WHO ARE YOU?
Hi! I'm Swati Namjoshi. A multidisciplinary artist and toddler mum, I moved from India to Canada in 2024, embracing Toronto as my new home. My educational background includes Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Counselling Psychology, and Art Based Therapy. My work has found expression in two key areas - children’s book publishing and meaningful community engagement through visual art. I strongly believe in the power of stories and work towards authentic and mindful representation of cultures, characters, places, and perspectives, in my art.
WHERE HOW WHY?
I spent the first 34 years of my life in India. I moved a lot - Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Nagpur, and my two forever homes, Goa, and Pune. I have loved living and creating in India and it's been a wonderfully chaotic journey. Here, I found a calling, a purpose, a partner, and made a career, a family, and the most beautiful baby.
I moved to Toronto to explore a different culture and audience. It's exciting, scary, and a great deal of fun to share this new chapter with my musician husband; just two struggling artists giving each other pep talks, and a toddler toddlering about.
WHAT DO YOU DO?​
-
Illustrations for Children's books
-
Story Development and writing for children's books & YA Fiction
-
Editorial Illustrations
-
Book Cover Design
-
Book Layout and Design
-
Guidance and Support for self-published authors
-
Visual and Written Content for Education Initiatives
-
Personalized Portraits for Weddings, Birthdays, Events, Invites, & Posters
-
Album Art
-
Murals
I use traditional media, Procreate on the iPad Pro, and Adobe Indesign.
DO YOU TEACH?
Yes! The only thing I love more than sharing my art with the world is sharing the process of art-making so people can join the joy-wagon and draw their own stories! If you want to learn to draw, find your voice, and discover your creative style, email me so we can figure out a course for you and start art-ing together.
Drawing helps me make sense of the world around me. I get to meet myself more often. I have been drawing for a very long time so I can twist my lines to make them look a certain way. But I found joy in art waaaaay before it came out pretty. After 17 years of practice I sometimes make terribly ugly artwork with a great deal of purpose. There is value in expression without aesthetic intention.