Parth Kothekar, an Indian designer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, possesses an unfathomable flair for creating rather intricate designs, postcards, typography and even pendants. At an age where most of his fellow mortals are busy running the rat race or looking for their next high, Parth has managed to turn his passionate paper craft into a vastly successful venture.
One look at his creations and you’d never think they were made by hand. Parth spends hours on each piece of his artwork, first sketching out his idea on a sheet of paper and then cutting out the silhouette using a surgical knife. He documents his entire process and regularly posts pictures of his creations on his Instagram page.
In a tale as old as time, Parth too faced periods of difficulties and uncertainty when his design brand Omegamma came to an end due to financial troubles. But like all true artists, he didn’t let anything stop him. He kept on going at his art, working harder each day, creating graffiti using stencils on paper, making them smaller with each piece, and that’s how his latest venture “Papercut” came into existence.
Talking about the audience response to Papercut, he says,
The response is what keeps me going. It’s overwhelming to see strangers support my work. My customers are quite shocked when they find out its paper and not glass print. I think it’s merely because it’s new for everyone, including me.
Each piece of artwork, Parth says, varies in time taken to complete it. The more intricate the artwork, the more time it takes to achieve that marvellous finished result. He adds,
Sometimes an artwork takes me 18 hours to complete, while there are some that are completed within 35-40 minutes.
Unlike most artists who cite a place, person or some other thing that draws out their art and inspires them, Parth claims that his artwork itself is his inspiration. His work is what drives him to create more and more. His favourite piece is his rendering of the ‘Dragonfly’.
The “Dragonfly”
Commenting on his process, he says,
Before I start creating something I have an image on my mind, but I’m unsure what it’s going to look like in the end. I sketch on a sheet of white paper, cut out the pattern and then paint it black. The results often amaze me; there are no words to describe how satisfied I feel.
Parth sells his beautiful artwork online through his Etsy shop ‘Papercut_by_Parthkothekar’, and his artwork can also be viewed on his Facebook page.
For most of us who can’t even put a paper-cutting knife to paper without ending up needing stitches (speaking from personal experience), artists like Parth Kothekar are an inspiration like no other.
IMAGE COURTESY – PARTH KOTHEKAR
