About

Transforming Stories into Shared Experiences

I believe art has the power to help us remember where we came from, understand one another more deeply, and imagine a more compassionate future.

My work explores migration, memory, belonging, and mental wellbeing through painting, participatory textile installations, and community engagement. Whether I am creating a vibrant abstract painting or suspending hundreds of feet of donated sari fabric in an immersive installation, my goal is the same: to create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and connected.

I was born in India and came to the United States to pursue postdoctoral research in biochemistry. For more than two decades I worked as a scientist and educator, driven by curiosity and a desire to understand the world. Art entered my life later than most. At the age of fifty-eight, I picked up a paintbrush with no expectation that it would become my life's work. Instead, it became a second language—one that allowed me to explore questions science alone could not answer.

One of those questions has stayed with me ever since:

Can color help us heal?

Living with synesthesia, I have experienced color as something far more than a visual phenomenon. Certain colors evoke an immediate sense of joy and emotional wellbeing. That personal experience led me to explore the relationship between color, emotion, creativity, and human connection—a journey that continues to shape every aspect of my practice.

Over time, my work evolved beyond painting.

Today, I create participatory textile installations that preserve stories before they are lost. My ongoing project, Udaan: Stories that Rise, transforms donated saris and the oral histories of immigrant women into sculptural installations that celebrate resilience, identity, and belonging. Each piece carries not only the beauty of the fabric but also the memories, traditions, and lived experiences of the women who wore it.

Its companion project, The Great Banyan Tree of Dayton, extends that vision by inviting people from every culture to contribute family stories, traditions, heirlooms, and memories. Together these works become living archives—continually growing through the participation of the communities they represent.

Painting remains an essential part of my practice. My landscapes, abstractions, and mixed-media works explore many of the same ideas through color, texture, and intuition. They are expressions of wonder, reflection, and emotional experience, inviting viewers to slow down, look closely, and discover their own stories within the work.

As an educator, Artist in Residence, and founder of Dayton for the Arts, I believe creativity belongs far beyond the walls of a gallery. I work with schools, hospitals, libraries, and community organizations to create experiences that demonstrate the essential role of art in education, mental health, and civic life.

Everything I create is guided by a simple belief:

Every story matters. Every thread belongs. Every color has the power to connect us.

If my work encourages someone to see another person with greater empathy, remember a cherished story, or leave believing they belong to something larger than themselves, then the artwork has fulfilled its purpose.