admin True vision and clarity at the age of 12 is not something you would expect. However, for Maithillee Zaveri, certainty about her future career choices was a given ever since this tender age. New Delhi-based Maithillee was always sure of her career as an artist, right from the time she was asked at school about her future plans!
Meeting the Talent
When in the 10th standard, Maithillee’s artwork was sent for display at the Oxford University. After this feat of success, she started getting exhibition offers and her decision to pursue this dream crystallised even further. Since 2007, Maithillee’s exquisite art pieces have been exhibited across several Indian states.
A competition is always amongst your old self vs. your current/new self. How you have evolved over the years to become a better/successful person is what matters – Maithilee Zaveri
After graduating from The Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore in BFA Fine Arts, Painting, she decided to move to Mumbai in 2016 and lay the foundations of her art studio titled ‘Maithillee’. She continued to create alluring art pieces and selling them through the studio until it went under redevelopment. In 2020, Maithillee moved to Gurgaon and now works from her personal space there. She works on commissioned pieces of art as well as gives her clients vastu tips as to the right placement of the purchased artworks in their homes or offices.
Inside the Mind of an Innovative Artist
The allure of mystery is what draws Maithillee to pieces of art- whether it’s one of her own or one belonging to another artist. Authenticity and creativity are blended in each artwork she creates. She follows a carefully crafted process of diligence to ensure that this mystery is mixed with innovation when she is designing one of her own art pieces. As she propounds, “When I create artworks of my own, I usually capture images of my own & then use 4-5 images together to create a creative/innovative artwork on a piece of paper, before creating my masterpieces on canvas.” She believes in visualising her artwork to debunk the hidden meanings in them. The vibrancy of nature ignites a fire of motivation in Maithillee. She believes in drawing inspiration from such alluring images that help her focus on her craft. For Maithillee, the relentless belief and encouragement of her parents remains the most significant source of inspiration.
Creating a Well-Balanced Approach
As an extraordinary businesswoman, Maithillee believes in blending hard work and smart work to create the rightly balanced concoction of success. While discipline and dedication infuse consistency into one’s approach, ‘in the wake of brisk pace world, smartness can’t be bargained’, argues Maithillee. Thus, skills can be honed and sharpened with a disciplined approach, an astute sense of ingenuity and smartness is needed to seize the right opportunities to be successful along any industrial vertical. Forgoing the gospel of competition that’s widely imbibed into our DNAs from a very early age, Maithillee believes in outperforming herself. Her business ethics and outlook is defined by a relentless zeal to become a better artist than she was yesterday, rather than spend time stressing over the market competition.
Life is full of opportunities, smart people can identify them quickly and reap success by applying their heart and soul to them – Maithillee Zaveri
Leading with a difference
According Maithillee, women’s leadership can help change the future of the business landscape for the better. The uniquely resilient and adaptive leadership approach pioneered by women makes them stand out from the crowd. Their ingenious level-headed ways of dealing with catastrophic situations makes them prudent decision-makers, while their affable and empathetic outlooks make them well-poised to interrogate the ‘human’ side of the individuals they encounter. Espousing a comprehensive management style, women leaders fortify a fruitful horizontal leadership approach, where participation by all is encouraged and valued. Such an astute form of leadership is defined by a more egalitarian distribution of power, fostering a proclivity to cooperate among the team members.
Fuelling Creativity
Maithillee’s creativity is fuelled by her well-balanced lifestyle. Religiously exercising in the morning helps her maintain razor-sharp focus on the project at hand. While she spends a significant part of her days creating inventive pieces of art, she using the residual time to doodle, play a sport or the piano, catch-up on some reading, or listen to some tunes. All this helps boost her creative reserves to craft art pieces that instantly stand out from the crowd.
Vanquishing Challenges
Although a creative genius, Maithillee acknowledges that she is not devoid of the usual fears and concerns that characterise the life of an artist. Apart from artistic uncertainties about the direction of her work, she is also faced with the fear of navigating the nitty-gritty of showcasing and selling a piece of art to a potential buyer. Yet, she has wonderfully tamed and managed her concerns to create, portray, and selling exquisite art pieces.
The art industry has its own unique challenges that Maithillee had to overcome. From the struggles of trying to sell an artwork to working on commissioned pieces without upfront payments, she had to deal with a lot of uphill battles when trying to establish her name in the industry. However, with each new challenge she conquered, Maithillee learnt a new lesson. Her success today is a testament to a leap of faith she took years ago. She dared to pursue her dream and vision of becoming an artist at a time when art was considered nothing more than a hobby. Identifying it as the most courageous decision she has ever made, Maithillee asserts that opting for a career as an artist, especially when opportunities to grow and succeed in the field were limited, was a daunting choice.
A Word of Advice for the Young Businesswomen
Maithillee’s success story in an arena that was considered merely worthy of the ‘hobby’ tag goes to show that anything is possible as long as you remain resilient and dedicated to pursue your talents. Sharing her valuable insights with young women leaders, Maithillee asserts, “Don’t let criticism, judgmental comparisons or analyses get to you & your work. Compete with yourself & thrive to become a better version of yourself than what you were before.” Remaining focused on one’s avowed path and working with a staunch sense of determination can help attain tangible results.
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