My interest in art started as a child. However, since I am a Science student, I had to give it up, especially throughout O and A levels. I was completely disconnected from my art in order to focus more on my studies. But in A2, I took an extra class which was called ‘Conceptual Art’ and this course reignited my love and passion for art and after that, I decided to start my Instagram account Kaeliedoscopes.
I have been running my art account on Instagram since 2017 but I started my business in July of 2019. I knew a Junior from university who was organizing a small art exhibition based around mental health. She asked me if I wanted to put up a stall for my bookmarks and to showcase my art at the event and I said yes. That’s where the whole idea of the business started.
At first, I was exposed to a lot of different artists on Instagram. I saw their beautiful work and how they turn mundane things into beautiful pieces of art. I was mesmerized but art supplies are expensive, so I decided to learn digital art. Digital art allows you to use various types of brushes and effects, like watercolors and acrylics. You can have any effect through digital art and that really motivated me. There's so much versatility in the medium and I was eager to use it. I looked up a lot of tutorials on YouTube and used whatever resources I could find. I am entirely self-taught; I did it out of love. I had no intention of starting a business, I did it for my passion and the business was just a surprising turn of events.
My inspiration for my art is quite random. Sometimes a quote catches my attention and I become inspired to make art around it. A lot of my art is very positive and feel-good. I try to make small reminders that people can look at and which can allow them to feel happy. Daily-life is so difficult and people tend to feel low. So, instead of making art that is meaningless, I wanted to make something meaningful with positive vibes.
I really love when a design surprises me. Sometimes you are working on a piece but you don’t know where it is going. I am a very spontaneous person, I am usually designing as I go and I love the process. I love the trial and error of figuring out how to complete a certain art piece. The final product amazes me and I love the entire journey.
During the semester, my art and business get pushed to the side. It becomes difficult to create art or post updates for my business. I try to take time out for my art during my free time. It fulfills me – it gives me a sense of peace. It’s the one activity where I can dump my thoughts and work on something unrelated to other tensions. It is hard but when I feel like it, I do try to take out time for this.
I want to make it bigger but with the business, there is a huge dilemma about what I should focus on. Should I focus on my studies? Should I focus on my professional life in my major? Or my business? But I do plan on getting better at art and developing my own art style. Eventually, I might go towards digital commissions but I also love making cute stationery so I may go towards that as well. Right now I am focusing on upscaling and then seeing where that takes me.
– Maheen Khan,
Computer Science,
Batch of 2022
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