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Highland Avenue resident Ratna Dalal spent her career as an architect, and she says, “I did drawings for architectural plans in black and white, using straight lines and right angles.”
But once she retired, “I realized it created a hunger in me for curvilinear lines and color.”
As a gardener, Dalal she was interested in doing portraits of her plants.
“I worked in New York state as an architect and we had a five-acre garden,” she says.
But when her husband’s job moved to Cambridge, they looked for a community with good schools for their daughter and they found it in Winchester.
“My garden here is smaller, but I have stone walls and well-defined flower beds, including on terraces, plus I’ve got ornamental trees and even a fig tree,” she says.
Dalal has exhibited in New York state and also at Winchester Public Library.
“I wanted my art to touch many lives,” she points out. “So they’re on book covers, clothing, mugs, tote bags, device covers and even wallpaper.”
They’re for sale on her Zazzle store. She even creates wallpaper with a botanical theme and has published several books of her paintings (mostly watercolors). Her latest book, “Biophilic Interiors with Botanical Art,” is available on iTunes.
“We’re becoming an urban, indoor species,” she explains, “which is why mental illness is on the rise.”
The theory of adding so-called ‘biophilic’ elements to interiors is the human tendency to interact with nature, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
“Even looking out the window, or looking at an image changes the neural networks in the same way as being outdoors,” Dalal says. “We see color, natural geometry, informational richness, shapes, forms and the patina of time.
“Hospital rooms often have white walls,” she adds. “But having botanical images on the walls helps patients heal faster.”
Clockwise from upper left: gift bag, scarf, ceramic tiles and gift wraps. COURTESY PHOTOS/RATNA DALAL
Dalal writes an occasional blog, which contains book reviews, and her painting images.
“Those images over time become the basis of my books,” she says.
She writes in the winter and paints during gardening season from her garden plants. Her images, she says, “are best enjoyed in tangible items.”
Winchester resident Joyce Westner is one of the founders of Winchester News. She holds a degree in English and journalism from Northeastern University. If you have a suggestion for either a Meet the Artist or Helpers Among Us resident, email editor@winchesternews.org.
