For better or worse, our childhood experiences often shape who we will become later in life, leaving a lasting imprint on our hearts and minds.
Local visual artist Shilpa, who owns and operates Shilpi’s World Academy of Art, has precious early memories of drawing that will forever be connected to her mother.
“Parents are considered our first teachers, and that is very true in my case!” she says. “As a very young child, as far as my memory can take me, my mom taught me how to draw. She was an artist herself, who believed in [aspiring to] perfection.”
From there, Shilpa’s mother helped to hone her daughter’s apparent talents, enrolling Shilpa in summer drawing and painting classes to further her artistic development and allowing her to explore her passion.
“In retrospect, her appreciation and encouragement towards an artistic persuasion has brought me to where I am today!” Shilpa recalls.
In addition to having her unconditional love and support, Shilpa remembers being inspired by her mother’s skills, as well as her focus, precision, and commitment to her craft.
“She believed that anything you do in life should be done to perfection. Her needlepoint embroidery was very exquisite work—it was done with such a fineness. Her influence was very strong on my impressionable mind. She always made an effort to teach me things with diligence, from arts and crafts to knitting and cooking,” says Shilpa.
Today, the life lessons Shilpa learned as a child has translated into entrepreneurship. She has run Shilpi’s World Academy of Art for the past decade, a venture that flourished from a small home business into a full-time educational institution.
Shilpa, a formally educated artist and graduate of rigorous BFA and MFA programs, plans and implements the curriculum herself, thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of each student in her academy.
Through Shilpa’s platform, instruction is provided in the areas of shading, drawing, and exploring different mediums of coloring and painting. Small class sizes provide a more personalized setting.
“I believe in the basic idea that without drawing, there is no painting. Accordingly, I work to ensure that students build confidence through grasping the basics of drawing and rendering,” she says.
Following her beloved mother’s philosophy, Shilpa is dedicated to growing her students’ abilities through finely tuned instruction. “I work hard to ensure that my knowledge and practice passes from myself to my students,” she says.