Storytelling by Art Inspired by Madhubani Folk Art of India
The beautiful thing about art is that it is universal. It has no language, no accent, and each piece of artwork tells a different story. Madhubani folk art is no exception as it is presented in a multitude of colors, mediums and most importantly, stories. Madhubani folk art originated in Bihar, India and is done by using fingers, twigs and matchsticks. They are known for figures that have large fish like eyes and pointed noses. There is never a blank space on the canvas and backgrounds are filled with colorful patterns. Furthermore, many geometric patterns in Madhubani art pieces represent love and bravery as well as prosperity. Madhubani pieces often depicts scenes from epics and also show different foods and animals. My Madhubani artwork is a recreation of a piece called “Village Woman” . In the artwork, a woman preparing food in a bowl like vessel. She is wearing a blue and red saari. The skirt of the saari has a drawing of a yellow fish on it. In addition, the woman is holding a two different sticks to prepare her meal. She wears jewelry such as earrings and bangles. The background of the piece is filled with green leaves and red flowers. The artwork is very colorful and lively and contains many patterns. I personally chose to recreate this artwork because I loved the bright color scheme and the designs were hard to miss. It was really fun to make the artwork. It was sort of therapeutic in a way because I was enjoying the drawing process and all of my stresses were cleared away. Madhubani folk art is a wonderful type of art. There are many artists creating beautiful Madhubani art pieces all around the world. Artworks capture scenes from different stories and contains so much meaning. The 2500 year old folk art still remains strong and will be respected for many, many years.Author: Saesha Sharda
