The real thing

She was into the IT sector before she decided to quit her job and take to her passion for creating polymer beauties.

Seema Jain has been working with clay for the last 10 years. She was clear that after she quit her regular job, she would get down to working with clay. While working as an IT professional, she was also learning the art of making clay flowers, which is a traditional art of Thailand. And her forte is to create exact replicas of orchids and many other flowers. “I sharpened my skills under the guidance of Patty — one of the finest artists in polymer clay. Polymer clay jewellery is the latest addition to my interests. Though the means are similar, the two are entirely different,” she says.

Apart from making clay flowers and jewellery, she also takes classes and spreads the knowledge on the art. Seema Jain, is a nature lover and loves gardening.

About how she learnt the art of making clay flowers and jewellery, she says, she in fact came across this art by accident.

She says, “One day, while surfing through the internet trying to find a few local orchid sellers, I stumbled upon this art by accident. I came across a website — pattyclayflowers.com, and couldn’t get over the fact that these flowers were not real but made of clay. They looked so real.”

That was when she thought of learning the art, no matter what it took to learn it. She researched about clay flowers and was taken by surprise that this is an art which exists. That was how she was introduced to clay flowers. She went on to research about Patty and found out about her works. After getting in touch with her, Seema was guided by Patty to learn the art.

“The first flower I made was ‘Calla Lily’ which took me 19 attempts to get it right. I also spent Rs 12,000 for the entire process, ” she adds.

She sold the first piece for Rs 900 which she considers precious because it was a mark of making inroads into the art form and that’s also when she began to believe that her art work could be sold.

Apart from just making flowers, she also caters to flower or plant arrangements, design flower platters, making photo frames and pen stands. Though she runs  a store, she doesn’t stock much items as most of them are made according to the orders.

Seema also undertakes customisation and has been a part of several exhibitions in the city where her art has been appreciated.

   She has two Facebook pages — ‘Seema clay jewelry’ and ‘Seema clay flowers’ through which people can view her works and place orders if they wish.

What does her family think of her passion? “My family, especially my husband has been extremely supportive. He has always helped me explore and experiment with what interests me. Even my parents-in-law have always encouraged me. I am blessed to have such a loving family,” she says.