Many of us are intrigued by the magic tricks and some performances that are too good to be true. Shadow art is one of those pieces that can be created by literally anything, a simple twist of fingers can give us a silhouette of a bird, and a crumpled bit of paper can be given the shape of an elephant’s head.
Shadow art purely is a type of booster to our imagination. Just like other art forms, this can narrate many stories and can surprise us with the objects that are used for shadow art. It is a way to express the imagination. And that is what this Mumbai-based shadowgraphist and storyteller Rekha Vyas is doing.
Shadow Art- A Skill of Creativity
The fascination with puppets had caught Rekha’s heart since her childhood, being the first female shadowgraphist in India, Rekha blends shadow art with storytelling to bloom the minds of young ones. Her passion and love for children inspire her to create new stories.
Back in 2015, Rekha Vyas started her own company PepUp (Imagine/Enjoy/Grow) which manufactures storytelling toys for children and puppetry workshops in events, schools, or literature festivals. Her shadow art kit is a great way to inculcate children in fun and learning activities.
Silhouette Speaks
Aqua, Jungle, Halloween, Mythological Ramayana, and fairytales are some of her amazing shadow stories. With the magic of hands and puppets, Rekha gives life to the characters to keep the excitement alive and make the learning process more engaging and energetic.
Being a shadow artist is one of the most challenging skills as it lacks training. But Rekha had her ways to overcome those obstacles so she gained some knowledge through the internet and got support from the most famous shadow artist Mr. Prahlad Acharya.
“Make stories that relate to your audience and not the one you want to tell, take risk in creating stories and experiment narrating them.”
Source- Tell-a-tale, Rekha Vyas
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