A miniaturist’s life-like figurines, food miniatures and delightful knick-knacks will make you wish you had taken your clay moulding attempts as a child seriously
Miniatures
Do you remember enjoying moulding clay into different shapes as a child? Polymer clay is a similarly exciting arts and crafts medium, which consists of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizer, making it malleable like clay. It is available in dozens of colours and you can blend them together to create your own unique hues. Unlike natural clay that dries on its own, firing polymer clay permanently solidifies it.
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Kashmira Panchal, who runs the page Miniature World on Instagram, has been using polymer clay to create almost life-like food and figurine miniatures. “Miniature world is something that I started as a hobby in 2015. I was looking for pottery classes in Mumbai, but could not find any and it was during a stationery shop visit that I decided to try my hand at clay modelling. I started making cartoon figures using clay dough and thoroughly enjoyed the process. However, given the nature of clay dough, these pieces would crumble easily. I began looking for better options of clay and came across its different types (air dry, polymer, paper) and the art of making miniatures. Initially, I would make miniatures out of air dry clay and paint them, but I wasn’t happy with the overall look and durability. I soon started getting orders and decided to give polymer clay a try. The best part about polymer clay is that it hardens at low temperatures so you can bake it on the cooking gas,” says Panchal.
The time taken to create a piece as well as its price depend on the design and size, and the level of customisation a client wants. “Food miniatures take around two days depending upon what the dish is. Miniatures involving human figures take a lot of time since they have to be baked in batches to achieve the right amount of flexibility without burning them,” shares Panchal, discussing her process that involves sketching, clay conditioning, sculpting, baking, painting and varnishing. She sells a wide range of polymer clay items like fridge magnets, key chains, bag charms, paper clips, figurines, frames and food miniatures. The magnets start at Rs 400, food miniatures at Rs 500 and figurines at Rs 700.
@_miniatureworld, Instagram
Nature in every sip
Terracotta has traditionally been regarded as a mystical material due to its combination of four vital elements—air, earth, fire and water. It has been a mainstay of Indian construction and culture for centuries. Claymango, a design community platform, which discovers unique products from young Indian designers, and works with artisans, has launched a range of terracotta bottles. These bottles are handmade, portable and have a minimalistic, contemporary design. Stages like clay refining and mixing, throwing on the wheel, drying and firing are involved in the making of these bottles.
The firing is done in the bhatti—a traditional open furnace within a circular area. The terracotta products are dried to remove moisture and then piled carefully and covered with locally available fuel such as dry coconut leaves and wood. The kiln is covered with mud and fired to produce a very high temperature, with the objects turning either red or black, depending on whether smoke is let out through the vents of the kiln. These clay pots keep the water cool while also providing healing benefits like improving metabolism, virility, and curbing acidity and gastronomic pains. The price of these bottles ranges from Rs 690 to Rs 1,199.
www.claymango.com
Traces of buildings forgotten
Views of the Shahi Burj in Red Fort. Pics Courtesy/@_citytales
An Instagram page has been documenting the forgotten, unknown and dying heritage of Indian cities with stunning archival sketches and paintings of iconic monuments, set against the present-day views of, and information about the structures and their surrounding urbanscapes. Posts show sights, often centuries apart, of the Shahi Burj in Red Fort, the majestic gateway to Khusro Bagh in Allahabad, and the bastion-like structures on the ghats of Mathura. “My explorations entail unprotected monuments—havelis, religious structures, a wall or gateway somewhere,” says Rameen Khan, who started the page in May 2019. Khan, who studied engineering and had no academic connection with history, traces his interest in heritage buildings to a curious start. “I am from Lucknow and have always been passionate about street food. When I moved to Delhi in 2015, I wanted to document it and began paying visits to Old Delhi. I would pass by medieval mosques, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. I think subconsciously the interest seeped in,” he says.
@_citytales, Instagram
To the unsung heroes of the pandemic
With COVID-19 taking the world by storm, a particular section of society has been paying the ultimate price: healthcare workers. According to the IMA, more than 1,400 doctors in India succumbed to COVID-19. Sadly, this number increases with each passing day. Dr Samriddhi Sarkar is a member of Doctors For A Cause, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, comprising doctors and medical students, working for social causes. Sarkar felt that there was no fitting farewell for the healthcare workers who died in this pandemic. She started The Final Eulogy to pay tribute to these individuals. “Most of us are doctors or medical students ourselves, or come from a family of doctors, and have seen the sacrifices first-hand that are made on a daily basis. It seemed only natural for us to provide a platform to immortalise the greatest sacrifice they made for mankind,” says Dr Anujeet Paul, one of the founders of DFC.
@thefinaleulogy, Instagram
A floral keepsake
What if you could wear a pretty pink rose as a pendant, or flaunt a bunch of tiny daisies as a key charm? A jewellery store is preserving nature’s bounty in stunning pieces of pressed floral jewellery (Rs 899 onwards). Leafy Affair is the work of Supriya Donthi, a nature lover. We loved the resin locket that encases delicate dried gypsophila flowers, which we think would be a perfect gift for a dear friend. There’s also the frilly flower Victorian necklace that has preserved a wild carrot flower moulded in resin, and laid over an oval, Victorian cabochon to give it a timeless appeal. She also makes personalised pieces. You can choose the shape of your bottle, colours of the beautiful moss and the charms to go with it.
https://leafyaffair.com/
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