We recently connected with Shachi Kale and have shared our conversation below.
Shachi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
As an artist who has illustrated several children’s books and as a graphic designer for over 20 years, I know that each book or each piece of communication conveys a special message. As a book illustrator, I’m bringing to life the author’s vision and as a graphic designer in a similar way, I’m telling the story of a product, organization or cause for a client. While all these hold meaning in their own way and serve a purpose, it’s the art I make as an expression of myself that holds the most meaning to me.
The one body of work that holds the most meaning to me is a solo show early in my art career that explored my experience as an immigrant to the United States, and was expressed through the lens of fairy tales. I arrived over 20 years ago with my brand new husband and a naivete that seems laughable now. I assumed life would carry on just as it had in my home town of Mumbai, India. But the reality that slowly dawned on me caught me off guard and my early years were difficult in ways that were hard to explain. Over the years I heard from a lot of immigrant women who came to this country like me, who lost their identity because of visa laws and the loss of community and support and realized I wasn’t alone in this experience. Making art to express those early years was cathartic to me…and after the show I heard from many other women, immigrant folk and people who had left the comfort of their homes and found themselves lost like I had.
Giving voice to my story freed me and perhaps allowed others to know that they were not alone. That the fairytale eventually can end with you riding off into the sunset, and there are so many people along the way whose kindness will transform your life and that fairy godmothers are not just in fairytales was a message I wanted to share! This show was exhibited at Appaloosa Library through Scottsdale Public Arts, at the Chandler Center for the Arts and at i.d.e.a. Museum, Mesa, Arizona, and was covered in the Philadelphia Enquirer as well. A community engagement piece from one of the shows allowed folks to share their own stories and that made this whole experience so very meaningful.
Shachi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a visual artist, graphic designer and children’s book illustrator. I moved to Arizona over 20 years ago from Mumbai and call both places home. My art explores themes of home, healing and the natural world. I create art that celebrates the beauty of the desert environment – its colors, patterns, flora and fauna, as well as the urban landscape that I spend my days in. I also paint imagery of daily life, its mundane beauty, my experience as a woman and mother and the duality of finding home in two opposite parts of the world.
I have had several solo and group shows in the valley and shown my art at The Chandler Center for the Arts, Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA), i.d.e.a Museum, Mesa, and through Scottsdale Public Arts. I was also an artist-in-residence at the TCA. My art has been used in public art projects, for publications, and events. I also take on projects and commissions for organizations as well as businesses and collectors. I have some exciting public art projects like a utility box in Chandler celebrating local avian life, 2 playground surfaces in Tempe and an ongoing public art project for a dog park in Scottsdale. Along with these, I have created art for Mesa Arts Center events, painted a guitar as a custom gift for Adam Sandler and had my art celebrating the colors and patterns of the desert used on high end wooden puzzles, travelware, t-shirts, cards and stickers. I am also on the Chandler Arts Commission, which is my way of giving back to this community and city that I call home.
I came to visual art after a long career in graphic design and advertising. Along the way I worked on children’s book art and all these experiences have left their mark on my art making.I enjoy color and patterns and you will see that in all the work I make. I am much influenced by the art of children’s books, folk art from around the world and the miniature art of India. My experience in the world of design has helped me manage projects, work with vendors and keep deadlines, and my interest in book illustration has helped me see the story behind everything!
Visual problem solving is very exciting to me and I love creating vibrant, joyful art that tells a story. I make both analog and digital art. I work most often in watercolors and acryla gouache, but also love printmaking, ceramics, and fiber arts.I get excited by projects that take on a life of their own and enjoy seeing my art in various scales…from small stickers to large window clings. I love for my art to have wings and reach many people in many different mediums and formats.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Making art has been the single most rewarding activity in my life! When I’m trying to capture an emotion or story and express it using a medium that feels best suited, I feel like I am fulfilling my life’s purpose. Expressing myself through art is equal parts thrilling and frustrating and the challenge keeps me on my toes. When the art touches someone’s heart, brings joy or helps someone feel less alone it feels fulfilling. Sometimes it can be as simple as brightening someone’s moment of existence or giving strength or courage to keep going…however it is received, that invisible thread that connects me to a viewer is something special. What I find most rewarding is collaborating with someone who has a vision for my art and finds a new way to use and share it with the world. For example, my art has been used on beautiful wooden high-end puzzles. The art now has the potential to give someone hours of pleasure as they piece it back together! Another collaboration has my art on their enamel travelware and I can imagine it traveling to places in nature where it is both utilitarian and brings joy to the user. My art is part of the public space in the form of two playground surfaces. It gives me such joy to think of kids using that playground and interacting with the art in a whole body experience kind of way…running or it, jumping on it and allowing the elements in the art to fuel their imagination! Art has the potential to enrich our lives in so many ways and finding ways to give my art wings is very rewarding.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media has opened up the world for artists like me who work alone in their studio space. The art world can be a very daunting place for an emerging artist, and with social media, you have a platform with no gatekeepers (except the ever changing algorithms of course). Your space can almost function as a living breathing ever evolving portfolio…a way to share your art, techniques, events and of course your personality. While I would highly encourage everyone to have a website where people can find you and see your body or work/offerings, I would also highly encourage anyone seeking to expand their art horizons to explore a social media space that feels most comfortable. I use instagram as my window to the world. While there are accounts that are very intentional about how their ‘grid’ appears or how they schedule their feeds, I find that too rigid and unsustainable for myself. I have a more casual but consistent approach. Since I do make art almost every day …be it a project I’m working on, or my sketchbook, I try to share a snippet of that 3-4 times a week. Consistency has its rewards and over the years my audience has grown slowly. This is one instance where I’d say size doesn’t matter 😊. A real and loyal audience is as fulfilling as a 1000 bots! So many of my most exciting projects have come to me via a DM on instagram, because someone had been following my art and felt like I was the right fit for their project. You just never know who is following your progress! I also use hashtags so my art can be seen by more people and I especially encourage you to use location based hashtags as so often people are scouting for a local artist and that’s the best way for them to find you! My other piece of advice would be to worry less about what people might say…the honest truth is no one looks at a post for more than a few seconds! But you will make connections and build ties with other artists and folks who are looking for you to succeed! The world needs your art and vision and story….so start one small step at a time!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shachikale.com
- Instagram: @shachidreams
- Facebook: @shachidreams
Image Credits
Carmen LaPlace – artist studio photo