This Barodian can make worlds smallest paintings

This Barodian can make worlds smallest paintings
Prajesh Shahs painting of 10 mm size has got him a place in Limca book of records
Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Monday, December 29, 2008

Worlds smallest painting enclosed in just 10 mm has got 29-year-old Prajesh Shah a place in the Limca book of records. Micro paintings, micro calligraphy, rangoli on nails, chalk carving are some of other creative skills that this Barodian artist possesses.

Shah, a visiting faculty of interior designing at MSU and an art teacher in a school of Vadodara, has not taken any formal training of art. But his interest in designing and keenness to create something different took him to the world of micro paintings.

“When I used to see big size paintings in exhibitions and on internet, I felt why not to make micro paintings. I started making micro size paintings of 100 mm, 75 mm and gradually narrowed down to the latest 10 mm which has been selected for Limca book of records as worlds smallest painting,” said Shah. Sometimes, it just takes 20 minutes to make a micro painting while sometimes it takes 20 hours of stressful eyes and back pain to create a piece of micro art. “Micro art demands a lot of concentration and patience. Many times it happens that a single small mistake could scrap a whole piece of art. After making more than 5,000 pieces of art finally I have collected 111 best pieces of micro paintings,” added Shah.

Interestingly, his brushes for the micro paintings are made of his own hair and eyelashes. Shahs micro world is not limited only to the micro paintings but he also does calligraphy on sesame and poppy seeds (khas khas). He can write about seven characters on sesame and on khas khas which is just too microscopic but done without the use of any magnifying glass. Shahs other creation includes an album which includes 10 micro paintings of 15 mm size. He has also made a calligraphic portrait of Narendra Modi by inscribing “Shri Narendra Modi” 12,000 times, which he has sent to the CM. In addition, he does rangoli on his own nails. Carving on chalks is another piece of art by this multitasking artist.

Recently, Shah has been invited to the Kankaria Carnival by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation along with other artists to paint on a 2,000 ft long canvas. In all, 150 artists and 200 fine art students will paint the 2,000 ft long wall at Kankaria as a part of the carnival on Monday within the time duration of nine hours. Each artist will be given canvas of 4x5 ft size to make painting on given themes. He will be painting on Beti Bachao theme.Other than this, Shah knows various different art forms - Varli painting, Madhubani painting, Rajasthani painting, cartoons, modern art, mural, sculpture, rangoli and other 25 different types

She helps them stand on their feet

Rohini Khare imparts stitching skills to differently-abled people

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/ DNA
Saturday, October 11, 2008

A visit to this workshop will make visitors wonder about the novelty of the products produced there. The reason: all the items — starting from designer handbags, ties, wine bottle covers, napkins, bread baskets, cozy tea sets, baby gift sets, tissue box covers to other tailoring-designing products — on display are made not by normal human beings, but by differently abled.The workshop at Vasna road here is run by 65-year-old Rohini Khare, who provides vocational training to the differently abled to make them self-dependent. “For me, stitching was just a hobby initially, and I always like to experiment on stitching many things. Later, I started training the differently abled just to help them stand on their own feet and provide them with an opportunity to earn.” Rohini, who has done a certificate course in tailoring, loves using her talent in helping the differently-abled. “I used to work for different institutes providing training to the physically challenged people. But just giving them training is not sufficient, they should also be given an opportunity to earn and thats how the whole concept of a workshop started.” Here all the workers are paid respective amount on a daily basis for their work. “I make it a point that they finish their work on time and are efficient with their work as I treat them as normal people. You will be surprised but they are equally capable of doing their work on time,” she said.After seeing the hand-bags and other products, it is difficult to say that they have been made by physically challenged people. Rohini teaches them how to stitch through sign language.All present, four deaf and mute people and two physically challenged people are involved in making the hand bags and tailoring-designing stuff at Khares workshop. Because of this workshop, these differently abled workers are able to support their families financially.A woman worker at Khares workshop said: “Being physically challenged, it is difficult for a person like me to get normal jobs. I learned stitching work here and now I am happy that I am capable enough to give monetary support to my family.” On why mainly hand bags are made at the workshop, Rohini said, “I dont have that much money to invest in big items. Making hand bags dont cost much and it is also easy for the differently abled people to make them.”Khare works under the name of Rays which organises exhibitions at different places to sell the products made by the differently abled at her workshop. “I want to involve more and more differently-abled people in the workshop as they have the talent to prove themselves. All they need is inspiration,” Rohini said.