Expanding horizons
Architecture students from the city participated in a workshop on woodcut printmaking
Situated on the outskirts of the city, artist Chippa Sudhakar’s studio in Kismatpur played host to 20 architecture students on Tuesday morning. Armed with their drawing pads and wooden plaques, the students were sketching away, enjoying the pleasant weather and the chirping of birds. The second and third year students of Maestro School of Planning and Architecture were here for a five-day workshop called Lending Impressions to learn woodcut printmaking. The college teamed up with the Banyan Heart Studio to learn the art form that dates back to the 12th century, and was popularised in India by artists of West Bengal.
It involves etching out a figure on a plate of wood and rolling ink over the surface. When printed onto paper or cloth, the part that has been etched remains white and what is replicated is the part that is covered with ink.
Famous artist and printmaker Laxma Goud inaugurated the workshop and gave an informational talk, in his trademark humourous style. “Many urban spaces are not pleasing to the eye. To counter this problem, I think this workshop will make a very big impact in the careers of these budding architects,” he said.
The Dean of the college, T. Ramchander and a professor, Krishna Mohan, said that though this art form may not directly be related to their study, it will definitely help. “Learning about different forms of fine art and interacting with artists will cultivate a keen sense of aesthetics in the students,” they said. Students too were happy to be part of this workshop. “We architecture students need to have a good understanding of design. This workshop will expand our horizon and give us new, interesting design ideas,” says Ifra, one of the students. To this, her friend Naveen adds, “Creating wooden prints is an art process in reverse. In order to get the right image when it is printed onto paper, we need to make a mirror image of it on the wooden plaque. So, it doesn’t require just patience and skill, but also a lot of mind work and focus. These qualities are very important for architects, and we are learning them through this art form.”
Gowri, Anup and Sukanyar Dutta, the maestros who will be mentoring and guiding these students are experienced artists in the printmaking. “Once we get introduced to it, the interest only increases,” says Gowri. But this art form, unlike simple painting, has a lot of physical work. How did they get so interested in it? To this, she says, “We don’t like anything that’s easy. Challenges excite me.”
The art form requires patience, skill, a lot of mind work and focus —qualities that are very important for architects — NAVEEN, STUDENT