Press Release
On the occasion of ‘World Tribal Day’, Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is organising a series of tribal art online sessions from 9 different districts of Rajasthan. The series began with an online session on ‘Molela Art’ by artist, Mr Jamna Lal Kumhar today. The session was organised by JKK on Zoom and broadcasted live on their Facebook page. It focused on the materials required for the art form, creating a terracotta plaque of a local deity, and various tools and techniques used in ‘Molela Art’.
Talking about the materials used in ‘Molela Art’, Mr Kumhar said that to prepare the base, clay is sieved for impurities then horse or donkey dung is mixed in small portions with the clay which is then mixed with water to prepare the dough. Artists then use a stamping tool to flatten the dough to 1.5-inch thickness. After this, a roller tool is used to roll out the dough and smoothen its surface. Holes are poked in the base to ensure that it does not crack when firing. After this, the cutting and designing tool is used to cut the dough and shape the base of the plaque. The terracotta dries to a grey colour which after firing turns terracotta red or brown.
The artist demonstrated making a ‘Durga’ idol in a hollow style. He took small amounts of clay to shape various features of the idol like eyes, nose, ears, weapons, jewellery, and crown and pressed them onto the base. He kept the inside of the idol hollow. He finished by wetting his fingers with water to smoothen the surface of the artwork. He said that the plaque will dry for 7 to 8 days after which it will be fired and then painted. Deities like ‘Devnarayan’, ‘Ganesha’, ‘Nag Devta’ and others are prepared in Molela art form. “These clay gods are installed in the temples of towns and villages by the tribal people”, he said.
Tomorrow, 10 August, will be the concluding day of the online session on ‘Molela Art’ by artist, Mr Jamna Lal Kumhar. The session will be organised by JKK on Zoom and broadcasted live on their Facebook page.