He grew up with Mithila motif. His toys were the colours his grandmother and mother mixed. And, he particularly liked fashioning figures out of the papier-mâché pulp, which was available in plenty.

That's how Sharad Kumar, grandson of one of the pioneering Madhubani artists, Chandrakala Devi, found his penchant for the traditional art. Chandrakala, along with Sita Devi and Ganga Devi, is considered one of the founder artists of the Madhubani school who transferred with ease the colourful paintings from the walls to paper and fabric.

Chandrakala was conferred the National Award in the '80s. His grandson too got the National Award in 2002.

Born in Madhubani and studied at Patna and Delhi, Sharad, an empanelled designer with the Union ministry of textiles, will conduct a 10-day workshop on waste paper management from June 8-10 at Lalit Kala Akademi, Patna. The workshop is being organised in collaboration with Aakar, an art institute, and Kohbar: the Centre for Art and Culture.

Sharad said the workshop would introduce the art lovers of all possibilities with waste paper, including paper making, paper collage, paper rolling, paper quelling, paper crafting, paper lights, paper accessories, paper jewellery, origami, papier-mâché and sculptures.

There exist lack of awareness in Bihar concerning to waste paper management, said Sharad, who has already conducted around 6,000 workshops throughout the country, adding: "The aim of the workshop is to let people know as to what wonders can be done with waste paper exploring all its possibilities and to encourage the practice of recycling of waste."

Sharad, who has extensively toured the UK and other European countries including Germany, France and Spain, said a whole range of products, including furniture, apparel, silk products, baskets and other decorative articles, can be made out of paper of banana pulp and other plants like mulberry and cotton.

Sharad, who added another dimension to the art of Mithila by introducing frying technique while making products from paper pulp, said his dream was to establish a paper industry in his home state for which he is trying hard. "I also met Anjani Kumar Singh, the present chief secretary, who was very appreciative of this art," he said.

Registration for the workshop is completely free and the participants have to bear the cost of the materials only. They will also be provided with a certificate at the end of the workshop.