While teaching art and design in India it became apparent to me that many of my students couldn’t afford the cost of expensive art materials.

How could I make them curious about the possibility of only using items that were very cheap at the village markets, or could be found lying around?

With the exception of hand of suttee, all the pieces in this collection were created using found materials: inexpensive everyday items from local markets, earth pigments, and handmade Khadi papers.

It was an eyeopener for my students to realise so much creative potential could be found in objects that are normally overlooked.  And for us all, it triggered some lively discussions on the theme “What is art?”

Please click on the titles below the detail thumbnails to view full-size images and notes.

---