Hope canvas

Maurer,whose work flirts between realism and abstract themes,started a voluntary organisation of artists,Artistree,a few months ago with five close aides. “While working for several social organisations,I came across many like-minded people who wanted to work for social good. But we are a rare breed of artists. Now I hope we can stay together and work as a team,” hopes 28-year-old Maurer.

In January this year,Maurer teamed up with fellow artist Angelina Kumar,22,to start an informal organisation of artists. The members meet up from time to time at Maurer’s Gurgaon residence to discuss concepts that can contribute towards objectives of social help groups.

For instance,in March,the organisation conducted a two-day crafts workshop for underprivileged children below 10. At the workshop,Maurer taught children from various NGOs how to make bonsai arrangements with the help of electrical wires. “My wife is also an artist. She pitches in at times to help out at the workshops,” he says. Maurer gave the kids a crash course in art,making glass paintings and designing shopping bags from paper with unique patterns. “We hope that our work is appreciated by the kids and they learn something new,” says Kumar,who has tied up with the Family India Foundation for the effort. The group does not charge any fees for these workshops and incurs nominal personal expenditure in acquiring raw materials. The proceeds from the sales of the items are contributed to various charities. “My parents have helped me out with some monetary donations. The rest goes from my own pocket,” Maurer explains.

The group has also diversified into offering other services to tide over its costs like customised wall paintings,graffiti and large wall murals. Recently they designed a series of paintings for a friend and contributed the money they got to Family India Foundation projects. At present,the group is working on designing a calendar comprising 12 pieces of art works on 12 themes that promote the idea of ‘healthy living’. So there are themes depicting love,a habit of listening,concern,positivism and exercise for different months of the year. “We will distribute this calendar towards the end of the year to various organisations and evoke the attitude of right living among children,” he assures. Though it is still quite early,Maurer is confident of encouraging other artists to help children through their art.

For more details,log on to artistree.in

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