2026 RESIDENCY - Exploring The Creative Self: Studio PAUSE at NOVA
Artist Sushmita Mazumdar was invited to bring her Studio PAUSE experience to the AAPI Intercultural Center as art coordinator for the Spring 2026 semester. Experience what it feels like to PAUSE and make time for creativity & community!
Session 1: “I Wish, I Hope, I Dream” - Making books to start the new year! Inspired by the Buddhist prayer wheel Sushmita bought at the market in Leh, a city in the Himalayan mountains of India, she created a book that holds a secret space for wishes. Listen to the story, see the prayer wheel, and make a book of your own.
Session 2: "Exploring Kolam" - Finding calm in repetition students explore a traditional art form from Tamil Nadu, India, called Kolam! The story which Sushmita loves is how the dots represent obstacles we will encounter during the day and the wavy lines are the ways we will find around them. What a way to start the day! What if students can make one before coming to class? Sushmita replaced the traditional rice flour with water soluble graphite to give students a taste of her favorite medium.
Session 3: Lunar New Year - Year of the Fire Horse! We used collage techniques to put together images of the Fire Horse and Asian handmade papers plus what this year brings us. We framed the artworks to remind us of the powers f the fire horse.
Session 4: During Ramadan we looked at the 8-Pointed Star design motif, a favorite of mine, from Islamic art. We saw how I found it is used in Uzbekistan, and we calmed down as we used a ruler to create our own graph paper. Then plotting the design on it required focus and play. Then came the colors! In the end we framed photocopies of all the artworks created and students came up with the best composition.
Session 5: "It's Holi!" Almost all the students had heard about holi and the tradition of throwing colored powder on each other. But we learned the history of how colors came from spring flowers. Using watercolors we painted different flowers, layered them, and tied them up. Then we threw our flowers at our friends.
Session 6: “Spring Break Sketchbook” - Right before spring break students learned origami book making techniques mixed with West Asian book arts techniques to make a sketchbook. It included a pencil too.
Session 7: “Puddles and Swirls” - After spring break students explored waterproof inks to make puddles and swirls using items found in nature, like twigs and pebbles (were there any under the melting snowcrete?)
