After the final steps of brushing and sanding, a group of students proudly flaunt their first resin and fluid artwork, as artist Aarthi Goyal guides them with the dos and don’ts of the technique for one last time. As they leave with their self-made work (filled with vibrant colours and dreamy patterns), ready to take over Instagram in the next few hours, she talks about the world that defines her best.
Holding up a bespoke art piece, she points out the three dimensional work, made by pouring, burning, glossing, sprinkling and resin. Her art is clearly as unpredictable as her choice of dosa, which she eats along with curd, topped with podi (spicy masala powder).
City-based corporate official turned full-time artist, Aarthi Goyal is one of the few people in India who practices both resin and fluid art to create abstract pieces. “I was deemed a surrealist in my art school,” she says.
“It started as an obsession which later on turned into an affair,” says 28-year-old Aarthi. A trained artist from Karnataka Chitrakala Parikshat, Bengaluru, her journey began with fluid art which is similar to resin in terms of movement but quite different in terms of the end product and process.
“Art with resin and fluid were unpopular in India when I began a couple of years back. I had to use construction resin, which is harmful for your health, because artware resin was not available. It was only later when it bloomed that I was able to start working with artist’s resin,” she says.
- In resin and fluid art, resin (which is the medium) is treated with the techniques of making fluid art — like pouring, burning and glossing. The resin is usually poured down the base and allowed to follow natural patterns. Either wood, canvas, ceramic or silicon can be used as the base. It takes around three to 20 days for the artwork to dry.
Today, Aarthi conducts workshops for people who wish to learn the craft. She says, “It’s nice to leave little notes to people who will later follow you. When I began, there was not much information available, not even the basics. People would say, do it with love and it will come. I used to fail miserably and it would dishearten me. I don’t want other beginners to experience the same thing.”
Talking of art with utility she says, “I don’t believe in art put up on a wall. Most artists paint and later lock their work. Or they hang it and forget about it. I didn’t want to do that.”
Hence, Aarthi makes coasters, bowls and platters of resin. She will soon be coming up with a collection of pure resin coasters. She is also prepping for the launch of her side tables, in collaboration with a partner who she does not wish to name yet.
Now that she has more clients abroad, Aarthi hopes that her art with travel. She says, “Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to to sell at least one piece of my work in every country.”