Our Friday Feature this week is the wonderful Arati Devasher. Arati is a book designer (speciasing in “coffee table books” for all kinds of topics, including crafts) and illustrator – with an incredible skill for drawing anthropomorphic (humanlike) dogs. Think: dogs wearing clothes and doing everyday things like riding a bike or drinking coffee! Her illustrations really are a joy to see.
Let’s get to know more about the creative woman behind the small business…
Yes, I think it is, especially because my vivid imagination always provides plenty of fodder. There were years when I didn’t actively pursue creativity in the form of art or craft, but it was always there as a part of my life – whether it was in terms of how I decorated my living space, what I wore, or things I did for fun.
My sister and I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, so it was pre-internet and social media! So our play was always very creative – we used whatever was around us to make up games, using paper, paint, crayons, Lego, and more to enhance our little worlds. We were both avid readers and often used stories from our books as inspiration.
The first art-related activity I can recall is making collages for school display boards. And we used to make Christmas nativity models out of folder paper too. I didn’t take any formal art classes in school, but there was always some sort of artistic activity happening for school events.
Yes, absolutely! Twice, in fact. The first was when I was in my early twenties, very lonely and unhappy at my job with a very bad-tempered boss. I would draw with just ballpoint pen and printer paper, and it was very cathartic. I still have some of those pieces today – they were very fantasy-based pen and ink drawings.
The second time, being creative helped me make my experience of kidney failure, the subsequent dialysis and renal transplant more bearable… again, the experience helped to regulate emotion and calm myself. It also gave me the opportunity to explore different media – silk painting, oil pastels, textile design and more!
And presently, it’s always a balm to soothe my soul.
As mentioned, our childhood play was quite creative… that was recognised and nurtured by various adults in my life. So I went to College of Art, Delhi, India, to get a BFA in Graphic Design and then worked in advertising for a couple of years. It wasn’t for me, I moved over into publishing and have been a book designer ever since.
My illustrations began more as a personal practice to counter the restrictions that working with clients on book design projects places on creative expression. I do illustrate books when required and it’s now also turned into a small business. I love making weird and quirky drawings.
I think my milestone came about two or three years ago – I began to draw in a specific niche that I have continued to explore since then – anthropomorphic dogs – which have now become an obsession. It makes me so happy to draw them. Plus, they also seem to strike a chord with others, making them laugh and experience joy, which is my ultimate goal.
The marketing aspect! I find it rather difficult to come up with ideas to sell my work or my services – it’s why I disliked working in advertising so much!
I do love collecting ceramics, so that is something I’d like to attempt one day. And I have also always wanted to sew my own clothes. Another project for “someday”!
My business is two-pronged – book design and illustration. It’s also rather dependent on my health remaining stable, so as with most people who have a chronic illness, I find it a little unpredictable to plan beyond the next twelve months.
In terms of my book design work, I hope that I will continue to work with repeat clients through word-of-mouth and recommendations as I have been doing since I left my full-time job back in 2007.
For my illustration business, I’d like to grow it a bit more, but keep it small and in-house. I’m not looking to add employees or to be shipping out large quantities of stock. Licensing is something I do want to explore and this will likely be my focus in a couple of years’ time.
It’s probably a cliche answer, but… EVERYTHING! The colour of the trees in autumn, someone’s outfit choices, the puff of a steam train. It all adds up in my brain and then my hand grabs art supplies and spits out a sketchbook page or a painting. I can’t explain it, but everything I see catches my eye in some way and then marinates in my subconscious until I find the right way to express it.
Trees have always been a particular focus, but the “everything” I explained above also blends into my expression of these. Plus, our dog Sam (@SammySnoot on Instagram) has been my muse for the past five years. He’s definitely a big part of my inspiration now, especially since we go for plenty of walks amid trees.
I’ve mentioned being a bookworm before – there’s not a day goes by that I don’t read. So I’d probably have been a book reviewer or an editor… in fact, I used to run a book review blog called Book Weyr for quite a few years and it’s still around though I have not posted in a while.
It’s actually not surprising that Arati finds inspiration in everything, because her ability to turn mundane things into magical scenes in her illustrations, is amazing. It’s also really lovely to see her scratching different parts of her creative brain by having the two different sides of her business.
If you would like to see more of Arati’s illustrations (and her current collection of products), or find out about her book design services, head to her website: aratidevasher.com – and for some behind-the-scenes content from her studio, take a look at her Instagram: @artysubu
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