We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Meera Ramanathan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Meera below.
Meera, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
I grew up in Chennai, India, and visual art had always been an important part of my life! I would often find myself creating clothes for my dolls out of fabric scraps using a needle and yarn at 6 years old or making handmade cards to give to family members using markers and crayons. My fondest memory is using okra to create prints on a piece of paper with paint that my parents displayed proudly for everyone to see at our home. This was a validating moment for me that established a strong sense of pride in what I made. My parents encouraged me to keep creating through high school and supported me in my choice to pursue a fine arts degree when the norm back then was to study engineering, law, or medicine. It was refreshing to see my parents come for my art show at college and travel with me to the villages to interview weavers for my Masters’s degree thesis. They valued my hard work and inculcated the importance of persistence and perseverance. Their support along with the support of my siblings while growing up helped me shape my career when I realized I not only had an interest in creating but also to teach. As a visual art educator, I use the passion and motivation I received from my parents to develop a curriculum that gives students opportunities to feel successful in the art room.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a visual art educator and teach students UTK to 5th grade. I have a Master’s degree in History of Fine Arts, drawing, and painting from India and a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Visual Art from San Diego State University. I also have 9 years of experience working in an early childhood setting.
In my art class, I like to introduce my students to artists from different parts of the world while giving them the opportunity to create, present, respond, and connect with different media and techniques while finding inspiration from their own life experiences. My goal is always to see how I can make my lessons accessible to all my students while keeping them challenged, motivated, and engaged.
I am also an artist and create paper collages with hand embroidery that have been featured in several exhibitions in San Diego. I enjoy the process of thinking and creating artwork with a focus on color and the effect of light. Collaging keeps me grounded and I find the process of using torn paper therapeutic.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Working on a collection and exhibiting them in different venues helps me reach potential clients who are interested in my work. Posting my works on social media and meeting other artists in exhibitions in the city has been an effective strategy for growing my clientele.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Being an art educator is teaching students my passion! Being an artist is having the opportunity to create works in a medium that I love! Having people appreciate my work and buy them is pretty amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: meeraramanathan.com, https://tinyurl.com/MsR-visualart-class
- Instagram: @ms.r_art_class
- Twitter: @MeeraRamanatha5
Image Credits
Jimena Fernandez