Shanthi Sridharan

I am a kolam artist. My work  tap’s into the dual mystiques of infiniteness and detachment innate to  Kolam drawings. Kolam is a design philosophy based on connecting the dots with lines and curves to create infinite design patterns. The Kolam patterns are a rich source of figure language which serves as a stimulus for creation of new types of languages to communicate. These drawings cant be preserved. It gets walked on, washed out or blown around in the wind and you have to let go and new one is made the next day.This nfiniteness and detachment creates an unmatched mystic only paralleled to aura associated to the existence of the universe.

I create designs of nature, shapes, flowers, birds, portraits and mandalas. Created with mix of traditional patterns and dreams these images are awash with vibrant colours and refreshing patterns. They form my language to communicate joy. I take a digital copy of my Kolams and post it in my pages – facebook/kolam.shanthisridharan and instagram/kolam.shanthisridharan. I have over 170,000 followers. These drawings have become part of everyday joy for my fans.

I am an admirer of any fresh and unique designs. I am particularly fond of Indian temple sculptures from where I derive inspiration. I create my Kolam drawings with white and coloured stone powders on black granite floor.  I take extra care to ensure that the lines are sharp and perfect. From my younger days the
concentration and focus associated with drawing Kolam was a spiritual and liberating experience for me.

The joy people get out of seeing my kolam’s is most fulfilling for me. The infinite possibilities of the Kolam art gives me an opportunity to do that every day. I have combined contemporary designs and colours to the rich art of kolam drawing to appeal to the current sensibilities.

I live in Chennai, classified by UNESCO as one of the creative cities in the world. Chennai and its surroundings with more than 2000 years of history and art has been my constant source of nspiration.  My life ambition is to make sure the art of kolam drawing thrives and is preserved for the generations to come.