 Art show with 60 participants
 It would have been a remarkable feat by any standards. Bringing 60 participants under one roof: one of them just six years old and the oldest, a grandmother with eight grandchildren.
Artist Hema Prasad achieved this feat by getting 60 of her students (she has about 200) to exhibit their paintings at 'Silent Expressions', at the Lakshana Museum of Arts, Mylapore, for three days beginning November 24, 2006.
The students displayed 2-3 paintings each. The youngest, Disha, is all of six years and is a class-1 student. Her scenery has a special charm.
 Shanta Sri Hari, who has eight grand kids, is a former student of Hema Prasad. She has also displayed her art work at the exhibition which featured various genres like dry pastel, oil, water colours, mixed media, pen and ink, pencil and crayon, charcoal and even Plaster of Paris for a 3-D effect.
In fact, three ex-students have taken part in the exhibition. Dharma, one of them, has exhibited a Ganesha painting depicting 150 Ganeshas on one canvas. It is a glorious work.
The 'black and white' section was very interesting. There was pen and ink and charcoal paintings. One of the contributors was Abinaya, who joined the art class when she was in LKG and is now in class-3.
Others like Poonam have been learning art under Hema Prasad for several years now. Poonam has completed about 10 years, Nandita took short breaks like when she married, had two kids and is back with the class for the 10th year.
 "I have been running this class for 30 years," says Hema Prasad matter-of-factly. For her it is no big deal that she has seen three generations of artists in some families. The grandmother, mother and the grandchild have been her students and have exhibited their work.
She is such a keen teacher that she has made her driver a part-time art teacher. "Pandiyan learnt art while I was teaching the others. Now he takes charge of the little ones and teaches them the rudiments," says Hema Prasad, pointing to his art work that is hung in the 'black and white' section.
There are a few boys also in the group of artists. There is budding Arpit, R Ashwant, Sridhar who aspires to be an artist and others.
 The works of Poonam (oil), Priya (dry pastel) Bhavika, Suchi (colour pencil and charcoal), Sheetal Shah (water colours), Vanamala Bhallal, Vedika and Vidya (flying ducks - dry pastel) were of superior quality.
It was heartening to see the red dot on some of the paintings - they had been sold. Interestingly, A. Mahalakshmi's three paintings were bought by her college, Women's Christian College, where she is doing her final year
Viscom!
Though Hema Prasad has not conducted any shows of her own work, this is the 11th exhibition she is holding of her students. And all of it in Chennai at various venues. "Many of my students have turned professional and many teach art like me," she says with pride.
Hema Prasad can be contacted at:
46, Dr Ragavan Colony Main Street,
Opp J R K School,
Vadapalani,
Chennai - 600 026.
Phone: 2484 6832
5204 6323
R Chitra
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