What do you get when you put together the idea of murals, perhaps as those found in the ancient caves or on the walls of churches, and relief sculptures? That’s the concept behind Bharat Rawal’s 3D murals.
“Traditional reliefs were also done in terra cotta, clay or mud — these were the materials which were used for 3D art,” says Bharat. “I tried combining both, murals on walls as well as relief sculptures to develop a form of art what I named as 3D murals.”
The key to these murals is “resin clay”, a type of clay developed by Bharat which is used to make his murals.
“It is not possible to work on canvas with 3D media whether it is stone or glass or clay for work in relief. Using clay alone is not feasible because it cannot hold the weight. That’s why I selected wood as one of the mediums on which this special type of clay is used.”
This clay withstands weather changes, is durable or non-breakable and does not peel off the board and does not need to be fired like terracotta. “I can work with any subject using this material. And the whole process, including the designing, moulding and painting is done by hand.”
And this is what he has taught in more than 90 workshops, reaching out to more than 9,000 students across the country. The curriculum of the workshop sounds quite complicated. The invite claims students will be taught how to make 3D murals in all forms such as ceramic murals, siporex murals, glass murals, mix media murals, mix media furniture, cold enamelled metal murals, multi layered landscape murals or neon murals.
And students will be able to grasp a project, including a mixed media project with 3D ceramic, 3D siporex, 3D glass, 3D texture and 3D metal art, Bharat says, in less than a week. He does not charge for teaching, only for the materials and overheads.
“First I teach them how to draw a proportionate drawing, based on the subject they choose to work with. Then I teach them how 2D images are transformed into 3D and I gradually come to the detailing, with features. So we cover layer by layer and they also learn clay modelling, which comes under the process of ceramic mural making. The whole procedure from designing to clay modelling painting and the final glazing takes four to five days.”
Going to a traditional art school will take up at least five years and learning a specialized technique like this is not easy simply because of the lack of expertise in the field, says Bharat.
“This is why I travel all over India to share the best of what I have to offer. Mural art is easily understood by everyone, it is quite simple. The workshop is a good idea for those who want to decorate their homes by themselves and I train them in different media and people are satisfied. Decoration is not a dying art,” explains Bharat.
“Many of my students, over 3,500 of them have taken it up as a profession, working as a mural artist or designer. Anybody can learn how to do this, whether he is a doctor, an engineer, a software professional or a tea stall owner. The only prerequisite is a passion for art.”
The 3D mural art workshop will continue and is open to students until August 31. For details, contact Nikita at 9886170724 or visit >www.bharatrawal.com .
