Quilling Art Exhibit in "Chitra Santhe" 2023

 Hi Friends,

ChitraSanthe " or Picture(Art) Fair happens once a year in Bangalore , where more than 1500 selected artists from all over India display their art work directly to the public for selling. The event is organized by the"Karnataka Chitrakala parishath" a department functioning under government of Karnataka to support art work .  

I had an opportunity to showcase my Quilling art work at Chitra Santhe 2020. It was a very nice experience. Lot of people appreciated my work. The response was very good. From the past two years the Chitra Santhe was organized online. I had participated at the online Chitra Santhe in 2021. But I was unhappy with the response. Maybe the people  were not able to see the detailing of quilling art online. I did not apply in the year 2022. 

In November 2022 , while browsing the Chitra Kala Parishath website , I saw the details and found out that Chitra Santhe 2023 will be offline and online. I was overjoyed . I did not want to miss this opportunity. I downloaded the application form and registered for the event. The event was on Jan 8th 2023. 

My preparation work began ...

This time I had good collection of quilling dolls , but was not decided which one to showcase. Last time ( 2020 ) , my quilling Ganesh was the highest selling  idol. So decided to start with Quilling Ganesh . I made 15 Quilling Ganeshas . 

• The next item which came to my mind was mini quilling doll. Many people had liked those cute little dolls so I thought why not try it out. Then my daughter gave an idea that you can make keychains for these dolls. that will be more attractive. So decided to make them . Also made some minion key chains. I had made them during my workshops.  It took me some days to complete it. 
• Then I moved my direction towards Quilling Jewellery. This time I thought of making some painted quilling jhumkas. I selected some common colours and started. I made black , blue , red and pink colour jhumkas. 
• I added a new collection to my art work - Mandala Earrings. I was trying this for the first time. So I made only 5 pairs. 
• I made some Quilling envelopes for displaying 

Let me share a few pictures from my Quilling Stall at Chitra Santhe 2023

Click here to see the complete video.

I almost finished making all the items which were to be displayed at Chitra Santhe. I had not yet got any confirmation regarding my Stall. I was waiting ... in a hope that I will get selected. 

Finally on 30th Dec 2022 , I received a sms saying my stall allotment is confirmed. I was overjoyed. Was a bit tensed , how I will manage everything . But my husband and family's support was a boost for me. 

We had to visit the Chitra Kala Parishath  on 7th Jan to see the place and finalize it. I had not decided which art works , dolls to be displayed at the event. My husband told ,lets see the place and then decide. 

Myself , my husband and my daughter went to see the area of my stall. First we need to see the list where they had displayed my name with my stall no . My stall no was 643. So we went in search of that number. It was not on the main road. It was on one of the side roads. 

I was very very happy to see the place allotted to me. It was a large space . I had a glass wall which was an added advantage. That moment I decided to display some more of my quilled dolls. 

I decided to display :

• Yoga doll set
• Corona warriors set
• Band set
• Couple doll set. 
• Sports person dolls
• Community helpers dolls
• Quilling Lakshmi idol

The wall hangings included  

We came home and I started packing my stuff . Everything was finished by night . 

Woke up morning at 4:30 to get ready and leave. We left home by 6:15 and reached the venue at 6:45. Quite a chilly morning. So many artists busy arranging their stalls. 

First I displayed my Banner. Colourful Banner made by my lovely daughters. Thanks to them . Then I started arranging my quillling dolls , key chains , Ganesha , Photo frames and many more. The stall looked amazing. 

The response was very good . Many people appreciated my work. Felt so so happy.

My first sale item was the Garba Doll Couple set. 

I could sell some couple doll set , Band set dolls , Ganesha and some key chains.

I also sold some jhumkas  and mandala earrings .

Some people were not aware about Quilling . I explained to them . They were surprised as to how can you do so much using just quilling strips.

I received my Certificate . Felt so happy .

The crowd was maximum between 11 A M to 5 P M . It w.as a busy day . I started to wind up everything as I was also tired and it was getting dark. By 7 P M we closed and packed everything to return home.

 I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to my family and relatives who stood with me and supported in the fair , I owe them the success .

A special thanks to my daughters who helped me and gave me unique ideas.

Most important , I would like to thank my customers who appreciated  and showed interest in my quilling art work.  

Overall it was a fascinating and energizing experience and I am now eager to look forward to more participation and spread the art of quilling.