Apparatus:
Natural Clay
- Mould for the idol (Front and Back).
- Talcum Powder/Ash/Chalk Powder
- A Knife
The Process:
The Natural Clay is mixed with water to form Dough, such that water constitutes only 40% of the entire homogeneous mixture.
- Now, Take the required mould of POP, and sprinkle its inner surface with Talcum powder/Ash/Chalk powder, for the purpose of lubrication.
- Fill the front mould with the Clay Dough, simultaneously applying uniform pressure at all points. This ensures Precision in the features of the idol.
- Repeat the above step for the Back Mould as well.
- Now, put the two moulds together and fill any visible void with the clay.
- Press the two Moulds against each for a small amount of time. Be Gentle in doing so, as Excess pressure can weaken the strength of the idol.
- Now, remove the top Mould CAREFULLY and any excess Clay visible to you with a knife.
- Your Eco Friendly Ganesha is now READY.
NOTE:
- The Idol takes at least a day or two to dry, depending on its size.
- The Natural Clay used here is easily available in any POTTERS COLONY.
PAINTING YOUR GANESHA:
Make Sure you have Brushes of all sizes. You can use the ones, we normally use on our canvas.
- (Smaller the idol, Finer should be the brush.)
Colors and their ingredients:
China Clay(diluted) –> used as a primer coat.
Natural Blue–> Extracted from Indigo Plant/Kalappa.
Natural Yellow–> Extracted from Turmeric/Marigold(Chand huva).
Orange/Red–>Extracted from Anato seeds / Marigold (Chand huva) (Orange)./Brick Powder(Red).
Gum Arabic–> used as a BINDER.
Green–>Extracted from Thumbe Soppu.
Brown–> Extracted form Katha.
Black–> Extracted from Charcoal.
Violet–>Extracted from Jamoon.
Gold–>Extracted from Mica bearing Clay(Powder form)
Making The Paint:
- 1. If Ingredients are:
a) Plants/Flowers/Seeds:
Then squish it in a using a small stone,so that it becomes a paste.
b) Powders:
These can be used as it is, but can be ground finer if needed.
Take the Paste/Powder in a vessel and boil it till it gives out the color.
NOTE:
- Before using the colors, mix some GUM(used for paper) with it. The addition of gum helps the paint to adhere to the idol.
- Creating Shades:
Different Shades of the same color can created by adding intuitive amount of CHINA CLAY(diluted) to it.
CHINA CLAY can also be used to make the dilute paint, a little more concentrated (thicker).
EXAMPLES:
Katha + LIME(Calcium Compound) results in Dark Brown.
Yellow + China clay results in SKIN color.
Further Reading
Visit http://parisaraganapati.net/ for more details
You can also read How to make Ganesha at home
