived into it. You know I wished I had taken that plunge, risk for my Art the way I took a stand for textile design. Art is about believing in you. Knowing who you are. Knowing your muse, the soul within that you are. And that I did not know. I did not know who I was, what I am, or anything about soul. I do awesome art and I love my art. It was one and the only thing in my life that was dear to me. And because there are many chapters in my book where life and things happened I didn’t want the one thing that was dear to me taken away from me. That was mine to keep. So I guarded myself and my Art. And so in that moment and time the best choice was Textile Designing. We made a career and living doing textiles.
I landed with a scholarship from Savannah College of Art and Design, GA for my Bachelors Degree in Textile Design. And so here we are. I was older didn’t have to follow the rules and beliefs of a culture. I was independent made my own choices. So no one was stopping me, or would take away from me that fear had no place where I was. And so I could have pursued Textile as Art, Textile Art. But I didn’t. Apparently the culture beliefs and fears stayed with me until I began to question, to seek my own truth to who I am and what is going on with me and why am I in such a mess.
And here I am today finally taking action to addressing my relationship with Art, my Soul, the love of my life. Letting go of the control, guarding, fears and trusting the art of my soul now to be the driver of me the form.
My love for chemistry became the love of Magick, potion making, working with herbs, crystals, divining, making sigil art etc. I still continue doing textiles and textile designs. And architecture never left me as the architect of my life lived within me, my muse, my soul. Hence, I became the architect and artiste of my own life. Painting my own canvas as the journey presented. We had lots of grey shades for a long time in our canvas but now we have spectrum of rainbow. The life itself, The Soul.
And so I want to welcome you. I Thank you for supporting my art and I truly appreciate your support. May I know you or not. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Hope my Art inspires you to know who you are within, your own soul and to create, own your gift of Art that you are, The Soul.
— Nishante, Artist
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