Urvi D.

Mixed Media Art, Digital Illustrator, Crafts

Philadelphia

• I took my first ever live figure drawing class when I lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 6 months - I really struggled, but I enjoyed it.
• I had my Frida Kahlo moment in India June 2025, when a car accident left me on bed rest for 1 month - I made some of my favorite artworks during this time.
• So far, my artwork has made its way into homes across America, India, Cambodia, and the UK!

Hi, my name is Urvi. I'm a painter, digital artist, photographer, and as some would call a jack of all trades. I play with a variety of mediums/art forms including embroidery, cyanotype, linocut, zines, acrylic and water color paint, water marbling, digital drawing/animation, henna, writing, you name it! My teaching is empathy driven and heavily influenced by the Montessori ideology of building independence and inner confidence in students. I encourage exploration, curiosity, and building resiliency with every age group I work with. I focus on building a safe physical and emotional space for the children I work with, and I wholly believe that art aids in creating a space like this. Who says you have to be "good" at art to enjoy it? Who says art is just about making pretty things? We'll focus on the process, the journey, the feelings, the ugly, the pretty, the odd, the interesting, and the beauty of it all. Understanding what you don't like is just as valuable as figuring out what you do like. My experience in education stretches across K-12 gen ed and special ed in public school and elementary Montessori school. I have co-taught science, filled in as art teacher, business teacher, math, english, history, and science teacher. I have worked as an instructional assistant in behavioral rooms leading small group instruction for core subjects, SEL and executive functioning skills. I was also a paraprofessional 1:1 aide to an autistic student. I accompanied these students in their elective classes to support them and their lead teachers. My art practice has been evolving since 2016. I really began to pour into it during 2020 to present day. Art can be quite healing and I'd love to share it as a tool with the youth, not only as a potential fun hobby or career path, but also as a tool for creative expression and processing emotions when other tools can't quit get the job done. I hope to inspire by sharing the power of the arts and its influence on my own personal life.