Classic art from ceramic

Sapna Mahesh’s creativity finds expression and form in her various hobbies. She has given all the items she has made till date an arty twist. Be it paintings or even figurines of wood, Sapna has done them all. Her latest passion, however, is ceramic art and craft.

She was interested in ceramic art and went to classes before she began experimenting with its forms, shapes and sizes. Now, Sapna experiments with ceramic art on just about anything she stumbles upon like old discarded tins, bottles and jars.

She then transforms them into something brand new. She says, “I never throw anything and instead, try to add new meaning to the old and existing things around the house. Even bottle caps are put to good use,” she tells Metrolife as she proudly displays her latest work.

Ceramic art surely requires a lot of time and Sapna says she steals time in between her household chores. She thanks her supportive family  members, who leave her undisturbed when she is at her ‘workstation’.

Looking around Sapna’s house, one can see a lot of attractive decorative items. There is a humungous vase with different kinds of fruits, falling from it. Sapna took more than two months to create it.

“I first painted the vase and then made small fruit moulds separately and fixed them on the vase. I let it dry and later, painted it with acrylic colours and slapped a coat of varnish for that extra shine,” explains Sapna. She also created a nameplate for her brother’s new home.

“The plate has the names of all the people living in the house. Even here, I made separate moulds and stuck them together. I wanted to try out something innovative for my brother and that’s exactly what I ended up doing,” shares Sapna. Soon, Sapna had friends asking her to make things for them, be it nameplates or decorative items. “In fact, the best compliment I received was from a friend who said that she would keep one corner of her house free for my work. It is encouraging that people want to have my work in their homes,” notes Sapna.

Sapna has been gifting her work to family members on occasions. She also takes the trouble to make something special to give away during weddings. “It’s always a pleasure to gift someone what you have moulded and created. I don’t want to get repetitive with my designs. So there’s a lot of thought that goes into making each piece look different,” she says. Things around Sapna, perhaps, even a picture she sees somewhere, could trigger an idea in her. “I see something and sometimes instead of replicating the same, I try and give my own twist to it. It is definitely a time-consuming process but at the end of it, I feel it’s worth the time and effort,” she adds.

Sapna works at her pace because her work is largely based on her mood. “I don’t have a fixed time and work as and when an idea strikes me. When I do get to work, I don’t stir out until it is at least half finished,” she says.

Sapna’s biggest critic is her 19-year-old daughter. “My best critic is my daughter. I first show her my work and then make a few changes based on her suggestion. It has been a rewarding experience so far,” she sums up.