Today we’d like to introduce you to Rakhi Jha
Hi Rakhi, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a professional architect for 20 years and worked in NYC and New Delhi. 5 years ago while I was in Delhi, I lost both my parents. This was an extremely difficult phase of my life and I decided with full support of my family to make some changes. I quit my job and wanted to follow my interest and passion for the arts. I started fluid art as a hobby and got hooked. I’m a self taught artist. I started learning on my own and creating small wall art pieces. I’ve always loved unique furniture so I came up with the idea of doing art on furniture. I wanted art to be everywhere, not just on walls. Through the medium of fluid art – acrylic paints, epoxy resin, alcohol inks etc- I started to create not only paintings but also small furniture and home decor items. I then sold my first table which led me to informally create a brand name for my art – ‘Mohanima’ which is also my parent’s names put together, Mohan was my dad and Nima my mom. Mohanima also arises from ‘Mohini’ – the Hindu goddess of enchantment. Art healed me in so many ways that I wanted to share this with others. I created my Instagram page and started to upload ‘process videos’ of my pieces. I started to get a lot of followers with whom I interacted a daily online. I was happy to answer their questions and share my art. What began as a hobby and a therapy has become a small art business for me now. We moved to Tampa early this year and I’m looking forward to sharing my work with the community here.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I started my art during COVID so I would say there were pros and cons. Since I’m self taught, I was lucky to have something to focus on during lockdown but it was very difficult to get supplies. But I slowly realized one thing. If you love what you are doing, you will find ways to overcome every obstacle and hard work will seem like a breeze. I loved every bit of my journey, I finally woke up every morning excited ‘to create’ and ‘to interact’ with my followers on social media. The goal in the beginning was not how much I’m selling but the goal was how much I’m learning. Now I’ve started to focus more on expanding the business side of it and I feel extremely confident after putting in a good 4-5 years of hard work to reach this point where my art is being appreciated and bought. My followers on Instagram have also increased to 200K plus and keeps rising.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an artist, maybe not in the very conventional sense. I use the medium of fluid art to create pieces. Fluid art is a form of art where normally brush work is not used. An art material, for example acrylic paints, is made fluid and blown into different abstract patterns using various blowing devices or movement, like the hair dryer etc. Materials I use range from acrylic paints to epoxy resin to alcohol inks and even texture paints. I create pieces from wall art to tables to many home decor items, like cheeseboards, trays, coasters etc. I use a lot of preserved natural flower in my work and take inspiration from nature all the time.
I think I’m most know for my unique style of resin designs which I’m told not many are able to achieve. What other artists are able to create in the medium of acrylic paints, I’m able to achieve that with better details using a completely different and very unpredictable medium of epoxy resin. Most of my followers in social media want to learn the art of doing resin work from me. I’m also known for my preserved flower tables in which I dry natural flowers and submerge them in resin to create table tops. I use a lot of wood base in my work.
I’m most proud of the fact that my work is clean, simple and at many times minimalistic but at the same time bold, colorful and unique.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’m self taught and I feel that has worked well in allowing me to develop my own unique style. Having said that, I do interact and follow many good contemporary artists in my genre and I think we all help and inspire each others work. I’m grateful for the supportive artists that I interact with on a regular basis. Also doing shows, art and craft fairs, helps a lot in not only showcasing my work to the public but in meeting and interacting with like minded people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mohanima.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mohanima_art?igsh=MTF2aW03dHVzMGoydA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/furniture.art.decor?mibextid=LQQJ4d
