Sujatha Balasundaram : I grew up in India (lived in New Delhi for a couple of years and spent most of my life in Chennai). As a family my dads line of business took us overseas to Malaysia for 3 or so years. I state this because it did somewhat shape our family. I loved the arts and crafts even as a child, I guess I got that from my mother – Bijou Pichamuthu. My love for music and its role in my life was definitely handed to me from my dad – Solomon Jayakumar Pichamuthu.
My love for drawing and the arts was integral to my learning style. I loved geometry… because we could draw :). I loved anything that needed illustrations. When I struggled to make sense or memorize a physics experiment, a war and a dynasties empire, I drew (recognized and encouraged by a very good friend of mine – Sreelakshmi Shaffiq. I drew when I wrote letters, I drew when I maintained journals, prayers etc. At seminary I read Dr. Catherine Stonehouse’s book “Joining Children on their Spiritual Journey” -it helped me understand and categorize some of my thoughts (some of which I carried with me even as a child). Children have a way of theologizing its just not in words we would choose. As a mother I saw and cherished God’s relationship with my little ones. I chose to allow them to express it through art. Those are their Selah Moments. I found a comorade in Joy Mistur and I thank God for the great cloud of witnesses in my life. The blog post “Praying in Color” – it was my coming-out-of-the-closet experience . And then came along Ellen Stamps who expressed her excitement and encouraged me to share my faith drawings online – thats what birthed Selah Arts.
Art Responses 