A terracotta panel designed by Tapan Saha.

Can clay oust gold and silver in jewellery? Maybe not. But with clay having a long history in Bengal, it may be time for a revival, believes terracotta artist Tapan Saha.

Yet it was anger that made the Bandel-based Saha aware of his passion for clay and its possibilities as an artistic medium. With a diploma in museology from Calcutta University, Saha was toying with the idea of making visual art his career when he happened to see this woman sitting on a pavement hastily blow-drying and painting the surface of clay bangles in Gariahat. Saha was infuriated because untreated and wet clay pieces (even those painted to look fired) can only break and crumble.

“These were sending out wrong signals of terracotta as something meant for crude, heavy and fragile items. I was determined to prove them wrong,” recalls Saha. He approached a sculptor friend for a lump of clay, only to be laughed at.

“Which only made me more determined. I thought that because I had studied ancient pottery it would be easy. What I realised soon enough was that I knew nothing. I had to start from the beginning and continue research and experimentation over several years,” he explains.

Saha travelled across the country, interacting with traditional craftsmen and experimenting with different kinds of clay and different firing techniques. “There were so many things I didn’t know, like the fact that the clay of different regions and depths respond differently, changing colour when fired. And these colours could be regulated, not by any hi-tech furnace, but in ordinary clay ovens that allow one to control the heat and smoke,” says Saha.

He also learnt that by removing salt and pollutants from the soil, items could be made more durable. “Since there is a lot of salt in the Gangetic valley clay, I set up an elaborate process of removing solid particles in my workshop,” he adds.

La Lavena, Saha’s studio in Bandel, has nine full-time workers. Clay, usually from a depth of 200 ft or more, comes from professional well-makers in Rajasthan, Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. The lumps are dried in the sun and beaten to dust which is then sifted for particles.

The dust is then dissolved in large jars of water and kept aside for 72-80 hours, by which time it forms a soft deposit at the bottom. The salts and other pollutants dissolved in the water are siphoned out and the water-clay is strained once more to remove particles. The processed clay is spread out on old cloth and blotting paper to remove water. The clay is now ready to be shaped by hand and with small chisels. “Finest nickrome wire and hooks are used”.

The items are then dried in the sun and fired. After six hours of cooling, they are polished and glazed by hand. Each piece is unique, even if the same patterns are followed, because they are all handcrafted.

According to Saha, there is a huge demand for alternative jewellery. “People are rediscovering the beauty of clay and opting for it. Even jewellers like A. Sirkar have used my terracotta beads in combination with gold.” Among La Lavena clients are Rani Mukerji, Rituparna Sengupta, Roopa Ganguly, Soumitra Chatterjee, Goutam Ghose and Indrani Sen. La Lavena is also one of the latest contributors to the Central Cottage Industries emporiums in Delhi, Bangalore and Calcutta.

Clay care

Saha takes special care so that the pieces don’t break even with daily wear. La Lavena can repair or replace pieces if needed. The colours are that of fired earth. Clays from different regions and depths are inlayed into one another and fired together to create attractive combinations of light yellow, brown, black, white, blue, grey, red and green.

Making the clay as light as possible has become an obsession with Saha. A 42-inch intricate necklace, for instance, weighs less than 11g.

He also makes rings and kurta buttons for men. Embroidered or hand-painted saris and dresses are embellished with specially designed terracotta beads that can withstand home wash.

“Rani Mukerji, who once bought many of my items from a Mumbai show, was particularly fond of one such dress with terracotta beads,” says Saha.

Right now, Saha is planning several sets of terracotta-embellished furniture for Cottage Industries. And he hopes to master the skill of glazed pottery, the secrets of which lie with a handful of traditional folk craftsmen in various parts of India.

Saha’s works are available at Central Cottage Industries emporia. His latest collection was shown at Master’s Creation, Delhi and Crafts Council of India, Chennai, this December.

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