My AS and A Level Art
For my AS Coursework, I really had no idea what I was doing
at first. It was the first time I took art as a proper subject and my teacher
had very high expectations from me. I knew I wanted to do something with
fashion and drapery, while my teacher suggested that I pick a topic relatively easy
to research on (so I could get a lot of primary sources). So I thought Fashion
+ India = Sari. Ah the sari, 5 meters of elegance, beauty and tradition. I researched
thoroughly and created many small pieces on saris as supporting work.
We took a field trip to a Kerala Mural art exhibition during
July. Mural art are paintings that depict Hindu gods and mythologies. I was fascinated
by the bright colours and careful techniques used to create them. I had seen
them before, on the walls of popular Hindu temples. They are so enjoyable to
look at, each piece telling a different story. I knew I wanted to include this
style of painting in my coursework.
My final piece is set on the night of Karthika, a Kerala
Hindu festival, where we light candles, diyas and lamps to place them outsides
of our homes at night. Wearing a traditional Kerala settu sari with a kasavu (gold)
border, I am sitting in front of a wall with mural paintings. The mural shows
parts of the Ramayana.
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Final piece
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My Control test exam paper was the May/June 2011 paper. Out of
all the options, I chose the topic “flowing” because I immediately thought of flowing
cloth, flowing light, flowing water etc… It was a little tricky finishing the
final piece in just 15 hours, over a span of 5 days of course. I painted the
sea part twice but still wasn't very happy with it, but the overall painting I think
turned out to be a beautiful calming painting.
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Final piece
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Before my senior year started, my mother got a job at a
school in Bangalore. After 6 years, I was moving to a different state! It was
hard at first, but my new school was SO much more lenient and “chill” as my new
friends said. I really had a blast, until it was mid second term and I didn't have
much art work to show. Once I got all my college applications and interviews
done, I started working on my A Level coursework more seriously.
While trying to pick
a theme, I still wanted the element of drapery and wanted to focus more on different
prints and such. At this point, I had been offered a place at London College of
Fashion and I knew I was moving to London next year! Keeping that in mind, I wanted
my final piece to represent my past. I've lived half my life in India and in
half in Africa. For my final piece I represented the
African side with masks and thread art on the border, the Indian side with
Madhubani style paintings along with a dress that I designed and created (including
the tie-dye). I posed as if I was “looking back” at my past. I am very happy
with it, and Cambridge thinks so too cause they gave me an A!!!
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Originally by Edgar Degas
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Cloth collage
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Cloth collage
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The kiss – Gustav Klimt
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| Madhubani art |
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Screen printing
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Final piece
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