India Today – August 19, 2019

178 INDIA TODAYND AY AUGUST 19, 2019

SMART EDUCATION TRENDS

Drawing Her

Own Destiny

RUCHI SHAH, 36

Book illustrator, art

facilitator and wall artist,

Mumbai

FORMER UX (USER

experience) designer,

Ruchi’s creative journey

began in school itself

when she took art as

aspecial subject. She also loved

helping fellow students with

their projects and biology journal

sketches. Then, a master’s in

design from the Industrial Design

Centre (IDC) at IIT Bombay and a

Charles Wallace scholarship with

an additional master’s degree in

Visual Arts (Illustration) from the

University of the Arts, London,

honed her artistic drive enough

for her to quit her job at Yahoo.

“While my corporate job was com-

fortable, I missed the feel of paper,

materialsandpaint,”saysRuchi.

(^) Free Spirit “Art is not a typical
career. It is a calling,” she says. In
2013, she was invited to volunteer
as an art teacher in the remote
schools of Ladakh. The journey
helped her discover her passion for
tellingstoriesthroughwallart.
(^) For Art’s Sake The dearth of
good Indian illustrated stories,
and the need for current and re-
latable stories, gave Ruchi enough
material. “I like anything visual,
especially if it is well crafted.
Books became my playground
for experimenting with different
techniques to draw, paint and
print,” she says.
Where National Institute of De-
sign (NID), Ahmedabad
—Harshita Das
JIGNESH MISTRY