BIR-ART Workshop: Nature Journal 2 Led by Alka Mathur
The workshop will be an immersive engagement with nature and a response to the beautiful campus and surroundings of Deer Park in Bir. Collecting, foraging materials in and around the campus and bringing in elements of spontaneity and playfulness, we will create artworks using these materials, by drawing, painting, stitching, dyeing, collaging and papier-mache.
We will experiment using tools (brushes) made with sticks and grasses, and make paints by grinding stones we collect in our surroundings. I enjoy experimenting with the colours we can find in nature. We will do some simple dyeing or staining of paper with natural materials like tea leaves, flowers, leaves, barks, etc., which can give an added depth and layer to the artworks you create.
Hopefully, the weather will give us a chance to go for outdoor sketching, drawing, etc.
Journailling has been an integral part of my art practice. As a daily activity, I would encourage all the participants to spend at least half an hour every day working on their journals by writing, drawing, pasting, etc. This could take the form of an accordion book or separate pages that can be stitched together later.
Amongst the many things we created, during the previous workshop in Sept, 2025, the participants and I walked to the Keori Stream, where we had a wonderful time and picked up stones which we brought back and had an exciting time painting on them. We also made prayer flags using tea bags, which still hang outside the cafeteria at Deer Park.
Those interested in participating should register by the 1st of March, 2026.
The workshop has a registration fees which includes facilitator charges and material costs, and some support for student scholarships.
About the facilitator:
Alka Mathur is a visual artist based in Delhi, India. A prolific mixed-media artist, Alka has been able to reinvent her deep-rooted love for earth forms again and again. Nature plays a significant role in the artist’s work. The contours and cracks of the parched land of her home, Rajasthan, have always found their way into her relationship with material. The canvas, paper and cloth are not passive recipients of her imaginings, but active participants in the work. They are cut, torn, burnt, dyed, stained, assembled, quilted and stitched.
A collector of memories, of moments and of materials that touch her life, Alka Mathur’s artworks are a reflection of her daily practice. Her works are a meditation on the fleeting moments of Life, interlacing different layers and experiences.
Alka’s language has been a mix of the contemporary and the traditional. Earth, matter and the divine feminine energy are themes which inspire and permeate her practice. She has been able to explore the two worlds and come up with a vocabulary that marries the East and the West and has culminated in a body of work that is varied and earthy.
An alumna of The Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai, India, Alka has held several solo and group shows in India and abroad, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, the UK and the US.
Alka_Mathur_art – Instagram https://alkamathur.com
Please note- “attendance in all sessions is mandatory.”
For queries, registration & accommodation, please email: info@deerpark.in