Ep. 23: Exploring cultural and family ties through art with illustrator and designer Meenal Patel

Thank you all for swinging back round after an extended break! So pleased to be kicking off this new season with San Francisco based artist, illustrator and author Meenal Patel!

Meenal’s childhood love of expressing herself through her art has grown into a career where she can explore her connections to her family and cultural heritage. Hear how she’s overcome some real challenges to pursue this work, and the tips she has for building any creative business.

As always, you can hear the episode below on iTunes here. We would be so grateful if you share her story with friends who might enjoy it too!

Meenal’s latest picture book Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala is a beautiful and thoughtful exploration of family and cultural ties and makes a lovely gift (perfect for Diwali!) - you can find it here

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 23:

• Meenal’s beautiful website where you can find her books and some gorgeous photos, including some of her lovely work space.

• Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala on Amazon

• Please support the Kickstarter for What Color is My Hijab? by Hudda Ibrahim, which Meenal illustrated!!

Other books and podcasts we discussed:

• Nimita’s Place - our book club pick by Akshita Nanda, who will be on soon!

• The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal (how could I forget a title like that!?)

• Find Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon

• Art for your Ear podcast

• Hidden Brain podcast

Follow us on Instagram for more on Meenal and everything we discussed in this episode! Her instagram page is @meenal_land

Special thanks to Yoshobant Badatya and Aman Moroney @ Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!