Mumbai artists trace the popularity of resin art

Poonam Shah’s vintage elegance tea tray

Be it baking, painting, indoor gardening, creating music, or journaling, the pandemic has ingrained a diverse range of interests in people and emerged as major avenues to de-stress. On similar lines, resin art, too, grabbed a lot of attention during the pandemic. It is an unstructured form of abstract and free-flowing art that looks different on different surfaces as is created without the use of brushes or paints.

Poonam Shah, a Santacruz-based resin artist, explains, "The everyday glimpses of stunning street-art while I was in Philadelphia, and a mother who introduced me to the promising world of colours, encouraged me to create and explore art. The early years of resin art were all about understanding how every surface responds differently to every colour, giving rise to a sense of adventure and unpredictability. The grandeur of this art is what attracts me to it."

Rafat Shaikh's 3D effect resin art

She believes that the pandemic and its impending sense of isolation drove people to explore all kinds of hobbies, especially art and its many forms. "My resin art orders surfaced around that time, and many expressed their desire to learn and get tutored in it as well," the 34-year-old shares. The fact that it can hold something as solid and sturdy as crystals with so much effortless elegance is what makes this art form unique.

Bandra-based visual artist, Rafat Shaikh, says, "I have always been a creative person and over the years, I have dabbled in many different art forms. One day, while scrolling through YouTube, I happened to come across resin art.

Fenil Shah's replica of geode cluster

Curious, I ordered some resin online and started experimenting for myself." She remembers when back in 2017, no one around her in India was working with resin, and there were little to no epoxy resin vendors in the country to buy from. There was no one she could speak to or gain mentorship from as it was so new. This inspired her to be the first in this category and to become a resin art material supplier too.

Fenil Shah and Poonam Shah

This art form is a lot more versatile than regular painting on canvas and can be used to create 3D objects, which can also be combined with other materials such as wood, cement, and metal. One can use resin to give new life to furniture, and it can also be used to make entirely new pieces such as trays, coasters, lamps, wall art, clocks, and more. Shaikh shares, "During the pandemic, many women started making and selling household resin art products while some even conducted online resin art workshops."

The floral freeze by Poonam Shah

Fenil Shah, a 22-year-old artist and entrepreneur from Dombivli, says, "This art form is emerging as there are a lot of possibilities with the raw material itself. One can use the resin in various forms and patterns. Even though I started from scratch, today I have taught over 450 students and created FenKraft, a platform which is all about resin art."

Rafat Shaikh

Sign up for these sessions

>> On: June 18; 4 pm to 6 pm
At: Mumbai Painting Studio, Kings Circle, Matunga.
Log on to: mumbaipaintingstudios.com
Call: 9920045639
Cost: Rs 2,500

>> On: June 18; 11 am
At: Studio Pepperfry, Furniture Store, Kala Nagar, Bandra
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 2,000

One-on-one workshops

Rafat Shaikh
Log on to: @rafatshaikharts on Instagram
Call: 9049947755
Cost: Rs 2,500 onwards

Fenil Shah
Log on to: fenkraft.in
Cost: Rs 3,000 onwards