Stories Behind the Canvas: A Student’s Creative Market Showcase

by Aadya Bommineni, Aradhna Praveen, and Shriya Shaji

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This holiday season, we had the opportunity to speak with Janani Iyer, who showcased her Madhubani art skills at her school’s marketplace. She created beautiful frames, coasters, and canvases, which captured customer’s eyes and sparked several conversations, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who encountered her booth. 

Q&A Section with Janani

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What was your creative process like, when designing a piece of art, how did you decide on the patterns and colors you used?

“I decided to make a pattern of colors on the frames, so that no colors would be left out. For the coasters and magnets I mixed and blended paints together and wrote positive affirmations and holiday words.”

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Were there any conversations with customers that stood out to you?

“Some of the customers were very thoughtful and nice. There were two customers who really stood out to me, they both really liked two of the Ganesha paintings that I had created. One Ganesha painting was made out of shapes, and the other one was painted blue and included a lot of details.”

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What was your favorite part of the experience, and why?

“My favorite part of the experience was seeing the happy faces of customers buying the paintings that I had made. Because, I loved to see the joy on people’s faces!”

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⁠Would you encourage other youth individuals to participate in similar events and share their passions as you have?

“Absolutely! Painting and drawing are great ways to explore and share out in events like marketplaces. Painting and drawing are also great ways to really show who you are as a kid!”

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