Recently a friend of mine was visiting India. This particular friend has moved to America decades ago and has had an illustrious career in advertising there. He had come to visit me and liked my home which is of a very traditional Indian kind. We got talking about Indian Art and he mentioned Sonabai. The story was so fascinating that the first thing I did was wrote a quote in her honour. Sonabai is truly remarkable as you will discover when you read about her art, her life and her journey.
About the Art:
About the Art:
Sonabai Rajawar was in complete isolation for 15 years and lived with her husband and son in a small village, Puhphutara, India. Her life was closed and empty and she had no contact with the outside world. Although Sonabai had all her faculties intact and was of a sound mind and body her only disability was her isolation and confinement. She began creating her own world by expressing herself through art .With absolutely no training in art she is a self taught artist who was guided by her intuition and innate sense of style .With the limited resources and materials she had access to, she began her art exploration. She started with creating mud toys for her child to play using the clay in her yard. Grinding spices, herbs and minerals to be used as paints she incorporated hay and sticks as reinforcement to strengthen the sculptures. It used to get really hot in the summers so out of necessity she crafted jalis or window lattices from clay and bamboo. Her lattices are unique with birds and animals integrated within them making them very vibrant and alive. Her inconspicuous beginnings were slowly recognized by the art art world and soon she made a niche for herself. Her art was commemorated by the government of India and she was honoured with the President’s Award. Since her discovery her work has been exhibited all over the world ad she has taught her art to a lot of artists. Sonabai passed away in 2007.
Stephen Huyler, Ph.D., an anthropologist, author and photographer has researched Sonabai's work for several years and is the author of, Sonabai: Another Way of Seeing. The book talks about various aspects of her life and the people and artists she influenced.
Sonabai is a true example of courage, strength and talent. Her work also teaches us that no matter how frugal your resources are, how limited your reach is and how far flung are you placed in the world, if you have ingenuity and talent the world will recognise it one day. If you want to change your life you are going to need to change “how you see it”.
Credits:
Stephen Huyler, Ph.D., an anthropologist, author and photographer has researched Sonabai's work for several years and is the author of, Sonabai: Another Way of Seeing. The book talks about various aspects of her life and the people and artists she influenced.
Sonabai is a true example of courage, strength and talent. Her work also teaches us that no matter how frugal your resources are, how limited your reach is and how far flung are you placed in the world, if you have ingenuity and talent the world will recognise it one day. If you want to change your life you are going to need to change “how you see it”.
Credits:
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