We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arathi Mukundan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Arathi , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I have always been artistically inclined with a great admiration for paintings and creative crafts. I have been a self learner and used to try my hand at different things. About 14 years ago is when I realised that art is just not my interest but my passion. I decided to hone my skills by learning from established artists. This is when I also decided to start teaching whatever I learnt as I believe the best way to better your learning is by teaching.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started my venture, Aircrafts, in India, in the year 2009 along with a friend. Though we taught arts and crafts to kids initially, Aircrafts became a dedicated art school teaching drawing and painting to kids and adults from 2011. The same year I became the sole owner, teacher and creative director of Aircrafts. From then on, there was no looking back. Year after year my students create magic and I exhibit these art pieces at our annual art exhibition. We have worked on some traditional and folk art forms of India like Gond art, Warli art, Saura art and Kalighat painting,
In 2019, I moved to the United States and re-established my art school here. Thanks to the pandemic and the shift of learning to online platforms, I could globalize my classes. I am proud to say that today I have students from all over the world – India, Switzerland, Canada and different parts of US. We draw, we paint, we learn, we enjoy! When I am not teaching, I am creating art. These days, most of my creations have been based on this vibrant artform called Kerala Mural Painting from the state of Kerala in India.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I love painting and this is where I find my inner peace. What can be more rewarding than being at peace? Art is therapeutic for me and I am grateful to God for guiding me in this path.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Initially when I started the venture, I started with one student. Nevertheless, I was determined to build it up from there and not once have I been dejected about it. I focused on the right things like learning to make myself a better artist, designing a structured curriculum for my classes and implementing the most effective teaching methods. Today I am seeing the results of my perseverance and I am proud of my growth. I am very happy to say that now I have students all over the world.
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