From Architecture to Art: Ratna Dalal Shares Her Creative Journey in Writing, Designing, and Creating
By Naisha Roy, Women Who Win News Desk
“Women are a minority in this field, and Indian women are a minority within this minority. One of the most shocking statistics that comes out of this field is that 75% of women architects are single, married but childless, divorced, and single parents.’ Today’s woman dreamer, Ratna Dalal was an award winning architect for over 10 years before she decided to make the leap to other creative ventures. Before working on her five-star-rated books The Watercolor of Life, Nature Inspired Creativity and From Passion to Products, she had worked on architecture in the fields of healthcare, retail, hospitality, and residential design. Today, Dalal continues to write and create floral designs for her store on Zazzle. Ratna’s Seasonal Art takes inspiration from the natural flora and fauna of the changing landscape and translates it to mugs, shirts, bags and more through watercolor. Dalal also regularly posts on her blog, Creative Joys, where she talks about the latest florals that are on her mind. Her current obsession? Yellow Magnolias, which she describes as “heaven on earth.” Dalal hosts events and book talks in her hometown in Massachusets where she discusses what inspires her and the motivation behind her books. She spoke to Women Who Win about making the leap from architecture to art, finding inspiration, and more. We are excited to share her story!
Before your artistic career and books, you worked as an architectural consultant. How and why did you decide to make the switch to the new fields, and what obstacles did you encounter?
Architecture is my first love. It exists at the intersection of art, science, and technology. While I was pursuing my architectural career in New York, I was told by my project manager that I had all the qualities in me to become the CEO of a multinational. My colleagues were mostly white men with a wife and two to three kids at home. I would wonder: if I had kids, what impact would it have on my career?
Women are a minority in the architecture field. Indian women are a minority within this minority. One of the most shocking statistics that comes out of this field is that 75% of women architects are single, married but childless, divorced, and single parents. Since the work is all consuming and the hours are long, this is the toll it exacts on women. I knew that I did not want to belong to this statistic, I wanted something different. Also, in New York my average commute would be two hours per day. It was a different era then. There was no D.E.I., and the concept of hybrid work did not exist.
Architecture is also called the mother of all arts. Architectural education lays a great foundation for you, to apply it to any aspect of life and continue to grow and evolve. So, when I became a mother, I looked back on my architectural journey and saw that I was an award-winning architect with two degrees (in India and USA) and ten years of work experience in USA. With all these accomplishments I decided to put it on the back burner and become the CEO of my life instead of a multinational. Aspirations changed with circumstances. You see, the ship must leave the shore to discover new islands.
All the time and energy that was going into my career was channeled into active parenting, many creative pursuits and managing home plus garden. When I applied my education to writing, it took the form of a blog and evolved me into an author of three books in three different genres. When I applied it to gardening, I created two beautiful gardens in New York and Massachusetts. When I applied it to drawing and painting, it brought out the botanical artist in me that evolved me into a product designer. But my crowning glory is my child. Last year she graduated from high school with flying colors and won many outstanding awards in academics and extra-curricular activities.
As for obstacles, I did not have long stretches of leisure time. In this era, no parent has it. All my creative pursuits were conducted in tiny nuggets of leisure time. I am happy to say that God blessed me with success and happiness on all fronts.
2. Tell me a little bit about your five-star rated books The Watercolor of Life, Nature Inspired Creativity and From Passion to Products. What was the process like from having the ideas for these books to seeing them fully published? How does each book reflect a different period in your life?
The Watercolor of Life is my first book that got published in 2012. It is a book of contemporary fiction, with a dozen short stories set in India and U.S.A. addressing four issues: human passions, globalization, women’s issues and the contrast between East and West.
It was conceived and written in the tiny crevices of leisure time, while I was busy raising my child from being a newborn to age three. Hence it is not a big and thick novel but short stories. Although the script was complete by the time my child was three, it took me five years to find a publisher as the text is in English with beautiful quotes from Hindi poetry and Urdu gazals.
The first story is titled ‘Reflections of Life’ and it is about the metamorphosis of a yuppie architect into a passionate gardener who harvests a bounty of true happiness, to last a lifetime — a story that is close to my heart and my life experiences. Many of the stories from this book can be made into beautiful movies for global desis. So, if you are anyone from the Indian film industry looking for good stories, here is a treasure waiting!
Nature Inspired Creativity is my second book that got published in 2015. In an era when we are losing touch with nature and technology continues to reshape our work and life, this iBook acts as a conduit between nature and technology. It sheds light on the importance of connecting with nature on a regular basis to find our authentic self and boost the creativity in our thinking; to discover the unexamined facets of our potential.
It demonstrates this by compiling together a wealth of my life experiences with 25 years of painting, 12 years of hands-on gardening and 7 years of blogging. Hence it is enriched with over 200 images (paintings and photographs). In doing so it teaches how to keep growing and branching off for a lifetime and lead a fulfilling life. This was made into an iBook and got published close to my 50th birthday.
From Passion to Products is my third book that got published in 2022. Since it is very new, it is not rated yet. It is about the consolidation of my many passions into product design. This is a story of sheer grit that began in 1990. It shows how a simple hobby of botanical painting became a decade-long passion that continues to grow.
A passion that took the form of a venture titled, ‘Ratna’s Seasonal Art’ in 2017, where machine-made products are infused with botanical art by me. A passion that is being used to feed mankind’s hunger for the slowly receding natural world. A hunger caused by rapid urbanization, advancing technology and now a pandemic where people are working indoors glued to their computer for long hours. It is a beautiful journey, where I rekindle the magic of nature on the human mind that led to the marriage of passion economy to supernova-driven economy that is just a click away!
3. In addition to writing and architecture, you also design florals as part of your Ratna's Seasonal Art company with Zazzle. How did you come up with the ideas for these designs and why does the message of preserving nature matter to you?
These designs are inspired by the natural beauty in the plant kingdom set in New York and Massachusetts. Many of them I have cultivated in my two gardens. Gardening is one of my hobbies and I love to cultivate perennials. In Massachusetts, my garden has over 100 different species of perennials, shrubs, and trees. Being in this zone, I get to observe the flowers from bud to bloom. Then I get to choose which phase of evolution I want to capture through botanical painting. Besides this, my town has a rich diversity of flowering trees planted along all roads. So, there is great inspiration in the environment, set in the four seasons of New England.
Plants charge up all our five senses. The changing beauty of the seasons refreshes the eyes. The sound of the birds and bees they attract refreshes our ears. The scent of fragrant flowers uplifts us. Touching their varied textures recharges our sense of touch. The fruits and vegetables they produce nourish us. When all these five senses get refreshed, we bring renewed human energy to our mind and intellect. This brings joy to life and work. In its absence humans work just like automatons.
Two architects whose work I admire a lot are Antoni Gaudi and Frank Llyod Wright. Their designs were soulful because they connected it to nature with biophilic principles, sculpture, art etc. Now most cities have skyscrapers that look the same, whether they are in muggy Mumbai, rainy Seattle, or hot Dubai. It reflects the architect losing connection with nature.
Climate change, global warming and rapid urbanization are slowly receding in the natural world. Some scientists estimate that one flowering plant species dies out every day. Recently Time magazine quoted that 60% of plants in the world’s richest forests are at a risk of extinction in the next century. By the end of this century, 90% of the human population would be living in urban areas. This will create and is already creating an immense hunger for green pastures and the sight of delightful plants. All these factors combined with advancing technology are making humans lose touch with nature. In response to all this I have started making products for daily life with botanical art made by me, to infuse human lives with nature's beauty.
4. Do you ever feel hesitant or anxious before starting a new creative venture, and how do you make the decision to get started and try it out?
The idea for a creative venture may come in a flash of a moment, but the venture coming into existence is a slow and evolutionary process. Let me explain this through my venture titled ‘Ratna’s seasonal Art’. Over thirty years back I started making botanical paintings as a hobby. First, I hung them on the walls of my home. Then I exhibited them at different organizations so that other people could also view them. Then they were published on magazine covers, books, and blogs. Then I wondered if these paintings could be put on products for daily life. This way people could enjoy them in their own homes as well. It was a different era then. There was no digital printing, no custom design on products. But the vision remained in my mind.
To make a long story short, the hobby began in 1990 and the venture came into being in 2017. I am thankful that the era to make it feasible dawned in my lifetime. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!
As humans on earth, we were hunters and gatherers first. Then we became growers and makers. Now in the era of Amazon and Netflix, we have become consumers of goods and services. So, if you are creative and there is a market for your product, then go for it. Start small and then grow global. With longer and healthier life now, the venture you start in your middle years could reap major benefits in your post-retirement years.
The seeds of all my creative ventures were strengthened by my architectural education and the way I was nurtured by my parents with a very well-rounded education. Hence there is no hesitancy or anxiety in me before I start a new venture. Being creative, I work in a state of flow. I am also blessed with a very supportive life partner. With him I air out all my ideas, discuss their impact on our life. We are each other’s rock. I also seek my daughter’s feedback on many issues as she represents generation Z!
4. What advice do you have for women who are considering taking the leap to more creative fields or branching out their creative ventures?
First and foremost, make sure you have an education that makes you financially independent. Establish yourself well in a career related to your education. Don’t let your career consume you. Use your leisure time for activities that fill you with joy. In the words of Joseph Campbell: “Follow your bliss.”
As for taking the leap to more creative fields, have a clear vision of what you want to do. Take small and consistent steps pursuing it. Swami Chinmayananda has said: Vision + Action = Transformation.
Also do research if anyone one else has done something similar. Ask them about their experience, time scale and its ramifications on their life. Test out your products on a small scale with potential customers or target audience, with a blog, party, or an exhibition. Share it on social media. Gauge the response.
Everyday go out for a walk alone. In this solitude cultivate a friendship between your mind and intellect to establish your creative goals and to figure out how to accomplish them. You will find the answers you seek in your solitude. As a human, your time on earth is your most precious resource. Use it well, make it count and if possible, use your creativity to build a great legacy.