Every year, when school reopened post summer holidays, the one thing we loved showing off the most (and comparing with each other) was stationery. Folding pencil boxes, fruit-shaped erasers, bobble head pencils, three-in-one pens, vibrant notepads... all in bright colours, mostly plastic and almost always “Made In China”.
There is something inspiring about pretty stationery, especially notebooks. It almost immediately makes you want to sit down with it and start penning a verse or sketching. Partly to encourage this creativity, artists from Chennai started creating a bunch of quirky and elegant ones. What’s even better is that they are locally made. And to save you from the ordeal of looking around for them, The Paper Dolphin organises The Art Fleamart where 14 artists come together with their delightful creations. On display are cards, prints, canvases, bookmarks, home décor, bottle art, handmade jewellery and bags among others.
“I am organising this for the first time. It’s actually an experimental event. Depending on the response, I’ll probably have the series maybe four times a year,” says Urusha Maher, who started The Paper Dolphin (an eco-friendly brand that makes recycled notebooks, pencils, pens and cards) three years ago.
Room for everyone
The idea is to connect artists within the city, and provide them with a platform where they can display and share their works. “I wanted to bring the concept of an ‘all-art-inclusive’ stage, where artists of every style — be it visual, musical or performance — can come together and experiment with each other,” says Maher.
Just in case browsing through the stalls makes you want to start off with an easel and palette, there’s a thrift stall with second hand art supplies sold at affordable rates. “Works well for people who want to experiment with art without burning a hole in their pocket,” says Maher.
In addition, there’s also a musical jam session with DJ Satty, Yashwanth (flautist), and Meet Rao (acoustic player/singer/songwriter), and the screening of a short film titled M , written and directed by Praveen Kumar Deenadayalan.
“It is important to build a contact base as an artiste, but it’s a difficult task. Chennai needs more events where like-minded people can meet and share ideas. There are a few events like these happening, but very rarely on this side of the city,” adds Maher.
(The Art Fleamart will take place on July 21 at Kimberley House, 6, 11th Avenue, Aminjikarai, between 10 am and 6 pm. For details, call Maher at 9840423606)
