Meera Ramanathan
I am a San Diego-based paper collage artist and an award-winning project resource teacher for visual art at San Diego Unified School District. I moved to San Diego from India and have a Master's degree in the history of fine arts, drawing, and painting.
I create paper collages that have been featured in several exhibitions in San Diego. I enjoy the process of thinking and creating artwork with a focus on color and the effect of light.
Collaging keeps me grounded and I find the process of using torn paper therapeutic.
When I’m not teaching my elementary students in the classroom, you can find me surrounded by magazines, glue, and yarn creating paper collages at my kitchen table.
Get to know my art
My Canvas
I specialize in paper collages with hand embroidery.
I enjoy working with paper as my preferred medium and think of my paper collages as an ode to the ordinary and typical. I strive to elevate these objects that we look at every day and take for granted. Inspired by subjects in the kitchen that are often considered mundane and ordinary, I aim to raise these objects to a higher level as I believe they have so much beauty and uniqueness.
I first sketch my subject to get a sense of the form. I exaggerate the color and light to create drama after which I use pieces of ripped paper to create bold chunks of color. Several layers of paper are used until I achieve the desired effect.
Recently, I have found new inspiration in text from my mother tongue, Tamil. I find unique ways to incorporate Tamil vowels and consonants into my work and find this to be a way to respect the language I grew up speaking in.
Having specialized in textile design, hand embroidery and sewing has been a huge part of my life and I looks for opportunities when to incorporate thread into my works to create areas of interest. My favorite is Kutch embroidery which involves two steps - creating a skeleton of yarn first on paper first and then looping the yarn to complete the embroidery.
The formative years I spent studying textile design in Chennai, India have deeply impacted the artworks I create and the lessons I teach my students.
EDUCATION
- Single Subject Teaching Credential, Visual Art
San Diego, CA
- Master’s degree in History of Fine Arts, Drawing and Painting
Chennai, India
galleries and exhibits
- Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, India - 2000, 2002 - Group show of outgoing students of Stella Maris College
- Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, India - 2003 - Duo exhibition
- UCSD Craft Center - 2005, 2006 - Created and sold hand embroidered bags at the annual holiday and spring sale.
- Front Porch art gallery, Carlsbad, CA - 2017, 2019 - Annual Juried Art Exhibit
- Light Space Time online art gallery - 2018 - Awarded 6th place in "overall" category and 3rd place in "painting and other media" category.
- Veltz Fine Art, San Diego, CA - 2019, 2020 - Reigning Cats and Dogs show
- Mission Hills - Hillcrest/Knox Library - 2019 - Solo show titled “Teapots and Coffee mugs”
- Carlsbad Public Library, Carlsbad, CA - 2019 - Solo show titled “Felines and Canines”
- Municipal Gallery, Escondido Arts Partnership, San Diego, CA - 2020 - Juried Art Exhibit for “The Big Little Art Show” and “Summations” art shows
- Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, San Diego, CA - 2021 - Solo exhibit of paper collages
- Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, CA - 2022 - Group show Second Nature
- Mission Valley Public Library, San Diego, CA - 2022 - Solo exhibit - “Handling Tamil”
- Inspirations Gallery, San Diego, CA - 2024 - Duo show “Imaginary Gardens”
Sample Works
Peony
2021
Tokoname Teapot
2019
Stella Feeling Loved
2019
Lilies
2024
Daisy
2019
Orange Lily
2019
Commissions
I accept commissions several times during the year.
Pricing and timeline will depend on the difficulty of the commissioned artwork.
Feel free to message me for
inquiries.
contact me
meera_ramanathan@yahoo.com
Instagram - @ms.r_art_class
Twitter - @meeraramanatha5
