Meet malavika rao | Artist & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with malavika rao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi malavika, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Recently, I’ve found it quite difficult to keep a healthy work-life balance. It’s difficult to make time for yourself, for your hobbies, for your friends, and for your creative practice when you work full-time to pay the bills. The grind is exhausting, and when I do have free time these days, I find that I need to use it on what I like to call maintenance tasks; laundry, feeding myself, cleaning, grocery shopping. As an educator, I find myself constantly drained of emotional energy, so the question of work-life balance is one that’s on the forefront of my mind the past few months. As a religious scheduler and to-do-lister, I find it really helpful to schedule dedicated time to do the things that energize me. Some days, I’m definitely fighting myself to get off the couch to do them, but when I manage to get the ball rolling, it absolutely helps get out of feeling stuck in the endless loop of surviving in a capitalist society. I love the work I do, and I love my students, and if I burnout I am not going to be able to do it, them, or myself any justice. I’m still figuring out how to balance it all, but maybe it all starts with intention.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Recently I’ve been working with crochet, quilting and ceramics. I am drawn to craft because it grants me the power to travel through time. The knowledge of craft is typically passed down through interpersonal relationships, generally between women. When I crochet, I can feel the echoes of their histories in the yarn. I can sense the remnants of their labour. My mother taught me how to sew, her mother taught her. My sibling and I learnt how to crochet with each other. To me, these relationships, specifically the ones that develop within the domestic space, are inextricably linked to craft, they are the intertwining threads of what sustains the practice of love.

My most recent work is rooted in the imaginary worlds I created for myself as a child. These worlds existed in the unrealized spaces of my home, underneath the dining table and at the back of closets. I aim to harness the protection that these hidden spaces provided for my childhood self. To heal, I need to be vulnerable, I need to feel safe. The worlds I try to build are not just for my own healing, they are for all versions of me, past, present and future. They are for my ancestors and my descendants. They are for the people I love. My main priority with my work is to manifest a future space that can be a realm of healing, resistance and love.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favourite spots in the city is Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena. It’s a thrift store for craft supplies! They have so many amazing finds, and it’s pretty much the only place I will buy yarn and fabric in the city. They’ve even got amazing vintage clothing patterns. If you’re a crafter/artist, I highly recommend checking it out!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The biggest reason I am the person and the artist I am today is because of my teachers, and I have been very lucky to have had some really amazing ones. These are the people that taught me how to be both soft and strong, they have taught me how to be both critical and caring. I would like to shoutout some of the teachers in my life; gloria galvez, Tom Rice, Di Seuss, Julie Tolentino, Nitya Basrur, Pooja Hegde, Gabrielle Civil, Tisa Bryant, Laurita Cortese, and MPA. Thank you for your wisdom, and for the work that you do. I can only hope to do for my students what you have done for me.

Website: www.malavikarao.com

Instagram: @malt.liqua

Image Credits
Nick Lee, Gi Ahn