What makes an elephant an elephant? A tail, four legs, big belly, flappy ears and a trunk.
Besides that however, anything goes, according to Italian designer Paola Ferrarotti who is in the city to conduct a workshop for children titled 8 Ways to Draw An Elephant. The workshop, held by Tara Books, draws from various Indian art traditions, exposing children to the rich, multi-faceted world of Meena, Madhubani, Patua, Saora, Pithora and Gond.
“Elephants are almost synonymous with India and is a common motif used in Indian art,” admits Paola. “They are huge animals but despite their size, very sociable,” she adds.
Pointing to large white sheets of paper, with stylised, representations of the animal rendered using different artistic techniques to the children gathered there, she says, “It is the same animal but represented by different artists in different ways. I want children to understand that there so many ways to represent something. It is all about introducing different perspectives to the same thing.”
Paola who studied product design at Genoa and communication design at Milan, has worked in the branding and advertising realm for three years. Talking about it, “I worked in London but it didn’t satisfy me. The pace of life, the people, the work — I wanted something more. I had come to India six years ago and fell in love with the place. I promised myself I would come back someday for a longer stint, and I did. The traditions and artistic culture of this country are fascinating.”
“Art is such an intrinsic part of their life — the artists here decorate the inside and the outside of their homes with it,” smiles the designer, who has been part of the Tara Books team since February this year.
And though she admits to having been a trifle nervous at having to conduct the workshop for children she says it offered her incredible insights, “I’ve never taught kids before but thanks to them, I’ve learnt a lot. Children add new dimensions to the things that we create because they see the world in a way that we cannot. They are curious and imaginative and offer feedback, not directly but by the way they react to the pictures.”
She hopes that this will be part of a series, featuring Indian animals, “We started with elephants, maybe the next one will be peacocks or tigers,” she laughs.
And though she will soon return to London, she hopes to carry on in this direction, “I can’t do things the way I used to,” she says. “The stint in India, has changed me. I am not the same person anymore.”