यावेळचे मुखपृष्ठ कलाकार आहेत  दत्तात्रेय  फडके. व्यवसायाने ते शरीरविकृतीशास्त्रज्ञ (पॅथॉलॉजिस्ट) आहेत. सूक्ष्मदर्शी यंत्राखाली वेगवेगळे आकार पाहणे, त्यांच्यातील रंगसंगती पाहणे  व त्यातून निदान करणे हे या शास्त्राचे वैशिष्ट्य आहे.  फडक्यांची नजर सूक्ष्मदर्शी यंत्रातून बाहेर आली आणि आपला परिसर न्याहाळताना  त्यातील वेगवेगळे आकार आणि  रंगसंगती यांतही रमून गेली.  त्यातून एक ‘कोलाज आर्टिस्ट’  अर्थात तुकड्यांतून सौंदर्य निर्माण करणारा कलाकार जन्माला आला. कोलाज शब्दाचे मूळ फ्रेंच शब्द ‘collér’ हे आहे. याचा अर्थ चिकटवणे  असा होतो. 

-संपादक  

Cover Photo of original fabric collage on canvas, titled ‘Day’s End’, 

by Fabric Collage Artist Dr. Dattatreya Phadke, Pune

This is what the artist has to say about the photo : 

This is based on my visit a few years ago to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.

After a long and tiring day witnessing and exploring the wonders of nature including the magical, predictable Old Faithful Geyser and several other geysers, mudpots and fumaroles, we headed back to our cottage in the evening. We relaxed and had a hot cup of tea, sitting on the deck in front of a lake. As the sun set, beautiful shades of pink in the sky reflected their colors in the water. Just then, several ducks made their way across the lake, all in a row. It was as if like us, they too had a long day and were now headed home.

About the Artist:

Dr.Dattatreya Phadke is a  practising physician (Histopathologist) in Pune, India.  Few years ago, he relocated from the USA to India after having spent over twenty years in the US and briefly in the UK.  Since childhood, while growing up in Pune, he has always been doing some form of art and craft such as drawing, painting, and creating greeting cards for friends and family.  Having spent a long-time pursuing medicine, and with its busy and demanding schedule, art suddenly took a back seat, but he always kept in touch by visiting art shows and art exhibits in museums. This inspired him to take up painting again. He is self-taught, except for an odd day painting workshop.

Since young, he was always fascinated by fabric while in India, with their vibrant colors and different textures in cotton and silk.  His journey of making fabric collages started about a decade ago while in the US. It was at an art festival in a suburb of Michigan, that he was drawn and impressed with the beautiful art quilts that some of the artists had displayed. This inspired him to try fabric as a medium of art and what started out as a new form of art expression truly became his passion. It also was a good stress buster both in his busy professional as well as personal life.

Dattatreya has displayed his vibrant fabric collages at many local exhibitions and art shows, while in the US and recently in India.  He has won a few awards for some of his  artwork in juried exhibitions and was also invited to do solo exhibitions.

Dattatreya Phadke About his  art:

My fabric collages are a unique style, giving a paint free painting like effect.  They draw the viewer to come up close only to appreciate the intricacy and details that create them.  They are vibrant, colorful, and representational pieces of art, inspired mostly from photos taken during my travels. 

I use thousands of scraps of fabric as my color palette.  Many of the scraps are recycled from discarded fabric.  I first choose a photo and make a small sketch and choose appropriate fabric scraps.  Various textured and colored fabrics are cut into numerous pieces that are then either glued or fused using heat and a bonding medium onto a canvas background in layers until I am satisfied with the correct shape, color value with great attention to details.   I draw inspiration from photos taken during my travels, and later create a particular piece of fabric collage.  I don’t try to recreate the photo but try to capture the essence as seen through the creative mind’s eye.  It is my attempt to blend the fabrics of such varied types and textures in unison to create this unique paint-free painting like effect.   I usually do landscapes, florals and still life, but also do abstracts the latter an interpretation of my creative mind.

What started out as a new form of art expression has now truly become my passion.  There is an abundance of inspiration all around us that can help each one of us to create beautiful artwork using any medium, be it paint, mixed media or a scrap of fabric.

Each one of us has this creative side which just begs to be explored.  I firmly believe that giving an expression to one’s creativity is one of the best stress busters.  It can be uplifting, inspiring and a great creative outlet for our feelings.  I hope my art inspires others to take up the pencil or the brush or even scraps of fabric to create little pieces of beauty and share it with all.  Joy doubles only by sharing and so does art.