By Mahima Kolar

On October 18th, Deepti Designs hosted its annual Youth Art Show in Seattle Center. In the show, we had 50 students displaying around 100 paintings, and each student gave a one-minute speech about their artwork. Students also participated in a Q&A session with the attendees of the show, sparking lively conversations about each piece. 

The event was many of our young artists' first experience with public speaking, yet every one of them excelled, capturing the attention of the audience with their engaging presentations. Artists' prints were also available for purchase in collaboration with Smart Tags, an app that also allowed our students to post brief bios and artist statements about themselves. 

We also held a felicitation ceremony to honor the artists who went above and beyond this year when it came to volunteerism- from PVSA qualifiers to teaching artists to our very own newsletter editors. The awards were presented by our special guests: Suresh Sharma, second-in-command to the Consul-General of India, and RoseAnn Lopez, the Director of Campus Operations at Seattle Center. Overall, the show was a resounding success, appreciated by many for the sheer volume of talent on display.

By Manavi Shukla

The Roundglass Foundation is an amazing organization created to improve wellbeing in Punjab, India through youth development, environmental and sustainability initiatives, and women's empowerment. This year, Deepti Designs was invited to the Roundglass Gala, which featured an auction to raise money for the Roundglass Foundation. 

Before the auction, Deepti Agarwal was invited to speak about the Madhubani style, sharing its cultural roots, symbolism, and significance with attendees. Her talk perfectly set the stage for the auction. Deepti Designs also contributed a Madhubani painting named Uday : The Rise of Oneness to the auction. The painting had a starting bid at $1000 and went up to $2250! 

The gala was an incredible event for a great cause. On the right is an image of the beautiful painting that was sold for $2250!

By Manavi Shukla

The Grassroots Project is an organization founded by immigrants to empower underprivileged immigrant children in the Seattle and Indianapolis areas. They recently hosted their “It Takes a Village” art reception to raise money to help families, an event inspired by the African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child”. 

The event featured local artists and community members. Deepti Designs was honored to be one of the local artists invited to this art reception. To help raise funds, Deepti Designs donated two artworks: “Celebration” and “Majestic I” to be sold. 

The event was held at Third Culture Coffee on October 28th, celebrating National Immigrants Day. The art reception was a great success, raising funds to help families in need. Here are the two prints that Deepti Designs donated to Grassroots!

By Anishka Gogoi

This month, we are excited to honor the creativity of Deb Lykins, who is currently studying Madhubani under Ms. Nikita Thakalath. Lykins first discovered Madhubani art during a trip to Seattle with her daughter, where she happened to visit the ANT Gallery during a Deepti Designs showcase. Lykins recalls how mesmerising she found the bright colors and patterns: "I couldn’t stop thinking about it even after I returned home to Texas, so I reached out to Deepti Designs to ask about classes. I wanted to learn all about the patterns and designs in Madhubani."

With a background primarily in sculpture and photography, Lykins was eager to translate what she learned in her Madhubani lessons to ceramics. Her process involves painting "the colors on bisqueware using underglazes, which create the bright colors similar to the acrylics we use in class." We applaud Lykins' artistic initiative to learn the traditional arts, and look forward to future Madhubani-ceramic blends!

Currently, Lykins is on the cow project in her Madhubani journey, and is excited to continue learning the art in both its traditional form and in more modern adaptations! Her story is proof of the impact showcasing art can make, and Deepti Designs is honored to play a part. 

By Jahnavi Shukla

Let’s congratulate Mrs. Subhashini Ganesan and Sai Keertana Ganta for running another year of successful Diwali workshops at eBay! This past month, the two volunteers from our school led a workshop for around 90 eBay employees! They taught the participants how to make Jharokha tea light candle stands to take home, spreading the Diwali festivity.

By Jahnavi Shukla

In this season of giving thanks, our team ran a workshop to help people express their gratitude for healthcare workers! Through Microsoft Give, Subhasini Ganeshan, a parent volunteer from our school, taught Microsoft employees to create coasters and bookmarks. These creations will be given out during Thanksgiving in a cardiology clinic called Cardionow. Let’s commend Mrs. Ganeshan for running a workshop with such great impact!

By Anvika Bheemarasetty

This Saturday, on November 15th, we held an intimate art event at Viya Contemporary in Bellevue. This workshop was at one of the finest galleries in the city of Bellevue, where a group of women created a variety of artworks in 3+ hours. Our youth students, Arianna Sinha and Ritisha Saragoi, volunteered to help conduct the workshop and presented their artwork, which was very well received and highly appreciated!