Debut Appearance for Artist Chandana Srinath at Splatter Festival

Emerald Glen Park in Dublin was bustling with activity for the 7th annual Splatter Festival. Splatter is a chance to celebrate the end of summer with a colorful splash of water, wine, art, and music providing entertainment and an afternoon out for the whole family. It also provides a good opportunity for local artists to display their talents and this year Chandana Srinath displayed her work in public for the first time at the Dublin Art Collective booth.

Chandana was interviewed about her artistic journey and what led her to the point of displaying her artwork.

Q. What got you involved in your art form?

I loved to draw and paint from a very young age. Later I was fascinated and gravitated toward various folk art from India. I was also greatly inspired by my mother who was an artist herself. I'm a physical therapist by profession but painting and doing crafts is my passion. It's not just a hobby as it also gives me immense pleasure in creating an art that is losing its luster. This passion of mine helped me a lot in my personal and professional life as well.

Q. What makes your artwork unique?

Most of the art I do is from rural and tribal parts of India. It's unique in its own way as they express their culture and lifestyle through their art. This can only be depicted in its true form and they do not appreciate changing its form. So I use a little touch of mine here and there to fuse different art forms into one and add color to some of them. Most of these tribal arts are done either in black and white or in primary colors.

Q. What made you decide to display your work at Splatter?

The Dublin Art Collective placed a call for artworks on their Facebook page and I saw an opportunity to showcase my art to a large crowd and spread the word of this art form that is being forgotten.

Q. What projects are you currently working on?

Currently I'm working on an art form that I haven't tried before and it is just in the starting stages. I also have a couple of other paintings partly completed on canvas.

Q. What are your plans for the future?

I'd be really happy if one of my kids can start loving this art form and continue to keep it alive. In the near future I would also like to teach kids who are willing to learn art and specifically this kind of folk art.

Chandana's artwork garnered very favorable and appreciative feedback and was displayed along with work by other local artists including Michelle Meng, Sudhi Nema, Gabi Marshall, Kathi Muetterties and Karen Scott.

The "Selfie Station - Chairing is Caring" at the Dublin Art Collective booth also drew a lot of attention and artist Summer Ellis was on hand to encourage participation. Themed chairs were available as interactive art pieces so children could touch and engage with the art. The chairs were creatively decorated by floral photographer, Vanessa Lee Thomas and included "Flora and Flyers" representing flora and pollinators, "The Last Straw", dealing with plastic contamination of the oceans, “The Moot Point” addressing the topic of meat consumption and air pollution and also "Molecular Me" highlighting the importance of understanding how our bodies work at a microscopic level including our chromosomes.

Artists are invited to share their events, exhibition information and news on the Dublin Art Collective Facebook page which aims to provide a central information hub for local artistic and creative endeavor.

Upcoming events include an encaustic artwork display by Summer Ellis at the popular Livermore ArtWalk and a wild paper bead jewelry making workshop led by Karen Scott at local business The Frame Company.

If you attended the Splatter Festival, the City of Dublin is interested in hearing your feedback and an online is survey is available until October 13.