Fun with clay

Unique hobbies

Shubha Raghavan worked as a software professional for nine years before she quit to pursue her passion for making all kinds of handicraft items. Her job left her  with very little time for her hobby. After dedicating a few years to her passion, the young lady says she has never felt more content. 

Shubha picked up her love for art from her mother. She recollects that she would watch her mother, aunt and sister work with all kinds of materials to create artefacts. “My mother was very fond of making artificial flowers and she would use the most simple things lying around the house to make them. She would transform cloth and paper  into flowers of all shapes and sizes,” explains Shubha.

Shubha began working with paper but quickly moved on to working with clay. She got herself enrolled in a course on how to work with clay and use it to make different kinds of decorative items. She says that it took her a while to get used to working with it but once she did, she began enjoying the process. “I completed a basic course in pottery. I focussed on creating functional objects such as pen stands, coasters, mugs, bowls, trays and candle stands,” she explains.

She concedes that her hobby is a time-consuming affair. “I don’t work with readymade moulds but with my hands to create each object. The biggest challenge is to get the desired shape and sometimes, I spend a lot of time just to get it right. I use different kinds of small objects to carve on clay just to give it a different twist,” she says.

There’s a definite process that goes into making every piece look attractive. “After making the product by hand, you have to allow it to cool and then fire it before glazing to give it a neat finish. I usually never leave any piece looking plain but make carvings on it. I use small things like buttons or beads to make imprints on the finished product,” she says.

Shubha draws her inspiration to create what she likes to call ‘decorative functional items’ from what she sees around her. She also reads blogs of other enthusiastic people who work with clay and sometimes follows people on Instagram as well. “The challenge is always to create something different. It’s easy to make something that other people have made but it’s hard to carve a niche for yourself,” she expresses.

Shubha sets apart some time everyday for her hobby. Has she ever been disappointed? “Yes, I‘ve had my bad days but the best part of working with clay is that you can destroy what hasn’t come out well and work on it again. Clay doesn’t go waste. You also don’t develop an attachment to what you make and learn how to use your resources well,” she adds.  

Working with a medium such as clay has taught her to appreciate and value the uniqueness in other people’s work. “This hobby has also taught me to stay positive and be creative all the time,” she says.


(Shubha can be reached on [e-mail])