Deft touch: Lecturer Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi (centre) with her students Tay Win Some, 22, and R. Ramya, 22, from Universiti Sains Malaysia, working on the kolam they designed for Deepavali at Gurney Plaza in George Town, Penang.
GEORGE TOWN: Using coloured rice to decorate the kolam is a norm for many, but for mother-daughter duo Ika Pushpa, 38, and Bianca Abigail, five, from Indonesia, it was a novel experience.
“This is completely new to us, and my daughter is excited about this hands-on experience decorating the kolam.
“We have been here for almost an hour and she does not want to leave or move from her spot.
“There is plenty of room for her to be creative as they do not have rules.
“She is allowed to choose the colours and even mix them.
“Even I tried my hand at decorating the kolam,” said Ika when met at Gurney Plaza’s centre atrium here yesterday.
Ika, a lecturer in Medan, said she looked up the festival of Deepavali and the significance of the kolam on the Internet when she came upon the interactive decoration at the mall.
“This is our first trip to Penang and our first time seeing these kinds of decorations.
“It is always nice as a parent to expose your child to new things and watch them make core memories.
“Deepavali is celebrated back home in Indonesia, but not on such a large scale as this,” she said.
A kolam is usually drawn at the entrance of homes to welcome people during Deepavali.
Fine Arts student Camelia Yasmine Muhammad Mujahid, 25, from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said this was her first exposure to the art of kolam-drawing.
“My friends taught me to use food colouring to colour the rice, which can later be fed to the birds and chickens.
“I always knew that making a kolam was a form of art, but never realised it was environmentally friendly too. It was an eye-opening experience for me,” she said.
USM School of Arts lecturer Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi, who coordinated the project with the Penang Art District and Gurney Plaza, said it took a month to prepare the design and coloured rice.
“There were 10 Fine Arts third-year students involved in the project.
“The mall gave us a theme called ‘Colours of Rangoli’ and some peacock designs.
“We narrowed it down to a few designs and then voted on this one, which is a fusion of two designs.
“We made sure it was not a difficult design as it is supposed to be an interactive piece for the public to participate in too,” she said.
(See picture on the cover.)
Tetriana said they printed the design on tarpaulin material to make it easier for those who did not have the experience to work on it.
“We coloured the rice ourselves as we realised we might not be able to get the colours and shades we wanted.
“It was cheaper as well to do it ourselves, and it was a great experience for the students.
“Some Indian students who have had prior experience also helped guide us.
“To prevent waste, [the rice] will later be given to birds and chickens as the food colouring is non-toxic,” she said.
Penang Art District project manager Kenny Ng said the project is its first collaboration with the mall and USM.
“We are always trying to make art inclusive and this project gives the public a chance to be part of the kolam-making process while learning about another culture and art medium.
“This was a way to provide a platform for the students apart from studying in their classrooms as well,” he said.
Ng said the work was designed by the students.
“Gurney Plaza had their decorations for Deepavali put up and shared it with the students so that they could design the kolams to complement the decor.
“It is a community project that started on Friday and ends today.
“Once completed, the kolams will be kept until the end of this month,” he said.
