Artist of the Month: Anuradha Bhaumick

"I am Anuradha Bhaumick, an artist from Bangalore. I was born in India to Bengali parents and shifted to Thailand when I was three. Art has been an integral part of my life. The love affair with embroidery started when I was five and down with Chicken Pox. My mom had to keep me away from the playground and handed me an old rumaal (handkerchief) and a sewing kit, and taught me running stitch and lazy daisy. Not only did she manage to keep me from infecting the neighbourhood; she gave me my Ikigai. I am 28 now, and embroidery has been a remedy to my anxieties and anger.

The key themes for my embroidery are reading and relaxation. I create sceneries of lush foliage and dreamy reading poses, all to dilute the monotony of everyday life with the monotony itself.  I use my mother's kurta cut outs to collage my pieces. Why my mom's kurta, you ask? Because she's 4'11" and store bought kurtas never fit her. I have been collecting these residual fabrics since years from her tailor, post alterations. All the fabric you see in my art is from her kurtas. I have everything I need, right from Jaipuri Indigos to Thai silks and ikats, all from my own house."

-Anuradha Bhaumick

Follow Anuradha's gorgeous embroidery experiments on Instagram. DM her for commissioned work.