I am Bala Thiagarajan, an Indian immigrant artist in Arvada, CO. My artwork for this exhibit is a Kolam drawing. Kolam is a traditional folk art form of a floor drawing done with rice powder that originated in South India and is practiced by millions of Tamil women around the world everyday. Kolams are created using a grid of dots and lines, which form the basic structure of the pattern. In ‘Sikku Kolam’ lines weave around the dots to create one or more closed loops. The lines cannot overlap more than once or go over the same path twice. Also every dot has to be included in a closed line. Symmetry is a key aspect of a sikku kolam and in this design, the pattern is mirrored along a central axis of 18 dots, creating a reflectional symmetry. The central axis and the outer pattern in this design are formed of a single continuous line.
I am excited to present this ancient tradition that still continues to be performed as a daily ritual and has been handed down from generation to generation.