One of the most wonderful things about art, in my opinion, is how multidisciplinary it is. The first medium is a gateway drug that opens up a plethora of possibilities, and suddenly you’ve spent all your money on canvases, pencils, paint, glue and yarn. At least that was the experience of Ruma Poudell ’26, a graduate student whose foray into painting led to jewelry-making, crochet and poetry. On March 12, I had the opportunity to learn all about that progression when we sat down for a chat in Zeus.
The first artistic experiences Poudell remembers having are drawing and coloring as a child. She started “putting more effort into art outside of school in middle school,” and never looked back. When asked how art entered and shaped her life, Poudell simply said: “It’s always been a thing.” I’d hazard that it’s a little more than “a thing,” given the very quantity of mediums she explores. Her favorite of those modes of expression? Poetry. “I would say my favorite [medium] is probably writing poetry,” Poudell shared. “I’m a little bit of a newbie at that, but it allows me to verbalize things that I can’t really visualize with my paintings and other work and express thoughts and concepts in a more intentional way.”
Poudell got into poetry almost by accident. “While writing an autobiography” of her own life during 2021, she “quickly realized there were themes” which she turned into poems. The themes she found in her life were “childhood, core memories, mental health and expression … of self and what the self means.” Even today, Poudell’s process when approaching writing poetry remains reflective of how she started. “The process of writing poetry is long. … Poetry is really fueled by my emotions, so it’s more of bursts of feeling written out and then refinement, again and again, afterwards.” With visual art, it’s a little more complicated. Poudell either has “a specific piece of inspiration in mind” or, conversely, “completely surrenders to the process and lets things flow” when she paints. Regardless of her approach, Poudell finds the act of creating to be therapeutic — the aspect she values most. Every medium she works with “serves a different purpose that is equally as meaningful.”
Poudell has dipped her feet into many of the artistic communities that Cornell has to offer, much in the same way she’s tried out a breadth of art forms. Her constant aim is to “connect with people on campus who are also creative,” whether that’s through Rainy Day Magazine, Marginalia or Thread. “Cornell has been a way to connect with other people through art, but I do keep it separate from my coursework,” Poudell said. Currently pursuing a Master of Public Health, she’s “not taking classes to formally be educated in art,” because “that’s not an option as a grad student.” Instead, she pursues that interest through extracurriculars. Entrenched in non-artistic study, Poudell sees creativity as her solace and “a way to keep [her] spark alive.” Despite the fact that she isn’t formally studying for it, being an artist long-term is “the dream” for her. She doesn’t want it to stay “just a hobby,” and finds that “it’s a conflict managing … career and art and how to take both seriously.”
To round off the interview, Poudell and I discussed art and its meaning to her in a broader sense. After taking a long moment to think, she defined art as “fluidity, source and expansion.” Putting it simply, Poudell said, “I love finding the allure in the mundane.” As an example, she cited oil spills on the road. “Those are so pretty.” On a deeper level, art isn’t just everyday life to Poudell. It’s “a reminder to surrender and a reminder to get past the illusion of self.” I think her inner poet definitely showed with that response. And whenever creativity gets frustrating, as it is wont to do, Poudell asks herself a few questions: “Who is doing this art? What’s coming through me?” She finds that the “answer of not knowing what’s coming through” acts as a reminder “to surrender to that greater force that operates within and through [her].”
To see more of Poudell’s myriad work, you can find her @rumapoudell on Instagram or contact her at rumapoudell@gmail.com.
‘Student Artist Spotlight’ is a column that runs intermittently, featuring student artists of all kinds on campus. For interest in a feature, please contact Melissa Moon.
Melissa Moon is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at mmoon@cornellsun.com.
