Mysuru: As part of its monthly programme ‘Sadhakarondige Samvaada’, the Mysore Art Gallery will felicitate Y. Jayamma, seashell artist and Shilapakala Akademi awardee. The felicitation event will be held on June 10 at 11 am at the Mysore Art Gallery on Ramanuja Road.

Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Chairman B. Siddaraju will preside over the event. KEA Chief Executive Officer N.M. Shashikumar will be the chief guest. M. Chandrashekar, President, Kannada Sahitya Kalakoota, will deliver introductory remarks. Handicraft artists Nissar Ahmed, M.N. Yadugiri Gopalan, Umarajashekara and Geetha Prasad will be the special invitees.

About the artist

Jayamma hails from a well-known family of artists and sculptors and has been the source of inspiration for artists. One of Jayamma’s uncles S.N. Swamy is a noted artist, and one of her ancestors T. Yalakkachar was involved in the construction of Mysore Palace.

Jayamma brings alive the world of seashells and conches and breathes life into these inanimate objects as her deft hands pick up the right combination of shells and gets the concrete shape of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, important personalities of the contemporary world or characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata epics.

Jayamma runs Jaya Shankhu-Shukti Kala Kendra on Irwin Road and dexterous hands have carved many Hindu Gods and Goddesses with great precision. She is a retired teacher from JSS Women’s D.Ed College. She evinced keen interest in objects made of seashells after a visit to a relative’s house in Bengaluru 30 years ago.