HYDERABAD: Art on a canvas is a great medium for those who want to express their thoughts. It can be of great value when used as a therapy for those who are struggling with mental health issues. But it takes a seasoned artist to help a person navigate through that. At her art workshop held on Saturday at Nritya Forum, city-based artist Rashida Kalangi says, “There are people who cannot pen down whatever they want to say but it’s through colours they can depict their thoughts.”
She is also the founder of Art Therapy. The workshop was divided into two sessions, one was about Art Therapy and the other focussed on abstract texture painting. Rashida shares, “In our workshop, you don’t have to know how to draw or paint. You just need to grab some colours and a canvas and start expressing it.
The theme of the workshop was ‘Expression Artistique’. It is to relive the past being in the present, so that we can welcome the New Year with an open mind.” She started organising these workshops since January 2019. “I met Surbhi in an event and got to know that she is also an artist who deals with psychological matters through painting and from then on this Art Therapy started,” shared the artist who has made Hyderabad her home after she came here from Kolkata. Around 10 participants registered for the workshop.
“Art is like a meditative process and once someone who was going through depression took to this form and I and watched her every mood and as she painted it would change accordingly. Painting helps channelize the jumbled thoughts in a way,” shared Rashida. In the second part of the workshop, participants got to use plastic bottle caps, sponge pieces and other items which cannot be used in paintings and one made a masterpiece out of it. “We get participants who cannot even draw a straight line, so they opt for abstract texture painting, because here you can draw anything using colour and that can be a piece of art. Eventually, it is all about expressions” she ends.