The Beacon - August 2023
Editorial Team : Harini Thiagarajan, Anishka Gogoi, Anvika Bheemarasetty
“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou
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“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou 〰️
Recent Highlights
Bothell Art Walk
Five artists from Deepti Designs recently showcased their paintings at the coveted location of the Bothell Visitor Center in Kenmore Bothell Chamber as part of the Bothell Art Walk! The artist reception was held on July 13th from 5-8 pm at the Bothell Visitor Center. Many people stopped by to take a closer look at the ancient art form. The hands-on activity was a big hit for both children and adults. Thanks to the volunteers, Shrita Palla, Oviya Raja, Anvika Bheemarasetty, Satvik Kabbur, and Sanika Kabbur.
Bothell Cultural Night - Northwest Folklife
Deepti Designs was invited to participate in the Bothell Cultural Night by the prestigious Northwest Folklife on July 18th, 2023 at Bothell Cityhall campus. It was a beautiful event with artists showcasing their artworks, both performing and visual and the Bothellites cheering for them. Our artists Anvika Bheemarasetty and Aadya Bommineni painted LIVE at the event which was much appreciated by the visitors. We held a booth offering hands-on activity which also showcased artworks by the participating artists. Ms. Nikita Thakalath lead the event with artists, Jahnavi Shukla, Manavi Shukla, Meenakshi Iyer and Annapoorni.
Washington Vedic Education Society Camp
Deepti Designs was invited to conduct a workshop in the Summer Camp held at Brightwater Center by the Washington Vedic Education Society. The workshop was conducted for two days, July 18 and July 20th. Each volunteer taught two students, and each student created 1-2 pieces of beautiful Madhubani Artwork relating to Lord Rama to take home. Participating volunteers were Khushi Sherigar, Aadya B, Shrita Palla, Anvika Bheemarasetty, Sanika Kabbur, Oviya Raja, and Aditi Siva. Thank you Ms. Vidhya Durai for being the adult coordinator for the event.
Elephant Workshop - Meenakshi Iyer
Artist Meenakshi Iyer has recently conducted her own virtual art workshop, where she taught how to sketch and paint an elephant in the Madhubani art style. The workshop was called “Gajah: An Elephant Art Workshop” and was held July 17th-19th.
All proceeds went to Sankara Healthcare, a non-profit organization with a focus on providing healthcare and healthy meals to the less fortunate. In addition to being a student at Deepti Designs, Meenakshi has been part of the Sankara Teens group for a year doing various volunteer work in her free time.
The workshop was a hit with the young kids and was also a valuable teaching experience for Meenakshi herself. As quoted by her, “I really enjoyed teaching kids in this workshop and by making it virtual, I was able to share the Madhubani art form to people all over the country. Through this workshop, I not only taught kids how to create a Madhubani canvas, but also how to incorporate this style into their future art pieces to pass down the Madhubani art tradition!”
Art Workshop at Itihasa Camp - Anishka Gogoi
On July 24th, artist Anishka Gogoi held a Madhubani art workshop as part of the Itihaasa Camp.
Itihaasa is a drama camp that focuses on a new topic in Indian history each year, with all proceeds going to Sankara Healthcare. Anishka was a counselor at the camp this summer and has also been a part of the Sankara Teens group for a year.
With this year's topic being the Mahabharata, she designed a sketch depicting the Krishna-Arjuna scene from the Bhagavad Gita and guided 30+ kids through painting and adding linework to it. Feedback from the participating kids was very positive, with many already asking for a similar workshop next year.
Anishka stated “It was my first time leading a workshop of this scale all by myself, but the kids were very responsive and I learned a lot about what it takes to conduct this type of project. All the pieces turned out so beautiful and I can’t wait to see them hung up at Carco Theater!”
Seniors Art Workshop - Northshore Senior Center
On July 20th, Deepti Designs held a free art workshop at the Northshore Senior Center, where the seniors there got to draw and paint various Madhubani designs on wooden coasters and bookmarks. Students Khushi Sherigar, Anishka Gogoi, Anvi Dua, and Aadya B volunteered to help conduct the event and were able to work one-on-one with the seniors. After the event, the seniors suggested Deepti Designs return soon for another session which was a great award for our students. One of the seniors even recognized Aadya in a social media comment for her great teaching.
The volunteers also enjoyed the workshop, as Anvi stated, “The experience was fun and it was different compared to helping younger students. Since the art form was new we still had to tell them some steps, but they also had a bunch of their own ideas which ended up making their projects even more unique. I even got some new ideas for my own paintings! This is definitely something I will want to do again.”
Studio Opening
Deepti Designs Bothell Studio is on the move—quite literally! We have moved to a new and better space at Thrasher’s Corner on Bothell Everett Highway. The 1700sft studio will now serve as our new home to all the creative endeavors and the non-profit initiatives artists at Deepti Designs fondly engage in.
Announcement about the OPEN HOUSE coming soon!
Volunteering Opportunities
Bothell Cultural Night - Northwest Folklife
Date: August 18th
Time: 6-9pm
Venue: Bothell City Hall Campus
Northwest Folklife has invited Deepti Designs for the second time to participate in Bothell Cultural Night 2023, an event with different artists from around Washington selling or showcasing their artworks.
If interested in participating, please reach out to with Ms. Nikita Thakalath (425-894-5984). The artists would be painting live as well as showcasing their artworks along with hosting hands-on activities.
Humanities WA Speakers Bureau - Sno-Isle Library, Mouthlake Terrace
Date: August 19
Time: 2-3:30 pm
Venue: Sno-isle Library, Mountlake Terrace
Deepti Designs is offering an opportunity where four artists will be able to shadow Ms. Deepti Agrawal in a Humanities Speaker Bureau presentation. At least one of the participating artists will need to have finished their Kohbar project. Please reach out to Ms. Nikita Thakalath @ 425-894-5984 (WhatsApp only), if interested.
Saturday Summerfest - Kenmore-Bothell Chamber of Commerce
Date: August 26th
Time: 1-5pm
Venue: Kenmore Bothell Chamber of Commerce in Bothell Landing Park
We have been invited for an opportunity from the Kenmore Bothell Chamber of Commerce in Bothell Landing Park. Volunteers will get to participate in a business fair and showcase some of their artwork. There will be one student doing live painting and there will also be a hands-on activity for people passing by. If you are interested in participating in this opportunity, please contact Ms. Nikita Thakalath (425-894-5984).
Rangoli Touchup - Canyon Creek Elementary
Day 1: August 22nd, 10am-1pm
Day 2: August 23nd, 12:30pm onwards
Venue: Canyon Creek Elementary, Bothell
Back in June of 2022, artists Ms. Deepti Agrawal, Ms. Nikita Thakalath, and Harini Thiagarajan along with other volunteers filled a 9ft x 9ft floor space with a rangoli design at Canyon Creek Elementary. Ms. Foram Yagnik will be the coordinator of the event and the local school community will also be involved. Around five volunteers will be needed for each day of the project. Contact Ms. Nikita Thakalath (425-894-5984) if you are interested in helping out!
Featured Artists
This month we are featuring two young artists who have recently finished their pieces, Khushi Garg and Snigdha Josyula.
Khobar by Khushi Garg
Khushi: This painting is done by Khushi Garg, who is a seventh grader at Redmond Middle School. “The Khobar painting has traditionally been done in the Maithili or Mithila culture to bless a newlywed couple, as the pictures represent fertility and love of life. It depicts many animals ( birds on the sides, and snakes, tortoises, and fishes in the middle), as well as the sun and moon gods (on the sides), this represents that all deities are watching over, and blessing the new marriage, granting them good health and an auspicious life together. The tradition of Khobar is supposed to have started some 2500 years ago when the palace of Mithila at Janakpur was painted with this artwork to herald a blissful and conjugal life for bride Sita and groom Ram. This tradition has been passed on and followed in Bihar even today!”
Bala Tripura Sundari by Snigdha Josyula
Snigdha: “My name is Snigdha Josyula and I’m a rising seventh grader at Tyee Middle School. This painting depicts the divine goddess Bala Tripura Sundari sitting on a lotus with elephants holding garlands and pots of water in the background. An asura or demon named Bhandasura once acquired a blessing that made it impossible for any God or monarch to kill him. However, his boon didn’t restrict young children from killing him. As a result, Goddess Lalitha deceived and killed him by taking the form of a 9-year-old girl, who is now known as Bala Tripura Sundari.”
Congratulations to both artists for taking another step forward in their Madhubani Art journey.
Game Time
Congratulations to Jahnavi S for solving our maze the fastest from our previous edition!
Paint by Number by Anvika Bheemarasetty
In this edition, we have a Paint by Number created by one of our students and newsletter editor, Anvika B. Feel free to screenshot it to solve it digitally and share the solution with us. The first person who completes it will be featured in the next edition.
Try our Paint by Number this month, take a screenshot, and email it to newsletter.thebeacon.dd@gmail.com for a chance to get featured in next month's newsletter.
