Two foreigners learn clay model-making at Raghurajpur crafts village in Puri district.

Fiona Harmse from Scotland is cherishing every moment of her interactions with traditional artists of Raghurajpur.

From pattachitra to cow-dung toys, the Scottish artist is learning various age-old art and crafts of Odisha and thrilled at the thought of putting them to use in her works in future.

Like Fiona, four other artists from various parts of the globe are staying at the crafts village to learn the intricacies of various art forms as part of the ongoing Raghurajpur International Art/Culture Exchange programme (RIA/CE).

The art forms taught here include pattachitra, palm leaf painting, traditional stone-carving, dhokra casting as well as cow-dung toy-making - where local artisans are the resource persons for each of the workshops. The participating artists, apart from Fiona, are Cory Glasgo from the US, Mariana Paquin from France, Egle Grunfeld from Israel and Marilyn Vileger from Switzerland.

"The artists of the village create unbelievable work. It is a matter of great pride to learn from such committed artists, who have loved and nourished their passion and profession. I am enjoying every moment of the programme," said Marilyn.

Israeli artist Egle loves the widely available dried coconuts, which she is collecting to create an installation.

Through the programme, the hosts intend to highlight art forms that are on the verge of dying such as cow-dung toys made by 78-year-old Sashimani Maharana.

"She is the only artist who is an expert in this craft form. Sadly, she does not have any successors. But with this art residency, her work will get highlighted in various countries," said Kshitish Das, project director of RIA/CE.

The art residency programme is in its sixth year and being conducted in two sessions from last year due to construction activities at the crafts village. The present session began from January 10 and will continue till February 14. After the workshop, the works created by the artists will be showcased at an exhibition in the Odisha Modern Art Gallery, Bhubaneswar.

Veteran artists of Raghurajpur also enjoy training the guests.

"Many artists from abroad have learnt our art forms through this programme. We love their passion and interest for traditional art forms," said Jaykrishna Das, a stone artist and president of Raghurajpur village community.

Text by Namita Panda
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