At Chidiya Udd, I make art, teach illustration and help people find their way back to creative expression. I am keenly interested in how learning takes place and my fervent hope is to be able to nurture creative confidence in people. I love work that explores oral histories, gender and identity,
and belonging.
About The Churgle Club & The Squiggly Line (Online Illustration Courses)
”The Churgle Club is such a fantastic online course! I love the way Kavita has designed the entire journey to get us to draw fearlessly. The special workbooks for each month were so in depth and really helped me keep the pace going through the 4 months. The community sharing group was absolutely amazing with all the diverse feedback, support, extra tutorials and illustration examples. The online class was so much fun and interactive. A truly fulfilling experience and can't wait for part 2!”
Aparajita Jain Mahajan (Textile artist & educator)
”Picture book illustration is an art form with immense power as these first images are ones that shape our understanding and build our appreciation of the world around us. These images remain with us even as adults. Kavita understands this somewhere in her bones and shares her vision of inclusivity, representation and diversity with complete generosity and a you-too-can-do-this attitude. Her four-month-long course is a beautiful immersive experience that both guides and supports while being open enough for individual exploration and study. Her willingness to spend time and energy on each of us (even on the weekend) is a testament to her true desire to support each of her students no matter where we begin on this journey. Four months ago I lacked confidence in myself, my ideas and execution. Today I have a first draft of a picture book in my hands.”
Swathi Sridharan (Journalist & photographer)
“I took a leap of faith when I enrolled for the workshop. Our inhibition to draw and even more to share is so deeply ingrained that sometimes it becomes a hindrance to do what we love doing. The class however, offered a safe space where there was no judgment of our crooked line. Kavita offers constructive feedback to appreciate the drawing and also provide direction to better it. It is an experience that has transformed the way I approach a blank canvas, and the belief with which I put my work out there. Because now, I draw for myself before anyone else in ways I could have earlier only imagined.”
Sonal Choudhary (Design Educator)
“Art has always been my place of refuge, a space for me to isolate from the noisy gaze of the world and just be. Yet the last work I remember making was an embroidered file for a friend about fifteen years ago. Modern lives can morph into corrosive cults, making us neglect valued parts of our being. In the years that I threw myself at work, a tiny corner accumulated with materials that longed for sliver of attention, if nothing else. The Squiggly Line has been wonderful, helping me heal weathered fringes and long forgotten parts of self. The entire experience is bespoke because you pay so much attention to the needs of each learner, igniting individual journeys of creative exploration. I learned, along with a delightful peer group, to be brave, to open my mind to new perspectives and most importantly to draw and paint with abandon, like a child on a swing attempting to graze the sky. Thank you for the opportunity!”
Lakshmi Narasimhan, Social Researcher
About Design Consultancy Projects - From our Clients
”It gives me great pleasure to recommend Kavita's work as a design thinker. Kavita was working with us on creating a product strategy for people suffering from mental disorders. Kavita's attention to detail, her professional attitude to her work, her ability to keep a group focused on creative goal is beyond compare. It’s thanks to her that we went from a fog of confusion to immense clarity. This is very valuable to us as a startup. Kavita never missed a scheduled business meeting and was extremely clear in her communications, so there were no misplaced expectations. She was one of the very few freelancers that everyone in our office actually enjoyed doing business with. To add to the above, Kavita is also a very personable professional who wants as many details as possible in order to deliver the right solution. I found my experiences with her to be fun rather than work. Kavita’s creativity and desire to meet customer expectations make her an ideal designer for your organisation.”
Laina EmmanuelLaina Emmanuel, Co-founder and CEO at BrainSight.AI
”Kavita is awesome and really pushes one gently out of their comfort zone to think and think out of the box. She is energetic, quick to understand and her ability to paint a picture (literally given her illustration skills) are just amazing and I have truly enjoyed work with her on our design sprint activities. Wish you all the best Kavita.”
Priya KrishnanPriya Krishnan, Founder of KLAY Preschools and Day Care
