I was lucky enough to grow up in Hyderabad- the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and now Telangana, in South India. The state has such a rich history of traditional art; inspiration was everywhere.

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Being at college, away from home, I found myself remembering things about Hyderabad that I didn't expect I would ever think about. Kalamkari was one such art form that I found myself being drawn to. There was so much history, mythology, life and color celebrated in the hand painted textiles, my exploration wasn't satiated without making it the center of one my pieces. 

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Kalamkari translates to "ink art", kalam meaning ink pen and kari meaning work. From what I had learnt from the art community, pen and ink art usually referred to illustrations done on paper, yet Kalamkari was mostly sold as textile in India. This crossover of medium made me want to pay tribute to cloth, without forgoing the luxurious handmade quality of Kalamkari textiles. I had never worked with fabric before, except learn to embroider from my grandmother back in Hyderabad when I was much younger.

In order to re-associate the illustrative style of Kalamkari motifs with fibers, I embroidered the most decadent figures that these talented hand painters had imprinted onto the cotton. I considered this conversion of ink marks to thread a transformation of material.