Artist drawn to India

A guru once said: 'the dust of India gets into your soul and never leaves'. Local artist and curator, Catherine Parker, can attest to the wisdom in these words.

'My interest in India began in 2004 when I stumbled upon a small book on Indian art in the library; it literally fell off the shelf,' Catherine said.

'In 2005, I was accepted in an Artist in Residence in New Delhi, India and I’ve made seven return trips, each time being drawn predominately back to Rajasthan in the west and Ladakh in the Himalayas.'

And so began her lifelong passion for India and its thriving culture.

'Indian art and life are inextricably woven into a complex tapestry of religion, music, rituals, festivals and ancient art making practices; creativity is like breathing and honoured on a daily basis in simple things like the women’s striking saris and personal adornment.'

In 2008, Catherine met Kamal Swami, an Indian artist based in Jaisalmere, Rajasthan, who works in the traditional miniature painting style with local (Mewar – Rajasthan), Mughal and Persian influences.

The paintings are exquisite in their detail, recording day to day scenes, customs and culture.

'Meeting Kamal changed the direction of my own artwork; having mostly worked on large scale paintings, my work shrunk from two metre paintings to 30cm square works on board and paper.

'It was a delight to sit on the floor of Kamal’s shop inside the old fort of Jaislamere, where we would pass works back and forth, sometimes in total silence for hours, punctuated only by a spontaneous ‘namaste’ (hello) from Kamal and chai tea.

'India is a country that really gets under your skin and the joy and the warmth of the people is contagious; something I really wanted to share with others.'

In 2009, Catherine began conducting art tours to India encouraging participants to enjoy the challenge of taking inspiration from, and making heartfelt responses to, India and its people.

'Every artist is inspired by something; sometimes it might be the simplicity of a flash of a lime, hot pink, orange or flame red sari - but it is there, in every town, yellow mustard field or temple.

'An equally important part of the tour is to experience the traditional arts and crafts for which India is known such as woodblock printing, weaving and ceramics.'

Taking her love of India to the next level, Catherine and some of her tour participants will share their experiences in an exhibition of their work.

Drawn From India will feature works by Kamal Swami (Rajasthan, India), Heather Derbyshire and Michelle Libby (New Zealand), Donna Malone (Brisbane), Christina Croft (Gympie), Ronnie Priestly (Darwin), Beth Laurenson (Gold Coast), Clare Staines (Maleny) and local artists Tina Wilson, Sharni White, Sandra Jarrett, Michael Keogh and Catherine Parker.

The group comprises a combination of art lovers/enthusiasts, professionally exhibiting artists and students and teachers of art with works ranging from photographs, mixed media works on paper, ceramics and sculpture to paintings and prints.

The exhibition will run from 8-24 MARCH in the USQ Arts Gallery and will be officially opened by Catherine at 5pm on Wednesday 9 March - all welcome.

For further information about Drawn to India, visit www.usq.edu.au/artsworx