Anuja Aggarwal and the Union of her Dreams
“If someone had asked me 35 years ago about what I wanted to do, I would’ve replied that I wanted to be an ‘artist’. But, coming from a middle-class family, my aspirations were hampered by the fact that ‘ art is a field where you either become very famous or you struggle your entire life to make a living ‘.
Art has been my ‘hobby’ since childhood, but never did I expect to have the certitude and make it my ‘profession’ and become one of the top alcohol ink artists in India. So, I decided to make a career in advertising and later on moved to content writing.
While I was doing fairly well professionally and at the home front, it always felt like something was incomplete. I would paint or do something crafty once in a while but failed to dedicate more time.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t deny that I would lose track of time, hunger, troubles, and anger while creating art. So, I finally gathered the courage to acknowledge my lifelong calling as I realized that art is the only thing that makes me truly happy.
I decided to start my pursuit and paint whenever possible. I’d scour through hundreds of online videos and sites to learn the tips and tricks. And it was during one such ceaseless Instagram browsing when I came across alcohol ink art. I was mesmerized and immediately started looking for an artist willing to teach me.
But it was a shocker to know that nobody was pursuing this field. Alcohol inks weren’t even available in India. Nonetheless, I ordered supplies and started experimenting.
Without guidance, it took a lot of hit and trial, frustrating moments, and crushed papers in the dustbin, but it was all worth it to see the overwhelming responses I received later on! It gave me the boost to start alcohol ink Youtube tutorials.
I even gave in to the numerous requests and started conducting workshops and exhibitions. But then the lockdown happened and it was frustrating but on the bright side, everyone started to indulge more in art. All this while I had only thought about art in terms of my small city or maybe expanding it in India. But, with the power of social media and the internet, I started conducting online alcohol ink workshops worldwide.
While I still get a lot of ‘ Art ka kya bharosa hai’. I keep going because I know that the 10-year-old me would be proud of living her dream! “