24-year-old Diksha Rai completed her master’s in fashion and textile merchandising from Amity University, Noida, in 2020. She was all set to kick off in the corporate world, but unfortunately, lockdown took over. During covid times, after getting bored of being at home, Diksha revisited her school time hobby and started her Instagram page called Artcartbydiksha.
As this page grew slowly and steadily, she started getting commission works and brand collaborations. Diksha then realized that she could make a career out of this. Now in 2022, she is working as a full-time artist.
IcyTales in conversation with Diksha Rai on how she started and what are her near plans.
Q) How do you describe being an artist – Passion/Hobby/full-time career?
Diksha Rai– It started as a hobby, but as time passed, now proudly, it’s a full-time career.
Q) Does art help you in any other areas of your life?
Diksha Rai– It motivates me and has changed me as a person. Earlier I was a hard-core introvert but emerging as an artist now, and I am more confident when I put my thoughts into the world. Especially doing art on Instagram has completely changed my perspective on interacting with people. Overall it made me a better person.
Q) According to you, how important is art for our society?
Diksha Rai– Art drives you away from your monotonous life. It is not something you can label as perfect or imperfect. Every piece has its own story. Art gives liberty to every individual to express themselves free from all the restrictions in their way. Expressing how we feel is good for our mental health, which gives rise to the concept of Art therapy. So, I genuinely think art is essential to society.
Q) What is your favorite time of day to create?
Diksha Rai– All day every day. It is not like I have dedicated a specific time to creating art. Motivation and inspiration can come at any point in time. Sometimes, at midnight I would not sleep but sketch, or the other time I would want proper daylight to work. My art doesn’t have a rigid timetable. I do it whenever I feel like drawing. Especially When I am creating videos, I always film in natural light.
Q) What are your favorite tools to work with?
Diksha Rai– I love using watercolors since handling them is less hassle. Other mediums have to be spread to the whole area and many messes. Using watercolors is like working with just one palette, one brush, and one mixing plate, and I can create anything in the universe. Additionally, watercolors are very unpredictable, and they flow anywhere and everywhere, which gives you the liberty to create something that is not perfect but still so beautiful.
Artwork by Diksha Rai
Q) Who are your biggest artistic influences?
Diksha Rai – If I talk about my childhood, it was Harun Robert, aka MAD from POGO. But now, I never restrict myself to one human. I have been doing art every day for two years, and I see many people who create such fantastic art pieces. They are not very popular or well known, but still, their work inspires me a lot. Sometimes I get inspiration from non-living beings too. Inspiration can come from anyone around you. A food platter, a flower, or a skyscape can be your inspiration.
Q) There are many stereotypes surrounding careers in creative fields. Did you anytime encounter one in your life? If Yes, then how did you deal with it?
Diksha Rai – Although I was very keen on art, I didn’t get a chance to learn it in my school days. My school had fine arts only to have it as a subject. My school didn’t even have it as an optional subject for my higher secondary years. Also, most of the schools had it, but there was only physical education and home science at mine.
I tried to stay close to art as much as I could, so I took my time to think about pursuing a bachelor’s in fine arts. But at that time, it was not glorified enough, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it as a career. So, I took home science since it had something to do with designing and stuff in my college. Then I did my master’s in fashion and textile merchandising, and they also chose something close to art. So it is totally up to you.
It would be best if you had faith in yourself that you can do anything and everything you aspire for. Your graduation degree is just for name’s sake, it gives you confidence, but it does not matter much because today, what I am earning is nothing to do with my degree. It is everything because of my passion. My advice would be that Give your 100% for whatever you wish for, and you will find a way out.
Q) How do you manage your work-life balance as an artist, and do you face creative block?
Diksha Rai – Art is my only work at the moment. I am trying to be a full-time artist. My whole day consists of doing art. When you love something, it doesn’t feel pressured; you keep doing it and loving it. But there are times when I feel a creative block. At that time, I usually pay attention to my other hobbies, namely café hopping, eating, and making food. It’s like channeling your energy to other things and then missing art again and coming back to it.
Artwork by Diksha Rai
Q) You currently sell on Amazon. How are you looking forward to expanding in that dimension?
Diksha Rai – Currently, I sell only one product. It was just an experiment from my side to see what would be the response. Amazon provides you with a platform to sell your design to them, and then they sell it to customers as a notebook cover, mugs, and a lot more stuff. Now I am working day and night to develop my selling website artcartbydiksha.com. Hopefully, it will go live in the next 2-to to 3 months. It will have the best pieces and designs I have done in two years. Clients will have an opportunity to customize my design on any stuff they want.
Q) How do you collaborate with other artists?
Diksha Rai – If I talk about brand deals and contracts, it’s only because I keep on consistently creating content. When your content gets along with your whole Instagram algorithm, it reaches the right eye. You can even collaborate with an agency that brings work to you; although I am not doing that, it can benefit the newly brewing creators. Mostly all the work I have done, I have been approached for that.
Artwork by Diksha Rai
Q) How helpful has social media been in this journey?
Diksha Rai – Social media is my bread and butter. The perspective of social media which I had earlier has been changed now. I have been refrained from using social media during my school days, and my parents didn’t allow me to engage and be friends with strangers. But whatever friends and like-minded people now, I have been through social media only. I take a lot of motivation and inspiration through social media, so I guess it’s a permanent source in my life. I think I am going to cherish it my whole life.
Art By Diksha Rai
Q) What are your near-future plans?
Diksha Rai – I want to have a physical art studio. I am not sure when it will happen, but I want to have my studio where people can come to learn the art and make art. If everything goes well, I am going to have that soon.
Q) Any message for our readers.
Diksha Rai – “Creativity is not a competition” If you think of doing something, then the right time is now. Don’t stop yourself. If you love something, go for it and have faith in yourself and your dreams. If you remove that idea of competing with others, the quality of your work is enhanced.
Diksha Rai is a full-time artist and content creator, working through social media to create art to spread artistic vibes everywhere. She also takes commission work and owns a brewing Youtube channel with more than 2k followers. Diksha is all set to launch her own online store artcartbydiksha.com in about 2-3 months, where you can find customizable notebooks, mugs, and a lot more.
Last Updated on by Sathi
