November 14 ,we celebrate as Children's day.
in our school our students perform
'Thappattam'-Folk dance with drums,and
"Silambattam'-Traditional Tamil martial art.
children's day
November 14 ,we celebrate as Children's day.
in our school our students perform
'Thappattam'-Folk dance with drums,and
"Silambattam'-Traditional Tamil martial art.
dance
Dance performance by Siva, Ramanan and friends.
Except Siva, this is the first stage performance for
all the others.
The Hindu
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 06, 2009
Photos: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Inspiring Motivating and shaping young minds
To art, with love
| To teach and to learn, a different kind of dedication and motivation is needed, writes T.SARAVANAN |
Inspiring Motivating and shaping young minds
Some may think that painting is an inborn talent. But drawing masters R. Siva and G. Ramanan believe it can be cultivated too. Application of and dedication to the art can help one move up the ladder of success, the duo passionately advocate. But it is their nobility that deserves appreciation. For, what they have learnt over the years, they are now busy imparting it to the younger generation under the banner Canvas.
Hailing from a family of teachers, Mr. Siva stayed focussed on his solitary objective of becoming a teacher. But the family’s dream went up in smoke when he failed to clear the higher secondary board examinations. He crossed the hurdle in the subsequent year only to be content with a berth for art teacher’s course at a Teacher Training institute.
Love for teaching
At that time the love for teaching profession was more than the art itself that forced him to take up the mantle and finish the course. But after couple of months aimless wandering, he got himself employed in a voluntary organisation.
His acquaintance with popular painter M.G. Raffic Ahamed proved to be a turning point in his life. “I started to draw much later than many of my fellow painters. Only after talking to Mr. Raffic, I could realise my artistic exuberance. I came to know about the significance of painting and how one can grow big. From that day I became a regular visitor to his gallery in West Masi Street, which helped in my understanding of the medium. Soon, I got into the groove and settled down. In the meantime, I also fell in line of my family profession when I got a job at Setupati Higher Secondary School as art teacher,” Mr. Siva reminisces.
Even there he could not resist his temptation to motivate people. “When I realised that many art teachers lag behind in their artistic capabilities, I brought them under one roof and organised programmes to sensitise them,” he says. His interest in knowledge updation in painting also propelled him to collect relevant books.
During a visit to a book exhibition at Maditssia Hall he came to know about Ramanan. “I spotted a book on rare pictures of Spanish surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, which I reserved it to buy the next day. But when I went there the next morning, I could not locate the book and I was told that Ramanan had already purchased it. Wasting no time, I established contact with him and it was purely coincidence that later both of us were employed as art teachers at Madura College Higher Secondary School,” says Siva, who has been elevated as a graduate teacher.
Ramanan’s formative years were in contrast to Siva’s. He belonged to a family of artists and photographers and grew up on nothing other than drawing materials.
Sharing similar interests both Siva and Ramanan spent more time in school discussing painting techniques and charting out ways and means to motivate students. This gave birth to “Canvas” — a forum which educates people on art and helps them develop an artistic sense.
“Art teachers are in a way to be blamed for the present situation as they have distanced the students from the art assigning them harder tasks and introducing them to difficult medium. For example, watercolours are considered to be a tough medium for a beginner in the Western countries. But here, we start with watercolours indirectly causing disinterest in the subject,” says Mr. Ramanan.
Though they started this forum with students in mind, now they are flooded with people from different age groups willing to spend the time at Canvas.
“Beginners are frightened with presentation of several ‘isms’ in painting like impressionism, naturalism, realism, expressionism and surrealism but we tend to forget about the individualism, which we are concentrating at present,” he reasons out.
Facilitators
They do firmly believe that more than the technique the interest matters the most. “Ours is a job of a facilitator. Actually, we don’t teach anything. We just provide a platform to allow people to present their artistic talent, which can be groomed. Now, what we advocate to our students is to freak out with their creativity. With plenty of sophisticated art materials around, you just have to get your basics right,” Mr. Siva assures.
They have also taken concerted efforts to introduce art history to their students. Having struggled to find a proper place to exhibit their artistic creations due to heavy costs involved in booking a gallery, they have now opened a blog, www.artsiva.blogspot.com, which provides a platform for the up and coming painters and students to exhibit their art works absolutely free.
Moreover, their classes on every alternative Sunday at the school have motivated their students to join popular institutes like National Institute of Fashion Technology and National Institute of Design.
The Hindu
Britons on a mission to know status of city art scene
T. Saravanan| Awestruck by the richness of South Indian art |
BRUSH WITH TALENTS: Jill Nicklin and Francesca Currie at a city school on Sunday.
MADURAI: For once, the spacious terrace of Madura College Higher Secondary School here turned into an art studio with visitors from the United Kingdom providing an insight into the world of art to participating students.
They are here on an art project. The mission of Jill Nicklin, an art historian, and Francesca Currie, a student of art from Worcester College of Technology School of Art and Craft, is to conduct a feasibility study to develop a cultural project in the Temple City.
“There are numerous museums in England and we have been sufficiently informed about Moghul art and architecture but, unfortunately, nothing about South Indian art. We were awestruck on seeing the richness of South Indian art when we visited the temples. The paintings and sculptures there revitalise the essence of art,” said Ms. Jill Nicklin, who is an expert in West African art.
They also felt that many young artists here are more concerned about their career and in their pursuit of lucrative offers most of them tend to lose the ‘sting’ in their art.
“Prejudice against those pursuing art and design is universal. Even in England, those in the science stream have a tendency to avoid a person from art stream. But people have to realise the fact that art is something that provides you a platform to give vent to your emotions,” said Ms. Francesca Currie.
The project, funded by Worcestershire-based Janeve Foundation, is an educational and developmental programme for school students. On behalf of the foundation, the visitors would look into possibilities of United Kingdom funding and partnership, said R. Siva, an art teacher at the school, who conducts free art classes for students under the banner CANVAS regularly.
No gallery scene“Art galleries are very common in England. Every town has at least one gallery. Besides, there are plenty of private art schools. On the basis of information we gathered, we don’t find such a practice here, except for some individual efforts like that of Mr. Siva and Mr. Ramanan (another teacher),” Ms. Jill Nicklin commended the young art teachers.
“If things move along expected lines, the foundation has planned to hold art exhibitions of local artists; conduct workshops in art, writing, dance and sculpture for all ages; organise special courses in schools; drama and dance performances; poetry writing, music, photography, traditional folk dance and music sessions, competitions and art festivals,” she listed out.
The Britons felt that managements should display mural paintings in their schools to motivate students.
Leather Puppet Show at the 'Hormony' festival
The Hindu
A click may paint a rosy picture for budding artists Staff Reporter
MADURAI: A painter from Temple City, who has struggled for long to prove his mettle because of lack of space to display his painting prowess, has found a platform to provide a chance for budding painters to exhibit their drawings.
R. Siva, an art teacher of Madura College Higher Secondary School, has found an innovative option of opening a blog, www.artsiva.blogspot.com, exclusively for the up and coming artists to showcase their talent.
“There is no dearth of painters here. The city has produced renowned artists and there are a lot more waiting on the wings. But there is a visible waning of interest among children. Had there been a permanent art gallery, things would have been totally different. But it is better late than never. That is why I started a blog to bring out latent talent,” averred Mr. Siva. He has been conducting free painting workshops and classes for school children. Under his tutelage, a couple of students have even participated in painting competitions and won laurels.
A few have got admission to the National Institute of Fashion Technology.
“Hosting their paintings in the blog will provide a good exposure to young artists. Considering the wider reach of the Internet, sure these artists will get what they deserve. Even if they find it difficult to upload or are bothered by the cost factor I am ready to help them out,” he promised.
To kickstart the programme, Mr. Siva will organise a solo show of his paintings in the blog between December 28, 2007 and January 8, 2008.
After which, any interested painter can host his or her paintings on this blog free of cost. For more details, dial 9442883216.
The Hindu
It's a matter of master strokes
T. Saravanan
| Workshop for budding painters conducted in Madura |
MADURAI: "Chithiramum kaipazhakkam ... ," goes a popular Tamil saying, which means, only through practice one can perfect the art of painting.
The experts at a painting workshop held at Madura College Higher Secondary School here on Sunday proved it.
Titled `Canvas,' the workshop drew a sizeable crowd. Such workshops are being conducted at this school for the past 10 months.
"We do not confine ourselves to painting alone. We had conducted similar workshop on clay modelling. We meet here on every second Sunday.
For painting alone we have dedicated more than three sessions," said R. Siva, drawing master of the school and one of the organisers of the workshop.
For the benefit of children aged between 6 and 15, the organisers had arranged special classes, wherein they were guided through the basics of painting.
Role of interest
"Painting cannot be taught to anyone. Interest in the art is what matters the most. Sketchbook is a must for any painter. Inhibition is the main culprit," said Mr. Siva.
But he did not disagree with the fact that one requires proper guidance to comprehend the nuances of painting.
"Colour, perspective and composition are basic components of painting. One has to go through several masterpieces of expert painters to have a grasp of it," he explained.
Experts in respective fields were roped in to share their experience with the attendees of the workshops. "This time around we have brought P. Manickam, a professional painter and retired schoolteacher, who is an expert in portraits," said G. Ramanan, who is also a drawing master of the school.
Real life portrait
For the first time in this workshop, techniques of `Life study' were demonstrated, wherein experts explained how a real life portrait came alive on canvas.
Both the participants and organisers felt the necessity for an exclusive forum that would provide enough space for fruitful interaction between artists and thinkers.
Focus on simple techniques that can create splendor in art
Focus on simple techniques that can create splendor in art
T. Saravanan
| Workshop highlights latest trends and methods in painting |
MADURAI: A conglomeration of creative minds. Yes. That is how the painting and sculpting workshop, hosted under the banner `Canvas' by the art teachers of the Madura College Higher Secondary School, on Sunday appeared to be. Simple techniques that can create splendour in art were discussed at this workshop in detail. Right from oil painting to acrylic, from watercolour to poster colour, from clay sculpture to paper sculpture, the subjects shared at this forum were varied.
"It is not a one day affair. Similar training sessions and workshops are being organised every second Sundays at the school. Experts from different art fields are invited to share their information and expertise," says R. Siva, drawing master of MCHSS.
Increasing awareness of subjects that can fetch white-collar jobs has created a dent in the field of art. Even then, given an opportunity people are ready to let loose their creativity to quench their thirst that can give shape to their creative urge.
This was quite evident from the number of participants who thronged the venue to take part in the sharing exercise. "We get participants even from as far as Rajapalayam and also from neighbouring places like Theni. Every month around 20 to 25 persons attend the training session with art teachers constituting more than 25 per cent. Our prime job here is to educate students and brief them about opportunities available in pursuing painting as a subject of study," G. Ramanan, art teacher of MCHSS.
Clay sculpture
This month, S. Sridhar, a traditional potter from the village of Vilacheri, demonstrated his skills on clay sculpture. Deftly handling the clay, he brought out a model within seconds. "The clay texture is very important. It takes days to get the right mixture (clay), which lends itself to different shapes. Sometimes if the base material is under prepared the model develops cracks. Hence, much care should be taken while you prepare the base," says Mr. Sridhar.
For more than two generations into the pottery, Mr. Sridhar wishes to achieve something in the field of clay modelling. "Lack of exposure has cost us dear. There are many talented youngsters in our village who are capable of making clay models. If they are properly groomed they can reach greater heights," he says.
Besides sharing of information, the workshop also highlighted latest trends and techniques used in painting. "In metros, there are plenty of opportunities for people to get themselves updated but in cities like Madurai there are not many places where people can get such valid information. There are talented artists in the Temple City who have dumped scores of their collections in storerooms. We just provide a platform to expose their masterpieces," Mr. Siva says.
The duo, Mr. Siva and Mr. Ramanan, has created a healthy trend in the city. They also encourage and equip students to apply for reputed institutes of fashion technology and design.
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