Priscilla Caren Anandappa:

Importance of art and creativity in a child’s life

Five kilometres from the buzzing city of Colombo, the eye sweeps over an extent of beautiful scenery with modern buildings, traders in every corner displaying their exotic ware, tourists in multi coloured clothes and most of all the famous temple murals by George Keyt at Gothami Vihara. All these cosmopolitan pageantry had become embodied into the very personality of the town.

It was in this town of Borella that Priscilla Caren Anandappa was born. As a little girl she grew in the typical surroundings of a home where there was an ardent interest for art and music. Nesan Manikawasager, a jazz musician presented the world with two valuable gifts. The eldest was Priscilla and the second her younger sister who fled overseas to pursue a career in Art. Priscilla’s father was a leading base guitarist and jazz singer. As all good things come to an end, tragedy struck when Priscilla was just nine years old.

The chords of her father’s guitar stopped strumming. Her mother had to take over the burden of running the family. Priscilla completed schooling with the O/Ls. Her observant mother encouraged her tremendously to promote her artistic potentials. Even at Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena, where she studied, Priscilla was elegantly dressed, had poise, beauty, grace and charm, and a devastating smile that broke down all defences. Added to these womanly qualities her educational background and work experience was par excellent.

Priscilla studied Interior Design for three years as an external student at the Colombo University and later followed a course in Graphic Design and Art Therapy. She worked with water colours, acrylic and oil.

Priscilla is a nature lover and possessed a passion for wildlife. Her paintings in watercolour using motifs, portray in a masterly fashion the essence of flowers with a few simple strokes of her brush. Her paintings in oil on canvas and acrylic depict the glories of nature, birds, sandy beaches, waterfalls and elephants at Pinnawala. Priscilla knows exactly what effects would appeal directly to the aesthetic sense. Her paintings are of sober colours using burnt sienna, orange, brown, yellow ochre and green. She has developed a personal style in terms of modern artistic orientation. The paintings had a predilection for aesthetic beauty resulting in an imaginative response to nature rather than in a mechanical or abstract form. Her compositions both in oil painting and watercolours are simple arrangements of various elements, basically in a two dimensional decorative manner. Perfect colour effects are created as light and shadow. Her colours did not shine bright but gave a matt finish and a sober effect. She found gratification in her art that portrayed her inner soul.

Priscilla says on her intrusion into the art world, teaching children is the greatest pleasure and achievement in her life. In 2009, she opened ‘The secret Garden where she teaches children art and creativity. She says the reason she wanted to start the art school was because she saw a great need for children to have access to avenues of uninhibited artistic expression in an academically focused culture.

Priscilla says the importance of art and creativity in a child’s life is vital for their development and to gain self esteem and self confidence. “If we look around the environment every object has an element of design in it whether it be household appliances, technological gadgets, interiors, gardens, buildings, culinary art or automobiles.

We see design and creativity in everything, and I believe every human being is given the gift of creativity by God. We need to equip our children with the tools they need to tap into their innate ability to create.”

Priscilla has worked as an Art Educationist. At present she conducts art classes for children in her own Art Gallery, named ‘Charcoal Gallery’.