Sarojini Jha Johnson worked with Professor Emeritus and award winning artist Robert Wolfe more than three decades ago when she earned an MFA in printmaking at Miami University. She has taught intaglio printmaking at Ball State University since 1985. She has been making intaglio prints continually and currently has added artist’s books to her studio practice. Thematically her works are inspired by the natural world and the adverse effects of climate change on flora and fauna.
My family came to the United States from India many years ago. My works reflect my impressions of India as I have experienced it through my journeys there and through stories told by my parents. Certain objects and images are persistent in my mind and are emblematic or evocative of many things, from mundane to sublime. Some of these objects are plants such as datura and images of favorite deities such as Ganesha and Lakshmi. Uprooted people often experience a longing for things that remind them of their former home. This sort of nostalgia or yearning for familiar things, especially food, has been a part of my family’s experience for as long as I can remember. My father grew exotic vegetables with names I do not even know in English. This amuses and amazes me. I believe that the dialog about culture and nationality is vital and that the visual arts are an important forum for communication of the subtleties and variations of individual viewpoints.
