Bethesda Girl, 14, Will Be Youngest To Show Art At Yellow Barn

Norwood School student Neelam Shaikh, 14, will become the youngest artist to show her artwork at the Yellow Barn Gallery at Glen Echo Park next month.

Shaikh, of Bethesda, will be presenting her first collection of artwork there April 13 and 14, some of which draws on themes from her Indian cultural heritage.

Shaikh's work includes an acrylic painting of a peacock, India's national bird, painted on a round canvas. A mixed-media self-portrait incorporates Indian green silk fabric, and another acrylic painting depicts and Indian Rajput woman and incorporates three-dimensional gems.

"This was my first Indian painting and it took a great deal of patience because I worked on it for approximately three months due to all the detail," Shaikh wrote, describing the Rajput woman work. "In this painting style, everything has to be outlined in black, by using a very small brush."

Other paintings draw on themes from her travels to Italy.

Norwood's art program has fostered Shaihk's interest in painting, printmaking and drawing, her mother Sunita Iyer said. Shaihk has also studied privately with a Norwood School art teacher, who describes her as "talented, passionate, and committed to her growth as an artist."

“Neelam was drawn to art from a young age and has always found ways to express herself through art whether it’s a labor of love in creating the perfect gift for a family member or the determination to prepare a variety of pieces for her first solo exhibition,” Iyer said in a news release. “It is especially meaningful to us that as a second generation immigrant, Neelam has chosen to explore and weave her Indian heritage into her art.” 

For more information on the exhibit, visit the Yellow Barn's website.