Rising Stars: Meet Vasu Tolia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vasu Tolia.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a retired Pediatric Gastroenterologist who found her niche in visual arts after retirement. I came to the US from India for professional advancement in the medical field. Following a very fulfilling medical career, I wanted to find an outlet for my creativity. I looked into visual arts, however, I never really had exposure to drawing and painting while growing up. So it was back to the basics for me with a few lessons. It took me a while to discover many of the nuances of painting and now it is a passion.

Having started with traditional objective art, I am now drawn toward abstract imagination. Acrylic paints and paper collages are my forte. I layer with paint, scrape it, add lines with charcoal, oil pastels, and ink-pens and let my imagination flow. Then the strokes, lines, and vibrant colors fill in the blanks. I mix up and alter my process, and try new techniques to maintain a freshness in my artwork. employ a wide range of media – sometimes an image from my personal photographs—to construct conceptual works of art. I am basically self-taught and inspired by the modern painting era, however, I employ neon colors in some artworks also to mark my contemporary style. I take workshops to create something in a different way and make new connections and support other artists. I take inspiration from people, nature, travel, architecture, design, the art of others, fashion, and anything that I come across. Then of course to filter, file, save and recall it at the right moment from the research archives is like going through Index Medicus before the computers arrived. I have a good memory, so frequently, I dive into these resources and use what appeals to me and fits in my projects.

There must have been a subtle influence of my mother somewhere in my mind because I saw my mother do pencil drawings whenever she visited me. As I leafed through her drawings recently, I was very impressed with the geometric symmetry and color schemes of her works, usually on 8×11” papers, they could have been studies for larger artwork. They are very impressive now as I look at them with an artist’s eye.

I have done three solo shows until now and have participated in many group shows. My second solo show was called a ‘Woman’s Journey’ depicting various roles in women’s life. My latest solo show was called “Symphony of Sentiments” at the Livonia Fine Arts Gallery for 7 weeks in Aug/Sept 2022. This exhibition includes 30 paintings and 22 poems as artworks to depict human emotions. This new series of paintings was about perceptions. Sentiments were weaved with strokes, lines, shapes, and spaces as well as organic forms.

I have been fortunate to win many awards in local, regional, and national competitions including the best of shows several times, the artist of the future award, and published in several magazines, and interviewed on radio and on YouTube by NAWA. One of my paintings was featured in the TOP 20 Covid Art in the Washington Post in 2020. The CDC used this painting on the cover of the Nov 2022 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Three of my paintings were acquired by Baker College (Royal Oak Campus, MI) for permanent display. My paintings and commissioned artworks are in many private collections.

I am on the board of Friends of Asian Art and Culture at the Detroit Institute of Arts and serve on the board of two local artist groups.

My itch to continue to write has led me to be a budding poet. I have also participated in several Ekphrastic events. I recently wrote 22 artworks from poems, eight of which I wrote myself and the rest were erasure poems on emotions.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Life always gives us ups and downs. I was always on top academically, and although my parents had migrated to a different state, discrimination was not an issue while growing up. Once here, as a first-generation immigrant, brown woman,  I have always had to rise above others to achieve everything.  My parents inspired me to put my very best in anything I undertake and bring out the best in others as well. I have put in long days and nights to write my own papers, guided my mentees to develop ideas into doable projects, and conducted scores of clinical research studies.

This attitude has served me well in every step of my life, as my motto is to be a doer, not a procrastinator. One of the challenges for me is not having enough time to execute all the ideas that I have.

When I complete a new artwork, I get the same thrill that I experienced when my work was accepted in a peer-reviewed journal. I love to create a series of paintings based on a theme that appeals to me and may be influenced by current events as well. I collect ideas on my travels, by visiting exhibitions, reading, and responding to calls for exhibitions and competitions as well.

The crises in this world will keep on going, but we have to be optimistic. I find that art is a force to enforce the solutions to challenges, a venue that offers incredible delight to ease our problems, makes it easier to handle the issues, and educates us on different perspectives. Its influence to enrich our lives is morale-boosting. I feel proud to share this sparkle with whoever notices it.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a contemporary artist who is always eager to learn something new and of course, anything art related now.

Learning about the use of a new tool or a new art technique,  and then incorporating it into my style of painting, gives me a new high. I also admire the works of other artists, so I visit museums and galleries as often as I can anywhere I go. I also surf the internet to browse through the works of other artists.

I love to browse through art supply shops and pick up new painting materials, tools, and occasionally surfaces. I have used paper, canvas, and wood but not metal yet. However, I have acquired a few aluminum panels, so something new will be forthcoming.

I was approached to put my artwork on lifestyle products and clothing lines by a Canadian Gallery and have found it to be fulfilling also.

My works are usually on display in group shows in different galleries throughout the year. I am also participating in several online galleries. I’m working on new solo show themes.

In the medical field, I still consult in review and research areas.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Being an artist is not enough by itself and I realized the need for marketing and making one’s presence felt out in the public. Social media involvement and maintaining a website etc are other mundane but essential areas of expertise for an artist. Many of these things steal my time away from every minute I want to spend in front of the easel. As an emerging artist, it’s very important for me to embrace and keep up with the technology I create. I will often make a small image on the computer to use as a study to get started. It evolves and may be completely altered or become a replica if I enjoy seeing it as it is on the canvas. Such cross-over amongst several artworks happens especially when working on a theme, because I may want to carry over an appealing part of one to another, as is, or alter it. So each one has a unique stance and message.

I am a strong advocate for human rights, especially women’s. I try to uplift them in every way possible and try to depict them in my artworks and also in various roles. I share my story because I think life and art are interconnected.

Art has become essential to my being.  To be able to share my ideas and emotions through this vehicle means the world to me. To be involved in this passion and respond to current events is very stimulating and humbling. It fuels my passion to create more and more.

I also believe passionately in giving back to the community. I work closely with the Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (MAPI), Asian Indian Women’s Association, Haven, FAR therapeutics, Ted Lindsey Foundation, Gildas Club, MAI Family Services, Veteran’s Project, and several more organizations to donate art for auctions and fundraising events.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vasutolia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toliavasu/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vasutolia