Abha Khare

Hello! I am Abha Khare, a second-year Graphic Design student pursuing my bachelor's degree at MITID Pune. I had the privilege of attending Lakshmi ma'am's art classes for about nine years.

I grew up attending her classes once every week, and through her guidance, I not only developed my art skills and discipline as an artist but also evolved as a person. She is not just a teacher; she becomes your friend and the best guide you could ever ask for. She has been my guide since my childhood and the reason I am able to pursue design. At the end of every class, we would talk about what we learned from our own and our peers' work. This practice helped us tremendously, as we would automatically remember what was done previously and unconsciously strive for a better understanding of painting. She goes to great lengths to make sure you understand the purpose and theory behind each work done in class, and she encourages you to keep improving. Her encouragement helps each child get through the tough parts of their work and achieve success. Discussions were a vital part of the class, where I learned many soft skills like patience and concentration, and my speech improved significantly.

She has always invoked a love and passion for art in every child she has taught and guided. We never saw it as a class; it was a stress-buster. Art brought a new side to me during the day, allowing me to forget all pessimistic thoughts and enjoy my work and the discussions. The class helped us feel better about ourselves, enjoy talking to friends, listening to everyone's stories, gaining knowledge, and improving our artistic skills. Ma'am has always been considerate of our hobbies and passions, regardless of whether they were related to the creative field or not.

Framing our artworks felt like a reward, and all the students eagerly awaited the opportunity. She patiently guided each of us through the process, never pressuring us into decisions. Instead, she encouraged us to make our own choices, oering her valuable experience as guidance. Live sketching, a practice reserved for the senior students, was an incredibly enriching experience for me. It significantly enhanced my observation skills, hands-on work, understanding of light and shadow, and grasp of the power and dynamics of a 3D composition. These aspects gave me a profound insight into what art truly is and how masterpieces are created. Through my years of learning under her guidance, I came to understand that art is not just about mastering techniques or using dierent mediums eectively. It involves a deep understanding of observation, imagination, understanding colours, anatomy and of course about various mediums and their characteristics. It’s about combining these elements to create something extraordinary and original.

The atmosphere of the class was always comfortable and friendly, with no misbehaviour or superiority from senior students. Every child felt at ease and would share the cutest stories from their everyday lives, making it a truly wonderful experience. My knowledge grew organically, which made me feel confident in my abilities. I have seen students from dierent cultures and even nationalities join the class and, over time, become one of us. She took great care to ensure each and every child felt comfortable, loved, and cared for in her class. I was one of those, who felt loved and cared for, which made me want to make her feel proud not just in my progress as an artist, but in the race of life.

I would like to elaborate on how her classes were instrumental in shaping my journey into the design field. Design is a creative problem-solving process that involves a lot of research, a quick grasp of how things work and their purpose, an inquisitive nature, and a strong foundation in colour theory and visualisation. Lakshmi ma'am's art classes unconsciously helped me develop these essential skills. All the practices and exercises in her class gradually made me more patient and helped me see things in-depth. My understanding of colour improved with each artwork I completed over the years. Observing how each picture featured contrasts, monochromatic themes, or silhouettes made me more observant and helped me understand the contexts in which these aspects are highlighted in an artwork. As I grew older, I gained deeper insights into theoretical terms like proportions and foreshortening. We learned to pay attention to every detail of our artwork, whether it was the colour, texture, sketching style, or values.

Working on our artworks for more than three weeks taught us how to concentrate and progress at the right pace. Our focus wouldn't wander, and we remained as motivated to work on the last day as we were on the first. These small, seemingly insignificant lessons have made me who I am today. Understanding values and other basic principles discussed in class from a young age helped me perform better in my assignments and gave me an upper hand over my peers. The knowledge I acquired from Lakshmi ma'am and my peers prepared me to embark on my journey in the design field. I am incredibly grateful to have learned from the best and built such a strong foundation in my childhood.

Thank you so much ma’am!