Sreenivasulu
M R

Sreenivasulu.M.R has devised an art form of making miniatures of world-reknowned architecture out of pen refills to create the awareness on plastic materials and its hazardous effects. He is an Artist(paintings), Classical Dancer(Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Yakshagana), Sculptor (make sculptures from chalks and sand), Miniature Artist(make miniatures of famous structures from used pen refills), World Record Holder, Environmentalist and an Engineer from Bangalore, India.

Sreenivasulu had a hobby of collecting used pen refills from friends. He wanted to become an Architect, but he had enrolled for computer science and engineering upon advice by parents. After few years he decided to continue his passion towards Architecture and decided to repurpose the used pen refills he had collected over years and make something out of it. He started creating miniature structures out of pen refills. As part of 'Say No to Plastic' program, which he organizes for awareness on global warming in schools and colleges, he setup used pen refill collection boxes. The program turned out to be further source for raw materials to make Miniature structures.

 In 2007, the miniature structure creation of 'Eiffel Tower' from used pen refills was initiated. It took 8 months to make Eiffel Tower from 200 pen refills backed by his preparation, passion and persistence. The splurge of the structures continued. Charminar, Big-Ben Clock, Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Gateway of India, Seattle Space Needle, Sydney Harbor Bridge and 9th miniature structure St Philomena Church, Mysore, India from 2500+ pen refills to mark his 10th anniversary in miniature arts in 2017 and it took 18 months to complete the construction. On 13th anniversary of miniature art in 2020, he has constructed 10th miniature – Amritsar Golden Temple, India out of 1500+ pen refills and it took 2 years 4 months to complete the intricate architecture model.

Why Pen refills?

Pen refills are made from polypropylene plastic tubes which are considered to be the safest of all plastics, which is a robust plastic that is heat resistant. Compared to many materials, polypropylene's structure has a good tensile strength—somewhere around 4,800 psi. This allows the material to withstand fairly heavy loads, despite being lightweight. This makes the miniatures strong and durable.

Pen refills are one of the ignorable forms of plastic which may not be involved in plastic recycling process. When we call upon plastic recycling everyone think of carry bags, plastic utensils and other packaging materials. As most of the pen users are school and college going students there would be enormous impact in the society if we educate them on plastic waste and on 3R principle – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. That’s the inspiration driving Sreenivasulu in making miniatures of famous structures out of plastic pen refills. The miniatures are used to promote art, culture and tourism of structure and its region.

A lot of students, communities inspired out of his work and engaged in conversations to think out of the box. During construction Sreenivasulu doesn’t use any machinery to cut and stick the pen refills. The miniatures are pure handmade artefacts with a lot of passion, patience, research and hard work behind it.

The passion towards arts was inbuilt from his native Dharmavaram, the place famous for the handloom silk sarees at southwestern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. Sreenivasulu at a tender age had hobby of making miniature house models using marriage invitation cards. Later  he  started his paintings works at the age of 7 years. He joined dance school to learn Indian Classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Folk dance and has given many stage performances. He makes sculptures out of Chalks and other art forms.

The art works has grabbed various records and awards. Today he is also proficient in making miniature of houses, make house plans. He also helps students in making miniature models for exhibitions/Fairs. Currently he lives in Bangalore, IT hub of India. Oh ya!! You guessed it right. He is indeed software professional.