KOCHI:Rustic terracotta earrings, neck- pieces, and pendants are fast gaining popularity as chic ornaments among young women. Besides its ethnic look, and aesthetic design patterns, the cooling effect of clay on the body is what makes this bijou so unique and preferred. The fact that they are not painted on the inside ensures they have no side effects on the skin and are eco-friendly. The earthy ornament collection of Roselin Varghese, who currently has a stall of her exhibits at the ‘Alamkrita x’mas exhibition, Lotus Club, Warriom Road, is especially striking. One reason being that her hand-made clay jewellery has imprints of mural designs, where she has used traditional motifs like ‘theyyam’, ‘chakram’, and ‘kodimaram’ and others.Roselin who also makes and sells her exquisite collection from her Kizhakkambalam residence, says she always had an artistic temperament since childhood. Narrating how she got interested in jewellery-designing, she says, “Initially I considered making terracotta pieces as a hobby. I used to do Tanjore paintings. Besides that I’ve been doing flower making, pot painting, hand embroidery, metal embossing for years. I used to conduct craft classes for students during vacation time. Then I started designing jewellery. I began with imitation jewellery, then started using export quality glass beads.”Roselin got so interested in jewellery designing that she decided to study about it. She took training under Kanal Lomron, an artist from Shantiniketan. “The classes were insightful and I tried to implement much of what I learnt. Later, one day while walking through a street in Bangalore, I spotted a shop that sold terracotta ornaments. The starting price was Rs 1000 which I felt was not a reasonable price at all,” says Roselin, who is also a plus two English teacher at St Peters Vocational Higher secondary school, Kolancheri.On her return, Roselin decided to learn more about clay ornaments. She went to a local potter couple, Jayan Erur and his wife Radha a year back and learned how to make adornments with clay.Roselin says that making clay ornaments are not all that easy and requires much diligence. The malleable soil is first filtered and grinded. Then they are molded into different shapes. The pendants are made by flattening the clay. Opening in the beads are made using needles. Groves and other small art works are then done on it. The ornaments are next exposed to sunlight for two days to absorb the moisture. The procedure is to put the ornaments in the kiln and heat them for four days. A natural look is given to them by adding burned coconut shell powder and other natural ingredients. White and red coloured clay can also be used to mould the naturally tinged ornaments. Besides this, she also uses paeves, a French colour. Then came the idea of having mural designs. “I spared time in the evenings after school and went to M M Unnikrishnan, a famous mural painting artist who had painted the walls of Guruvayoor temple. I implemented mural patterns in my ornaments. An artist, Archana Shankar saw my collection and made it possible for me to have an exhibition at Fort Kochi, which was a hit.”What started as a hobby is now a part time job for her, she says. Her pieces range from Rs 200 to Rs 1500. Her customers are obviously those with an eye for striking and unique jewellery, and like to make a fashion statement. Roselin’s husband is a medical representative and their two girls provide complete support to her artistic endeavour. Roselin can be contacted at 9496744399 [email protected]
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