I still like creating handicraft
stuff, really I do. Well that’s what I would do all day if I am not occupied
with listening to the music, or flipping through pages of a book or hang around
social media or FB, twitter, blogging, movies, food, friends. Can’t help
it. Too many distractions or should I
say ‘too many interest’?
Well, last week I was with some
friends in Tenerife and my friend suggested I make an idol of Ganesha for her.
In India, during Ganpati season, all the stores are full of idols but in places
out of India, it is difficult to find unless you visit an art store.
I have silicon mold to begin with,
all I needed was the rest of the art materials.
I have an artist friend who also owns
a hobby store, so it was not difficult to find the materials required to make
the idol. Many years ago I had learnt to make clay by binding fevicol glue with
corn flour (which is more eco-friendly) but my friend suggested I use chalk
powder.
First step was to mix chalk powder
with water and pour it into the mold. Let it set for 30 minutes and then remove
it.
The idol was ready and now it has to
be kept for drying for at least a week.
The idol has to be scraped and
polished using sand paper, to give it a smooth finish, a special attention to
be given to the base so that it is able to stand. I stuck the base to a
rectangular cardboard and stuck few beans to give it a rough look.
After one week, the idol is coated
with base solution (kind of rubber solution) that will prevent it from
absorbing too much paint.
I selected white paint for the idol
because it gives an ivory look.
A final coat of gold paint to
highlight the jewelry on the idol.
It was important to mount it on a
stand. I bought empty boxes, stuffed them with newspaper and covered it with
gold paper.
And finally a decorative lace on the
border did the trick.
