Hello!

Hello, I am Richa, a full time maker and artist living and working in Edinburgh and here is my story-

I have been drawing, painting and making since as far as I can remember. I learned embroidery when I was 6 years old with my mother. My first project was a set of handkerchiefs hand embroidered and hand hemmed for my Gran at the age of 6. Embroidery and textiles hold a significant place in my heart and my practice. They are strong ties to my heritage and my mother and grandmother. Well crafted, made to last garments, intricately embroidered sarees, clothes and linen were passed down from my grandmother to my mother and to me. It is through them I learned to appreciate excellence in craftsmanship and natural fibres and textiles. Today everything I make is rooted in these early years of hand making at home and further aided by my traditional training in drawing and painting in BFA from College of art, New Delhi.

My Masters in Contemporary Art Practice here at Edinburgh College of Art played an equally significant part in me shaping my art and crafts practice. It helped me to learn how to dig deeper to find out whys and whats of making things and hone my visual language. It helped me understand my direction and motivation as an artist. I started my journey with sustainability and understood the responsibility that comes with making objects through various ‘thinking tools’ that my 2 years in MFA gave to me. I consider myself very fortunate to have the aforementioned formal and informal learning environments which provided strong foundation for my art practice. 

There are few things that give me more joy than making things with my hands. Be it painting or embroidery, nature is a constant source of awe and inspiration for me. I love drawing and painting birds, plants and trees- sometimes with paints and other times with threads. I am a self assigned biophilic and very fortunate to be living in a city like Edinburgh with such great resources to explore nature and its creatures. A lot of my inspiration comes from local plants and wildflowers. It has become more important than ever for me to think very consciously about objects that I make and the foot print that I create from doing so. I am always striving to look at materials as resources and not waste, also make objects that are not going to cause harm to the natural environment when it’s near the end of its life cycle. But most importantly, create objects of such aesthetic and functions value that they will not be thrown and be loved and cared for. 

Thank you for visiting my webpage and taking time out to read this far. Hope you had a great time looking!