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| Mataji Sharma, her life, art and spirit |
We are but tiny specs in this universe. As minuscule as we are, there is
always something to make us feel big about every day. Today, I’m grateful for
the opportunity to interview a truly gifted artist.
Mataji V. Sharma is an educator, a traveller, a mom, a wife, a person
brimming with passion for the arts. She celebrates her strong connection with
the universe and shares this through her art. Even when she’s traveling around
the world, she continues to touch people’s lives through her workshops.
I’ve always loved tribal art since I was a kid. Most of Mataji’s tribal
pieces speak strongly about the beautiful Filipino culture that, whether we
admit it or not, has been drowned out by modernity.
More than just a lovely addition to the homes of her patrons, Mataji’s
tribal art is a visual reminder that there are a lot of things to love about
the Filipino culture.
Mataji Sharma talks about her art. She tells us that there is an artist
within us and that we should not pass up on this chance to explore what we can
create and share with the world.
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| "Reflections"
How old were you when you fell in love with the visual art and realized that it was something that you wanted to do?
I suppose every child is an artist at
heart; and the love for art is an innate thing. Little hands want to do art
even before adults come along. However, my parents took conscious effort to
instill the love for art in my brother and me at such an early age (six or
seven years old); by buying us artbooks, bringing us to museums and meeting
real artists in their studios. I also grew up watching my parents paint and
sketch.
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What
were your first paintings like? The genre or theme?
My first oil painting on canvas was on
Juan Tamad on a branch of a mango tree, when I was about 14 years old. It was a painting I
found in an encyclopedia of Filipino Art; and I wanted to make my version of
it. It was a combination of portrait and
landscape painting of a classical approach. My watercolours in my elementary
years were often landscape; and in college I would sketch a lot of dramatic
contorted bodies or angels. I don’t ever remember doing Abstract when I was
younger, but now I am in-love with abstract art.
Has
your style changed over time?
I experiment a lot. My style changes week
after week; sometimes a few times within a week. For me, art is an exploration,
not something that is fixed. I want no identity in my art. I want it to be about growth, exploration, experimetation and evolution – as well as expression, of
course.
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| "Sister Love" |
What
inspires you?
Artists inspire me. Explorers inspire me.
Deep spiritual people inspire me. Creative entrepeneurs inspire me. And of
course, Nature and everything in it (including the human made world)– are my
sources of creativity. Practically, that means everything around me – from a
tile design in a public toilet to a ripped ad streamer by the street that
presented an abstract pattern. Music, books, conversations etc. you name it.
Which
artists do you consider influential in your life and art?
So many to mention! My 3rd
graders for one! Of course, there are also the masters, of all genres. To name
a few, Van Gogh, Matisse, Julie Dumbarton, Monet, Chagall, Kandinsky, Klimt etc. The ones who are still
alive, the artists that I found on the net, are the most influential to me – Flora Bowley,
Iris Scott, Claire Desjardin, YanYan Pan, etc.
How
do you balance your time between painting, teaching, being a mommy and a wife?
If you mean equal time for everything,
then my life is not balanced, but I guard my time like a hawk. I keep a journal
to assess whether my days have become imbalanced. I try to ensure that every
area of my life is not being sacrificed, to the point of breakdown. I have a very supportive hubby and daughter,
and I communicate my choices and the rationale of my behaviour to them. I explain
myself to them - why I have to do this now and that later. But quiet tea
afternoons and cuddling with hubby and tickling my daughter in bed are the
non-negotiables. Yes, even homework is negotiable – but not the lovey dovey
times. They demand it too!
What
advice would you give young people who want to try their hand on painting?
Forget what people will think of your
work. It’s just paper/cloth and paint – it’s not the entire declaration of who
you are. They are figments of your constantly evolving moments, do not attach
to them. Create, because it is your nature to create. Let it flow. Research and
be an aggressive learner. Expose yourself to various genre of art and keep
yourself inspired by following artists online. Be brave in posting your work
and sharing them with the world. Know that someone will always hate it or love
it, what matters more is that you shared a part of who you are – just in case
it might inspire somebody watching quietly (or loudly). Don’t hold back. I don’t believe in masterpieces because everything
is practice. A masterpiece is a practice piece – because art is never done.
What
do you want to tell moms who also want to try painting, but have no confidence
since they've never had formal training?
It requires no formal training. Many Fine
Arts graduates regret attending art school; they could’ve used those years
painting and producing more. Practice and experimentation play a strong role,
for you to be able to express what’s in your heart.
It is all about the process, not the
product. The product is always guaranteed to be beautiful, because you already
are. A human being, in its deepest and grandest level is perfect. Painting is
an experience of facing our personal judgments; it is a journey of taking
risks, letting go, changing routes and accepting each stage as a possibility
for the next step. You can stop at any point of time and work on it again on
another day. Like I said, it’s never finished – but it can only be finished for
the day or when you declare it to be done. It is a documentation of your growth
as a person; a record of your self-acceptance and celebration of what is, of
any moment of your life- making everything sacred.
Take time to paint. Do what feels right
(strokes, colours, etc). There are NO rules nor principles in painting. Forget the traditional
training, it doesn’t have to look like anything. It’s your painting, it’s your
life. Somebody will always resonate with it – not that somebody has to.
Enjoy, laugh, cry, if you will. Painting’s
got to be an exhilirating experience where time and space collapse for you.
There is no space in true artists’ hearts to impress others. At times, when we
get lucky, we find ourselves through art.
Who
is the most influential person in your life?
It’s impossible to have only one. I have
many! But if I must, at least allow me to name a few. My parents. They are
grand souls, beings extraordinaire! Without my unconditionally loving hubby,
Rahul, and my free-spirited daughter, I don’t think I can
achieve much with so much ease.
Is
there an artwork you are most proud of? Why are you proud of it?
Yes. My abstract pieces. They are
unpopular, but they are the most liberating. They are pieces of me that I am
yet to explore. I love the unknown, so they represent adventurous things that I
would love to explore!
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| My own Sharma |
You can find more of Mataji Sharma's paintings here.
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