Sadhana Konnur – A Volunteer Artist’s Journey Of Illustrating For The Know Your Star Book Series
When the Know Your Star series was becoming a reality with stories being churned out for all 5 volumes, we were wondering whom to approach for the illustrations. There is no dearth for talented and creative artists, but we were seeking for someone who could connect to the central idea of the book in a deeper level, and treat this project as a labor of love, and not just a project to finish. Our calling was answered when Jaideep introduced us to Sadhana Konnur – “A gifted god-sent magical artist” in his words!
We had not seen any sketches she had made, but we decided to get on call as a team and just discuss the project and see what comes out of it. What came out of the call were keywords like “serendipity”, “miracle”, “Secret!”, “passion” and “grateful”, and we knew right then and there that she was the one meant to add more love to this project! There was so much love, passion and connect in the first call, among people who had not met each other, or knew how each other looked like! When beauty like this emerges, you cannot but surrender to whatever is to follow. 🙂
Holding Space For Creativity To Bloom
What followed is a series of beautiful illustrations and cover pages, that stole our breath away every time Sadhana submitted them! She was just stepping it up with every submission, and our hearts were getting fuller and fuller. Now that our project is complete and all 5 volumes of the Know Your Star series is up and ready to be launched, we decided to share with you all a little about what motivates a volunteer to dedicate their time and what shift they go through in the process.
Presenting a peek into Sadhana’s life, who works an almost 9-to-9 job shift, but burns the midnight oil for months together and sacrifices multiple weekends, so she can bring some love and light in the lives of many budding magicians, footballers and organic farmers!
Who Is Sadhana Konnur?
Sadhana was born and brought up in Mumbai, the ‘City of dreams!’ or the ‘City that never sleeps!’, in a typical South Indian household. She fondly reminisces her childhood days as a mischievous “tomboy”! She says, “I was an athlete throughout my student life, and my passion for art was under the covers. That’s how I grew up. I always knew that irrespective of anything that I take up as career in life, I will still pursue art and nurture it.”
The Seed of Illustration
Sadhana shares, “I’m not sure exactly when my passion for illustration took birth, but I remember I started drawing when I was 6 or 7 years old. I’m a self-taught artist, which means I have my own hack for everything related to art! My first full-fledged painting was an acrylic painting on a pillow cover when I was 7 years old. The memory is very fresh because my mom was guiding me through it. I still have that pillow cover with me, crazy right!?”
“Since I didn’t get any formal training in any specific kind of art, I observed and learnt a lot from my mother and my doddamma (Kannada for aunt). I guess this is where genes came into play! Right from drawing and painting with all forms of mediums to embroidery, knitting and photography, the list of my dabbles continues.”
Making Art The Constant
Having said that, Sadhana is quick to observe and highlight the fact that in spite of the access to art enthusiasts in the house, she was never allowed to practice art as much. She mimics, “Padhai karo beta!! Padhai!!”
She continues, “So all my art was done when no one was around and while doing social work at schools. I squeezed it in whenever I could, like helping friends complete craft assignments and make handmade greetings and gifts. I even completed their drawing books (we had it as a subject!) and drew their science journal diagrams! These were the only avenues I got to practise my art.”
Sadhana tells us that as years passed after graduating from school, the opportunities were lesser to draw and paint to her heart’s content, but it has still been the only constant in her life. She says, “It’s my form of meditation. I feel at peace! I connect to a different level of energy altogether when I’m immersed in my art. I feel happy!”
Motivation To Take Up Volunteering
When asked why she agreed to take up this big project voluntarily, Sadhana says, “It was Jaideep. I knew him through IIS since past 2 years. He had once spoken to me about Know Your Star. When he came and spoke to me after seeing a few (very few!) sketches on Instagram, and asked me if I would be interested, I just knew I had to take it up!” She continues,
“The thought and the intention behind the making of this book is what gave me the will to do it. Saying NO was never an option that I gave myself. In fact I have always told the team that I am privileged to be the chosen one to be a part of this project!”
Dealing With Daily Challenges
“The first month was kind of a ride in itself, where I started interacting with the team members of KnowYourStar every week through Skype calls”, Sadhana recalls. “In the midst of all the fun leg-pulling team spirit that I got to hear over the calls, I also worked on my listening skills to figure out what exactly the team had in mind. Based on everyone’s inputs, it took us some time to come up with a flow that resonated with everyone. After a lot of sampling and do-undo sessions later, the book layout started shaping up with more clarity each time!”
Sadhana comes from a technical background and is currently working full time in an HR department, technical hiring to be specific. We often wonder how she manages her day job along with the volunteer work. She says, “I would say it’s challenging to manage everything at once, but not impossible! Constantly being challenged by my full-time job and the new relationship that I had gotten into (the illustrations, guys!), I had to put in all my heart and soul to make sure that both are happy!”
She continues, “I always welcomed feedback, as it’s an essential part of learning. I have missed a lot of deadlines, but the team has been super sweet to me! Trust me when I say that, because I was given all the liberty and freedom to explore when it came to designing all the pages. They always said, ‘It’s your baby Sadhana, do what you like!’ They ‘Trusted’ me and that meant a lot to me. But for me, it was also an additional pressure of not letting them down!”
Journey From Passionate Artist To Published Illustrator
Sadhana looks back on the months that passed by volunteering for the book illustrations and says, “My journey is beyond words! From an unknown passion artist to now being called a published illustrator is an achievement in itself. I had never thought this would ever be possible! God has been very kind. I thank the Almighty! I never thought so much when it all started. At first, the cause was more important than anything else and that was the mindset with which I was functioning. My family and friends are super proud of me today, and that means a lot to me!”
Why Should Every Kid Have Their Own Copy Of The “Know Your Star” Series?
“The clouds may crash, the internet might go down, but books will always stay. Back when we were kids, all we knew was, ‘Beta, either you will become an engineer or a doctor! But now all that’s changing. I’m glad that with these books the kids can not only aspire to choose a profession they would want to pursue, but also look up to people who have done really well being in those professions and learn from their journey!“, says Sadhana.
“I am so happy to be a part of this change and feel so lucky to contribute to it in my own small way. I feel the sole purpose of this book series is to reach every nook and corner of the world, wherever there is a dream.. a dream to become someone!” 🙂
We are so grateful to this universe that it gave us a chance to work with this super talented artist, who is also a gem of a person! Sadhana’s ever-beaming smile, infectious laughter, childlike expression of joy, and use of smileys and exclamations in chats are just some things that have come to grow on us, and we know we will not miss this, because our journey together has just started, and there’s a long way to go… together! 🙂
Enjoyed reading about this? Then you might like to read Expressing Gratitude To The Serendipitous Gift Of Cultivating Connections From Zoho!
If there’s a story that needs to be told, we are ready to tell it. Write to us at contact@knowyourstar.com with your story lead, or contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
