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For generations, Indian women have passed on to their daughters the knowledge of the ritual wall and ground painting as a visual prayer, an invocation to the divine to protect their home and make it a sacred space.
These linear drawings are worked on the ground or wall with rice powder either in front of the place of worship, on exterior walls or at the entrance to the house. The ground paintings are performed as daily rituals before sunrise, while the wall paintings are made for special festivals. It is a traditional folk are done only by women in rural India. The designs are drawn free-hand using bare fingers or a hand-made brush; some are geometric designs consisting of triangles, circles or squares, while others are curvilinear forms derived from nature. They are formed by means of lines looped around dots put in rows, giving the artist infinite possibilities to create beauty. White is generally used for the continuous line design, but colors and flower petals are sometimes incorporated for special celebrations. Although decorative in design, these paintings are highly communicative in execution and are capable of encompassing abstraction and symbolism, as well as ritual.
This traditional art form is said to have developed as early as five thousand years ago. Many instances of decorative wall and ground paintings are found in India sacred works like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad-Gita. The Gopikas, (female followers of Lord Krishna) used to draw these decorative designs to lessen the grief of separation when they were away from Krishna. Today, it is the only Indian art form that transcends caste, occupation or religion, whether Hindu, Muslim, or Christian.
During my graduate study in India, I became fascinated by these intricate designs. Over the past thirty-eight years I have returned to India many times and have remained intrigued by this decorative, yet spiritual art form. Indian women believe that the home where Kolams are drawn is purified and protected against intrusion or harm, and invokes the blessings of the Divine.
Although the tradition has been handed down form mother to daughter for thousands of years, this ritual art form is dying out in modern-day India. People are moving to cities and living in high-rise apartments with neither the time nor space to produce theses designs.
In most cases, this ritual art is ephemeral (within a few hours it is swept away be the activity of the household), to Indian women it is their moment of creation. Although one may say that the use of rice powder as a medium for creating Kolams is a metaphor for the impermanence of life and maya, I have chosen to adapt the use of kolam designs and techniques in my paintings, monoprints, and encaustic pieces as an extension and transformation of this ancient art form into a more contemporary and permanent context.
The creation of these works is my form of meditation. It is my intention that they may also assist the viewer in the meditation process. The continuous line is meant to be traced by the viewer until it pulls one from oneself…away from personal thought to an involvement in the art creating a meditative mood. While one continuous line joins all parts, by means of both line and color, there is a rhythm and energy which express the importance of bringing harmony out of chaos. My latest encaustic (pigmented beeswax) pieces incorporate various gem stones and crystals (each with their own unique properties), representing the Bindu, the point of repose and focal tension from which inner space unfolds.
I invite you to consider one of these pieces to use in your meditation practice or to grace your home as a symbol of an auspicious welcoming to all who enter.
Thank you for viewing my site.
Namaste
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