Joint art initiative

Astri gets inspired mainly by the classical principles like the beauty of nature and the anatomy of both man and animal. Although she works in many materials, she is known for her sculptures in bronze, and in stone.Emotionally charged sculptures with seeming simplicity are what characterize the work of Astri Blokbergen.The self-taught Astri improved her techniques at several renowned institutions and artists, including the Gooische Academie situated in Laren under the guidance of sculptor Janco Berman and the Italian Kyle Smith Artspace in Pietrasanta.Astri Blokbergen is the niece of the famous Scandinavian sculptor, Ambrosia Tonnesen. The Artist has created a number of commissioned pieces for European clients. Her works are usually large, with nude-trees in bronze being her latest inspiration. She feels:Every tree I make is unique. They each radiate their own energy, which is why it can be anyone's tree of life. People recognize their own frequency in the tree.'

In the last 25 years, Frazer And Haws has crafted forms and figures by integrating separate skills, different materials, in to one design. Marrying natural materials usually, but at times industrial material as well, used innovatively in a flexible process, where most designs are Limited Editions. At times, the pieces' utilitarian value dictates this amalgamation of crafts. It is more effortful since the piece must be realised within the limits of multiple crafts before it completes itself. One material and singular skill is a simpler production than co-crafting. Today handicraft and joint-skills are rare in commerce; being always experimental, and the slightest distraction in kaarigari causes irreparable damage, and loss. It is challenging, and Frazer And Haws still chooses to be a fore-runner in the silver-in-art discipline of hand-craftsmanship. Uniting unlikely materials and techniques with silver is exciting, and handicraft allows experimentation with 'borrowed' techniques and tools from other creative fields; new-ness creates a market for itself. i.e. self-invent and self-sell. The sum of the parts and the whole must to be equally successful. The contemporary world of handicrafts divides itself from its traditional roots- the fact that it is not necessary, not needed. It must be wanted for its own sake.

Padamshree Award-winning, Ceramic Artist, B R Pandit, laid the foundation of handmade art of pottery in 1981. He is one of the few artist-craftmen who crossed the bridge from traditional pottery in to its contemporary, collectible expression. Pandit ji received the PadamshreE Award in 2013 from the President of India. He was conferred the Shilpi Guru Award by the Ministry of Textiles, government of India. Pandit has been honoured by the Governor of Maharashtra in the Raiya Bhavan in 2013. He received the Pravish Bihar Shri Award for his outstanding achievements in the art of clay work from the Bihar Government in 2012. Pandit ji has been honoured in many prestigious forums, including being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991, Saramkarik Karigar, in Mumbai in 2007. A book is published on Pandit ji's pottery by Tata Press. Pandit B R Pandit works out of his studio in Mumbai. He has trained over 2000 students in the craft of pottery and ceramics.

Babla Seeth is a graduate from Parsons school of design and The Fashion Inistitute Of Technology NY. Trained in apparel design and production his passion runs way beyond his training.

He is a sculptor and makes sculptures from industrial waste ie; nuts, bolts, used car parts, old wires and scrap metal. He mostly portrays the human form in his work besides making other artifacts. He has had several exhibitions in India, USA and Bangladesh. Foreign dignitaries like ambassadors of various countries and International sportsmen have bought his work.

Rajasthan-State LKA Award-winning Sculptor & Artist, Shri Lallan Singh, works on remarkable stone pieces, known for their strong, clean lines. Lallan ji has held many solo exhibitions across India. His work finds a permanent place in the Collections at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai,as also at the Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi, the Nayan Gallery in Gurugaon, and in several private collections. Shri Lallan Singh won the Artist's Award at the 42th Exhibition, Rajasthan State L.K.A. Jaipur 2001. He is invited to participate in all-India Group shows and Art Symposiums. He sculpts at his Udaipur based workshop.