“It isn’t easy to describe what I do” says artist Amita Sachdeva. She makes Tanjore paintings, murals, porcelain art and does metal relief work, among other things. A detailed description of her repertoire would include mirror frames, marble artefacts, wooden accessories like jewellary boxes, pen stands, stained glass panels,  decorative plates, small gift items like boxes, trays, coasters and much more

Her passion for the art began during her school years.”I had got this book on porcelain and I knew I wanted to do something in this field.”Hailing from an army background she had to travel between cities with her parents.On her halt at Jabalpur, she learnt fabric painting and exhibited her first set of creations in 1984.

While in Mumbai, she went on to learn the art from her aunt Uma Malik.”She is an expert in porcelain art and after undergoing proper training and guidance from her, I began to teach in Capital through my studio, Earth-n-Heaven” 

RELIEF WORK

After her marriage in 1985,she left for Kerala with her husband, Rakesh Sachdeva. There her fascination with Tanjore paintings began and she went on to learn relief work in art.To put in simply, relief work is a sculptured artwork where the design element is raised from supporting background.The process requires complete focus,devotion and patience as each piece has to be worked on in detail.

The process is initiated by deciding the motif. Then, the sketch is drawn and put up on a board. A mixture of ceramic powder, POP and other materials along with adhesives is prepared and put in a cone. The design is traced on the board with this coned mixture. Once the first layer is dry, a second layer comes on. The piece has to be worked on layer by layer. When all layers are completely dry, the piece is hand painted with oil paint.

THE PURPOSE

Amita wants to make everything she designs herself. This, she feels, distinguishes her from other designers, as it allows her to alter the designs while she is creating them. “I have always wanted to make things that would change the environment of any room. That is when I started working on details-roofs, doors, walls, furniture and even accessories.” She gets her design inspirations from traditional art of India and Egyptian murals.

As a teacher herself, she strongly believes in updating her skills regularly by reading and trying out new art forms and even attending workshops conducted by other teachers and artists.

”As you work your way through life, you need a medium to de-stress and art is a great way to escape. I really love my work. It makes me happy and relieves me of all my stress.”

She returned to Delhi in 1993 and created a set of six paintings,which were hard to sell. But this undeterred her dreams and she held her first exhibition in the Blind Schoolexhibition in New Delhi in the same year. Since then there has been no looking back.

FAMILY QUOTIENT

“After marriage, my husband has been a source of motivation and inspiration. He was the one to encourage me to take up my art on a large scale.”

MARKETING QUOTIENT

Operating from her Noida home, Amita has a team of 45 people working for her today. Backed by strong marketing research done by her husband, Amita’s clients broadly include interior designers, architects, corporate and central cottage emporiums. She has even designed pieces for a website novice.com and is proud to be associated with several international projects in Kathmandu, Dubai and even Austria. With the cost of her pieces ranging from Rs.750 to Rs. 2 lakh, she has a whole range of buyers that come in for different things.