Atula Patwardhan

So observation, reading, listening, thinking out of the box plays the important role in thought process. I have full faith on my hands to express my creativity.

I am a women in design-2020, presenting my work as an Visual Artist, through the three era-Past, Present and Future. I am completing the journey of three decades, as an Academician, a Professor of Visual art.

Peeping into my past showcases my education and the way I have applied it productively. Myself Atula Patwardhan, a born Artist, found the Gate-way of creativity and innovation in 1983 and got admission in Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya, as a student of Applied Art, that demands hard work, creativity and vision for art.

I believe-It’s always possible. And to make it possible, one should never ever give up. If you want to flourish, you must cherish and nourish your thoughts, so observation, reading, listening, thinking out of the box plays the important role in thought process. I have full faith on my hands to express my creativity. I did my masters in Fine Arts (Applied Art) and being University Topper, was honored by the University, as a lecturer to teach Visual Arts and later on as a teacher of visual Arts in Architecture College. Architecture is also one of the seven Arts, more specifically, a visual Art.

Visual Art being my Domain, I started teaching the students, as per the prescribed syllabus. That was just the introduction and preliminary teaching of drawings as colour theory, principles of aesthetics, elements of Design, types of compositions, developing sketching rendering skills and so on. Students were enjoying the assignments, my co-teachers appreciated and encouraged my job, but I was not satisfied something was missing. I, as a student of Applied Art, am habituated of applying my knowledge to every field. Now it was a turn to apply my educational knowledge to Architecture education.

My senior, Prof.S.A.Deshpande, asked me to bridge the gap between Art and Architecture. That was the turning point, and I found the proper way of Teaching Visual Art to the students of Architecture.

Architecture is one of the seven arts. Monotony , Contrast ,Rhythm, Balance, Proportion, Unity and Harmony are the seven aesthetic principles applied to every art form.

Architecture is one of the seven arts. Monotony , Contrast ,Rhythm, Balance, Proportion, Unity and Harmony are the seven aesthetic principles applied to every art form. How these principles are applied to architecture? I started researching.

Architecture education is not limited to shelter only but it embraces aesthetics along with comfortable spaces. As a teacher of Visual art in architecture I understood instead of restricting to 2D composition it should be given the third dimension and a new assignment of 2d to 3d was designed. Likewise Form, Deform, Reform, another interesting assignment of 2D to 3D was designed. It helped to develop the visualization power of students. Vary innovative assignment of paper lifting and generating the form was designed, with the intension to acquaint the students about the use of flexible material like paper in model making.

Tessellation assignment was designed with a view to make the students visualize how the variety of identical divisions of square can be obtained, it’s permutation combination in 2D composition for Designing the tile patterns , it’s conversion to 3D which can be used as roof patterns and light fixtures. The students were overwhelmed and surprised by the results. Assignments like colour scemes, grey scale and colour values were designed to teach the colour theory. Assignment of 2D composition using the essence of Isms had excellent results.

Composition using basic design elements, applying the 3rd dimension and then assigning the activity to the created space was challenging task.

I strongly believe that every teacher should solve the assignment before giving it to the students. I personally do this regularly. My hard work was duly recognized by MASA in the year 2010 and I was honored MASA Best teacher award for,‘The valuable contribution to BASIC Design and Visual Art. “Today we understood the application of visual art to architecture, through your work,” were the words of the senior Architects.

This journey of mine will continue creating innovative creative exercises, spreading the knowledge of visual grammar amongst the architects and students.

For effective non verbal communication, sensitive application of visual art is inevitable. Architecture needs to have the effective use of visual art knowledge in Its education system till last year. Our Principal realizes that- I, as an artist, understands the unique need of it and try to sensitize architecture students towards art and aesthetics. She said, Atula has been contributing to the design studio very effectively, not only to the first year but to students of all the years. Atula has been helpful in popularizing the concept that inputs of visual art teacher, i.e. artist cannot be restricted to the first year’s basic design.

I shall continue the efforts to include visual art subject in the syllabus of all the five years of architecture education and even further. Every architectural design is required to be preceded by the creative exercise to stimulate creative ideas in the student’s mind. I strongly believe that every teacher should solve the assignment before giving it to the students. I personally do this regularly. I have designed N number of such creative exercises and developed it’s bank.

This bank is useful to all the design teachers of the college. I had been the faculty and the resource person to more than 10 Teachers training programs organized by NIASA.

Students of architecture are required to understand the Language of Art i.e. vocabulary.