Digital media student hosts art at exhibition

A student gallery exhibition is live at Fischman Gallery in Johnson City. An artist closing reception will take place later in the week on April 17 at 4 p.m.

Sara Tendulkar, a digital media student at East Tennessee State University, is an artist passionate about bringing characters and worlds to life through sketching, painting and music. As an international student from India, Tendulkar’s work focuses on character creation and visual narratives through traditional, mixed and digital media.

Sara Tendulkar

“I’d say I’m like a sponge—soaking up information from everywhere: stories, little conversations, everyday moments and fun lectures,” she said. “These tiny fragments grow into wild ideas and I love bringing them together into something that feels honest and alive.”

Tendulkar is featuring “Art Temple” at the exhibition which highlights a combination of items and symbols that uniquely identify her.

Piece Description

This piece is a mosaic—a combination of all the things I value and deeply respect. At the center, you’ll find my family, which holds the highest place in my heart. I have always been passionate about creating new things, and I hope to inspire others through my creations. This work represents my roots—memories and values that have shaped me and keep inspiring me every day.

The collage contains pieces of the map of my country and hometown, along with several elements that allow me to live 'India' through this painting. I have played with a lot of textures and challenged myself to explore how different media could be combined and brought together through found objects I associate myself with every day. I dismantled a broken CPU, and incorporated its motherboard chips and fans into the mosaic. The fans can be moved and played with - giving a kinetic element to the painting. I spend lots of time

working on my digital media projects and have immense love for a computer and how it acts as a medium for bringing my digital projects to life. The CPU and my brain are like two brains working together, bringing magic to life.

Music is also a key part of who I am. As a guitarist, I have included torn pieces of music sheets scattered across the canvas, along with the instrument itself. A musician’s bond with their instrument is sacred, and one should always respect it. I have also put in tiny bells to give a sonic element to the painting. There’s a bulb symbolizing ideas and creativity. The trumpet and violin at the very left are elements from one of my paintings—which inspired

my first big masterpiece. I have added my handprint as a personal touch, along with symbols of the educational institutions I respect, softwares that help me in digital media, and a prayer in my native language.