Kankaria utilizes this artistic dexterity on her innovative handicrafts, creating beauties that leave an indelible mark on one’s mind. Enthuses she, “I have been painting since my childhood, and at that time I was painting solely for the joy it gave me.”

The art, that initially struck her as a hobby, did not take much time to metamorphose into a passion for Kankaria. There were hours that she would spend at her residence in Ahmednagar, either painting or creating something. Various impressions that she creates on ceramics run across the walls in her bedroom. The front yard proudly boasts of the 5ft mural she has made using Siporex. Also, her latest passion, woodwork, never really seems nondescript amidst the umpteen creations she has made using Siporex, fibre and clay. Talking about the designs in her works, she says, “I randomly pick these up, instinctively. Also, I harbor these patterns in my subconscious. Lord Ganesh and toys were the things that appealed to me the most as a child, hence their reflection in my creations.”

If art — especially the kind that exudes from an electcist — is just around the corner, can it ever go unnoticed? And similar was the case with Kankaria. “I was asked to make a 30ft long mural for the Ahmednagar army base, which served as a frame for the photos of the army officers there. I had made a mural for my late father’s photo, and this gentleman from the army saw it while he was on a visit to our house. He then asked me to make one for the army base,” reminisces she.