New Delhi Polytechnique For Women, 1972
Best Textile Designer, New Delhi Polytechnique For Women, 1974
Garment design for Calisti Studios, Paris, 1977
At the age of seven, I knew. Drawing on fabric is where it’s at. In India, most girls were expected to get a degree in English Literature - I said I wanted to go to ART school. My first six months at New Delhi Polytechnique for Women were grueling. Armed with a paintbrush, a single color, and a piece of paper we were tasked with drawing a pattern in 2 hours, producing maybe 50 ideas. We learned how to create the colors we would work with in the future. Mastering color and understanding the economics of printing was critical to my success as a professional, practical artist.
First Art Show Booth, Cleveland State University, Ohio, 1980
Handpainted Dress Worn By Artist, Malaysia, 1981
Chinese Brush Painting Classes, Seremban, Malaysia, 1981
I graduated with distinction in textile design in 1975 from New Delhi Polytechnique, with a certificate in French from Alliance Français. I was determined to live and work in the mecca of the design world, Paris. With money saved doing design projects while going to school and a few designs in my pocket, I went to France to find my fortune. To train and become a master.
Handpainted Wedding Gown, Cleveland, Ohio, 1983
Sango China Dinnerware for Joan Luntz Studio, Cleveland, Ohio,1987
First California Photoshoot, 1995
Lived on Rue de Rennes. Worked near Pont Neuf with Madame Calisti’s design house, which provided prints for big designers like Lanvin and Yves St Laurent. There were 5 other people working there, a Romanian, two Japanese, one native French and me. We only shared the language of French and a passion for art. My work has taken me to Malaysia, the Midwest, and finally California. I fashioned gowns for the Queen of Malaysia, styled fabrics for textile giant Schumacher, and even designed a Christmas ornament for the Blue Room in the White House. My husband and I have been a fixture of California art & wine festivals for nearly three decades.