Bouquets of roses, tulips, orchids, and plumeria; baskets with a bunch of hydrangea knotted on the top, hair-clips with hibiscus sticking out of them... clay artist Saranya V. Kumar’s house is like the Madame Tussauds for flowers, except they are made of a lesser-known medium called ‘Deco clay’.
From inside a six-feet-tall glass showcase, specifically bought for displaying her finished clay products, Saranya takes out a bouquet of white and yellow flowers — a recent order from one of her friends — and asks us to feel the velvety petals. “Using this clay, which is predominantly made of papier mache, you can make flowers closest to how they are in real life. Without involving any tools or fixtures, it can bring to life Nature’s hues and textures. This can’t be done with any other type — polymer, luna or even Thai clay,” she says.
As it turns out, Deco clay can only be ordered from the Deco Clay Craft Academy, which has two offices — one in Japan and the other in Hawaii, U.S. “Also, it can be ordered by only those who have completed the Instructor-level course,” she says. Saranya completed hers in April, from a trainer in Singapore. The five-level certification course includes ‘Flower course 1 and 2’ (where you learn the basics of making flowers), and advanced levels ‘Flower course 3, Tropical course 1 and 2’ (where you learn to make flower arrangements). “Usually, people take months, even years to complete the course, but then she took just a month. Saranya is the youngest from India to have completed the course, and also one among the only three Indians who have taken up the course from the Academy,” says her husband, Vivek Nair.
Just a month ago, Saranya and her husband decided to take her passion to the next level. They brainstormed and came up with the brand name Levoca, “which although doesn’t mean anything specifically, is a concoction of several words from Latin, Spanish and so on,” they say.
The baby brand takes up around eight to 10 orders a month — which currently comes from friends and family. “Most of them are not aware of this material, so we take time to tell them about the clay first.
Our only instructions to them while handling our products are: keep away from water and sunlight,” she says.
We are in her small studio, which includes a wardrobe that has been converted into a craft storage space, a wall chart with a scribble of ideas, and a work desk with boxes of clay, colours, stationery, moulds, drying tray, and unfinished petals and leaves that will soon be part of a bouquet.
She pinches out a portion from a blob of pink clay, and makes around 15 balls from it. She then picks each one up, and squashes it on her palm with her thumb, and in a matter of seconds, they are shaped into neat, thin petals.
In less than 30 minutes, a full-bloom rose is ready. “Usually, a full arrangement takes two to three hours, as it requires 450 petals, a bunch of stems, leaves and so on. Also, since this is an air-dry clay, I need to wait after each step to continue with the next — especially when it comes to gluing the stems and leaves,” she says. A recent work, which was quite an effort, is a traditional Nirapara (coconut flower inside a vessel of rice that is part of the stage set up in Kerala weddings). Each stem has 250 cones pinned on it, and there are 25 such stems.
“It is an exhaustive task, but this is my true calling,” says Saranya, who is an engineer. She worked with an IT firm for nine months, before quitting to try her hand at jewellery making, quilling, and so on. “I didn’t stick to any until I came upon this art while randomly browsing the Net,” she says.
“Recently, when we went to Yercaud, she spent most of the time clicking photos of flowers. Even during our bike rides, she would hop off to photograph a wild flower,” says Vivek.
“In a few days, he would find the streetside flower in his bedroom,” adds Saranya.
To take up classes, or for details about the products, e-mail levocacrafts@gmail.com or call 70458 18797.
