WHAT IS ICCHA?
What is Iccha?
From a young age I was drawn to colors, textures, and shapes, in the elemental forms of beauty that surround all of us. I found, and celebrated the hues of a sunset, and the blend of colors where the horizon meets the sun and extinguishes her light. It seemed to me as a child that the world that was opening my senses was a truly mystical place and I knew in my young heart, where dreams are born, that I wanted to be part of this celebration of its beauty.
For generations the women in my family have had a passion for sewing, knitting and embroidery, they would spend their idle hours working with their hands transforming simple cloth into radiant garments. I remember my grandmother, her fingers deftly embroidering the bright fabrics beloved by my Indian heritage, transforming the cloth with her worn hands into something breathtaking and alive with beads and glass that shone like small gems.
The other side of my family worked the lands of Punjab as farmers, turning the rich soil and clay of their lands, mixing the earthen tones with water and seed, until their plots sprung forth the bright greens, reds, and yellows of the harvest like an ever-renewing pallet of blessings.
My creative lineage was one of skilled hands crafting their works, and I felt a longing to embrace this tradition, but I didn’t know in which pursuit my hands would find my heart.
I first took up sewing, finding inspiration in the memories of my grandmother, but no matter how I practiced her craft, I could not make my fingers dance with the needle as hers had. Next, I tried repurposing furniture, allowing my passion for colors and fabrics to breathe new life into the bones of shapes and structures that had been created by others.
It wasn’t until I discovered jewelry making, with its physically demanding and tedious intricacies that I found a creative expression that could both celebrate the beauty of this life and honor the legacy of my ancestors by putting my hands to something that allowed the fire in my heart to burn as brightly as I could ever imagine. The colors and hews on the metals and gems all speak to the beauty I envision all around me, the deep colors of the earth, the radiance of the sky, the brilliance of the sun that warms our faces. Iccha is the journey of desire.
