For years, Shuchi Smita Saxena considered art and craft as a waste of time. She believed that school is for education and sports. Hence, she focused on both and attending drawing classes as a matter of duty.
However, her outlook changed when she joined the state civil services in 2001. Soon, she was indulging in craft and embroidery and loved to make small things for her children. And, the pandemic gave her the time to learn and experiment with painting. Today, it has become a therapeutic exercise for her that keeps her calm and motivated.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, IAS officer Shuchismita Saxena, who is currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Revenue in Madhya Pradesh, talked about her journey. She has been promoted as an IAS officer of 2016 batch
ART IN GENES
Ms. Saxena’s father who is a retired IRS officer also do sketching and painting as a hobby. Although during her school days, she considered drawing as a duty only, yet her projects came out very good. She was naturally good in drawing which, she believes, must have come to her through her father. And, her daughter also loves to draw and is learning professional painting.
In fact, Ms. Saxena got attracted towards art because of her father and the encouragement from her daughter. She said, “My daughter is learning the art. She is the one who encourages me. If she is drawing something, she tells me to try it. She also finds the stuff that I can paint on the canvas.”
BUCKET LIST
Ms. Saxena’s bucket list included hanging a painting done by her in the living room. After being selected as an IAS officer and joining the service, she started taking time out to make crafts and needle work. But, painting was something that required a lot of time and focus. Swamped with all the responsibilities, she did not get the time until the lockdowns during the pandemic.
As she was working from home, she got the opportunity to learn the art. She started off with lessons from YouTube videos and began painting. “I used to make sketches and acrylic paintings at first. The end product used to fill me up with happiness, so, I continued. Slowly, I moved to oil pastels, water colours and murals,” she said.
Ms. Saxena now also takes classes for professional painting two days a week. Her next target is oil painting. As she is still learning and evolving with every art work she completes, she is happy sharing her work on social media for now. Nevertheless, she definitely wishes to hold an exhibition of her art works in the future.
