To prove, yet again, that art can be therapeutic and can provide a relief from one's mundane life, the founder of Handmade Therapy, Ruchi Bagrecha will conduct a knife painting workshop in Hyderabad called Tranquil Buddha on July 15. And it is indeed as tranquil as it gets as participants will wield their palette knives and use the impasto painting technique (where the paint is laid thickly on a surface so much so that the strokes are visible) to paint the serene face of Buddha at Jxtapose, Hyderabad. 

Introductions are carried out during break time and not at the beginning of the workshop because Bagrecha wants the workshop to be about "the participants, not others" 

Though Bagrecha, since starting Handmade Therapy in 2013, has conducted as many as 50 workshops in Coimbatore, Chennai, Puducherry, Ahmedabad and other cities, this will be her first in the City of Nizams. "The idea is to use art as a form of therapy and for relaxation," says Bagrecha, who was brought up in Coimbatore. A picture of Buddha will be given to the participants as a reference and after informing them of a few basic guidelines, they will be on their own to create. They will also be given paints, painting boards, palette knives, refreshments and a lot of encouragement to paint while melodious music plays in the background.

Rapt attention: There is absolutely no pre-requisite or experience required to attend Bagrecha's workshops

"There are so many participants who tell us they can't paint but are often surprised with their outcome. So the intention of such a workshop is to also draw them out of their comfort zone and make them feel confident about themselves," says the 27-year-old, adding that, "fear of committing mistakes is the reason we hold ourselves back from many opportunities. I just wanted the participants to shake that off."

"Our minds are always stressed and art is a good way to get away from the stress," says Ruchi Bagrecha. Bagrecha describes herself as a different person before she took to arts. It has made her calm and patient, she feels

Every month, Bagrecha, who was born in Ahmedabad, comes up with a new concept for her workshops. While blindfolded art, where participants trusting their intuition paint blindfolded, is off the list, next up is an acrylic pouring workshop wherein, "participants will be encouraged to go with the flow and see how things work out," she concludes.   

Work in progress: Whoever attends Handmade Therapy's workshops automatically becomes a part of their growing WhatsApp group

For more on Handmade Therapy, click on instagram.com/handmade_therapy/