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  Listen to the Podcast   Cityscape It is a known fact that art is therapeutic in many ways than we may know. From mesmerizing strokes, myriad of expressions enrich our experiences of the oft mundane world we live in. At its core, fine art serves, not only as a thing of beauty to be admired, but a reflection of the complexities, triumphs and tribulations of humanity. Whether a painting, sculpture, poetry, music or dance … the power of arts is rich and immense. It evokes emotions, provoke thoughts, and spark conversations. Fine art transcends boundaries and speaks a universal language. It has always been a catalyst for cultural exchange, bridging the gaps that exist in the human interactions. Through art, we gain insights into different perspectives, histories, and appreciation that there is unity in our diversities in this interconnected world. THERAPEUTIC Serenity  Art is therapeutic – numerous studies show that art reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, while enha...

Naandeyé García Villegas, Mexican artist who uses her creativity for social commentary. Naandeyé García Villegas’ earliest memories of delving into creative pursuits were ‘drawing’ letters on the earliest known Word program. The palette had a choice of four fonts and black and white colors to fill – minimalism driven by technology. “Since I was a child, I had a special interest in art. I drew a lot. I drew all the time,” Villegas said. “I loved the color and the letters. “When I was eight years old, my parents bought me a computer and a printer,” she said. “At that time, computers still didn’t have design programs, but mine had one installed where you could write things (I guess it was a kind of Word). It was just typography. I used to spend whole afternoons making signs, ‘designing’ them, then printing them, and finally, coloring on top of them (it had all kinds of markers, colors, watercolors, oil, etc.),” she said. This was the first taste of design for Villegas. A great deal has ch...

In north east India is a district, which is off the tourist grid, seeped in oft time warped traditions – Madhubani (translated as Forest of Honey – Madhu: honey, Ban: forest) – is the home, and lends its name, to the country’s foremost traditional painting genres, which dates back centuries. Rustic, traditional, and precise, each work tells a story – of the painter’s thoughts, dreams, aspirations, and critically giving life to Hinduism’s holy scriptures and deities. A mix of folklore, realism, celebrations, joy, and spiritualism, Madhubani is a personal statement of the artist, carrying on a tradition that has been handed down from generations. Ram Charita Paswan, is one of scores of painters who started dabbling with colours when he was six years old.  “I used to watch my grandmother paint,” the bespectacled, lean fourth-generation painter said. “I used to take cotton wool, tie it on a stick and try to dab paint on a paper, but I always ended up making a mess of th...

Rasheda Tennant works on a customised ring of silver and brass   "My pieces have to tell a story," says Rasheda Tennant, a young Jamaican jeweller, who said she combines her clients' personal choices, their stories with an eclectic mix of media, colours, and design. The jewellery that she creates is a statement - literally and figuratively. Tennant said creating is in her DNA. Her grandfather and father were woodcarvers and she, from as far as she can remember, spent her childhood and teenage years in their workshop, tinkering with the tools, carving, and hammering wood. "I was always helping my father; I used to accompany him whenever he went to the sites. I helped him in his workshop," Tennant said. She told The Sunday Gleaner that the training was hands-on and on the job. "That's how I have these muscles," Tennant said, as she flexed her chiselled biceps, shaped by hammers, nails, saws - not your typical doll-totting girl. The play th...

The creator and his creations - Wazari Johnson “I am like a child on Christmas morning when I open my kiln,” said Wazari Johnson, his shirt dotted with spots, and hands caked in clay, ready to shape the docile, earthy mass of mud into statement pieces. It's love, he said, that makes the wheel spin around, fire in the kiln burning and ideas to create the poetry and prose in glazed ceramic. “For me, everything about ceramics is just simply awesome,” Johnson said. “I love everything about the process, from getting the idea of what form I want to create, to preparing the clay, to taking it on the wheel. I love seeing the piece slowly dry and finally proving what it's made of in the fire, I love glazing and glaze firing.” These ideas, like any artists’ creation, form on a blank slate. In this case, from specks of mud, which Johnson said is therapeutic to work with and is also adaptable to changes. “I find that clay is a very versatile and "forgiving" material,...

From concept to finish, a 3D pattern that forms the basis of the patterns transferred on fabric. Take a stroll, shoot random pictures, superimpose them, employ technology, pour tradition and create expressions - sounds like a heady concoction? This is what Rodell Warner is out to do, giving defined space to asymmetries. "Expressing myself in art has given me the opportunity to appreciate whatever we normally tend to overlook," says Warner, a Trinidad and Tobago-based photographer and graphic designer. Armed with an unconventional style, the self-taught artist is converging traditional traits with technology, creating myriad kaleidoscopic patterns. Sitting in a room at New Local Space (NLS), an art incubator in Kingston, Warner meticulously merged photographs that he had taken of foliage to form a pattern, the cool tropical breeze, and the chirping of the birds provided background score. The creator and his creation, reflection of Rodell Warner as he shows on...

It’s as austere as its land of origin, yet complex and intriguing ­ pressed, meticulously laid out, rolled and neatly cut ­ Sushi is often referred to as a Zen garden, savoured not only by the taste buds but its neatness, presentation and colours are relished by the eyes. “Making sushi, like any other Japanese tradition, is made with utmost care, love and perfection,” said Yasuo Takase, ambassador of Japan in Jamaica. The ambassador’s resident chef Mitsuki Inoue gave a first-hand demonstration of turning nature’s abundant delights into an intricate, delectable platter. Chef Mitsuki Inoue Transforming the kitchen into a sacred meditation space, the process taking one’s senses to a divine level. Chef Inoue laid out the ingredients - the vinegar rice, from which the dish derives its name, sushi ­ dried seaweed, an assortment of fish in various tints, wasabi paste, a mat on which to assemble the dish and a container of vinegar water. “The rice used in the Japan is unique to ...