Neighbor Featured Artist #18: Medha Karandikar

Artist Neighbor Bridges India and Appalachia

Every year, the coming of spring brings with it a new set of clothes for the mountains to wear. Because the Appalachians are part of one of the oldest mountain chains on earth, this process of beautiful renewal has been going on for millions of years. It is only in recent time that human beings have added their part to this cycle. The original inhabitants of Northeast Tennessee, who gave the Great Smokeys their name, left a fairly light footprint on the land. Since their time, all successive generations adding their unique mark to the cycle of beauty have been immigrants. The Scots-Irish and Germans play a large role in the culture of Appalachia. But the future will be shaped in part by those coming to America in the 20th and 21st centuries. Artist Medha Karandikar is a wonderful example of this. A resident of Morristown, she has brought the influences of India into the artistic life of Northeast Tennessee, adding a distinctive spice to the culture of Appalachia.
Medha Karandikar was born in India. “I lived there for a good part of my life and later moved to the U.S. eleven years ago with my husband and two children,” she says. Entirely self-taught, she was attracted to art from her childhood in Mumbai. “It all started when I was given a couple of used canvases to try my hand at,” she recalls. “I had to cover them up with house paint to get a clean surface to paint on. Later I would accompany an artist cousin on sketching trips around Mumbai, which gave me the chance to use her art supplies. Helping her with exhibits and shows gave me inspiration.” While her personal artistic journey took shape during her childhood and early adult life in India, Medha feels strongly that a major aspect of her creativity is American. The more open culture of the United States, she believes, lent energy to her creative drive. “Although I have drawn and painted all the time, this country has given me the most encouragement, opportunity, and inspiration,” she notes. Medha works in a variety of media, harmonizing colored graphite, pen-and-ink, watercolor, paper collage, and acrylics into designs which also include her own style of calligraphy. While art for display is the most visible form of her creativity, it is not the most basic element of Medha’s self image. “Writing, drawing and painting have been my passion, in that order,” she says. “Painting is just an embellishment to what I write and draw. Happenings around me affect my psyche tremendously, and come out in the form of writing. Doodling while talking on the phone often gives me good ideas to work on larger pieces.”
It was Medha’s work in collage that particularly caught the attention of gallery director James-Ben Stockton. “I’ve always adored collage,” he says. “It’s an art form that is open to anyone, regardless of skill level or previous experience.” Since becoming affiliated with James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center, Medha has had the chance to teach collage in a workshop format through the gallery and shares Stockton’s enthusiasm. “Paper collage can be thought of as a basic building block of artistic expression,” she says. “It helps free the mind to view existing colors and forms as raw material from which other images can be assembled.” In the past few years, Medha’s art has gained increasing attention in East Tennessee, in no small part due to her involvement in her adopted community. Stockton credits her with a knack for retaining her style while gaining acceptance in the region. “A few years ago, I challenged my artists with a request for pieces with historic themes and childhood memories,” he recalls. “Medha produced art from her memories of India, including folk dances and visits to the railway station. They made for a delightful connection between Greene County and Bombay.” Recently, Medha’s work was selected for inclusion in Artstravaganza!, Knoxville’s yearly fine arts show. Further recognition came when her “Dragonflies” painting-collage was chosen as the March image for the event’s inaugural “Art of Healing” calendar. Even more recently, Medha was invited to be in residence and teach classes at Tennessee River Arts Village in Perryville. “In addition to being talented as an the artist,” says Stockton, Medha is warm, engaging, and articulate. Students will not only learn from studying with her but can expect to have a wonderful time in the bargain.”
In the future, Medha would like to continue her exploration of collage using printed paper as though it were paint. She continues to work as a writer, allowing her emotional expressions to give rise to symbolic sketches, which later can evolve into detailed drawings of paintings. At the same time, she is continually nurtured by her family and home. “My husband and children are my biggest support system,” she says. “My mother inspires me by her gentle questions about what I’ve been doing - it prompts me to to something creative.” A recent visit to Medha’s home exposed Stockton to another art form, cooking. “The food she prepared for us was so wonderful I’ve asked her to teach the July 19th “Fresh from the Garden” Artisan Cooking School class: an Indian Inspired Vegetarian Meal.”
So take the opportunity to meet your artist/neighbor from Morristown, Medha Karandikar. Her work is available locally and displayed with great delight at James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center.