“I have a fascination for pencils, I have collected some 800 of them so far,” says Tiruvallur artist Kailash Babu, currently in Chennai to hold a pencil carving workshop. Having just finished shopping for art supplies, he continues, “Wherever I go, I end up buying pencils.”
Creating miniature sculptures out of the leads of pencils is a niche he has developed over the years. The 25-year-old has created sculptures of farmers, birds, still life, and letters, on pencil leads with diameters ranging from 6 mm to as small as 0.7mm — his smallest, a chair, was on a mechanical pencil lead. He also makes miniatures out of graphite bars, clay, polymers, and even shapes letters out of rice.
However, this wasn’t always what he set out to do; Kailash had planned to be a macro photographer. “Maybe even wildlife photography,” he adds, “When I was 18, I was researching macro photography, and stumbled upon the works of Brazilian artist Dalton Ghetti. He was formerly a carpenter, who eventually got into pencil carvings.” Dalton left a big mark on Kailash’s creative bent of mind. Though he dropped pursuing photography, his interest in all things macro remained alive and well.
“I started experimenting with pencil carving using pocket knives, shaving blades… I’d even take out blades from sharpeners,” he says. “I was initially reluctant to sell my art. I didn’t like parting with my works. But after four years of BTech, I still had two arrears. Then I decided I might as well pursue art full time.” Today, he has 185 sculptures in pencil leads alone.
- Kailash first sketches the design on to paper, then transfers into a 3D model on clay. He then works on a cylindrical wooden bar, before finally working on the pencil lead.
- He prefers using Jumbo pencils for work that needs more detailing. “Germany makes some of the best ones,” he says.
His latest work — a series of carvings based on the theme of sexual harassment and women safety — will be displayed next month at Lalit Kala Akademi. He has also made a carving of a bloodied sanitary napkin, in order to raise awareness about menstruation among men.
It’s on his Instagram account that Kailash gets most of his orders. But along with that, “I also get a lot of DM requests to teach this craft,” he says, explaining why he started conducting workshops. In his upcoming Chennai workshop, he will be teaching lettering, and the basics of making sculptures. “When you work on letters, you get to practise all sorts of curves that will be useful in making sculptures,” he says.
But the most important skill of all is patience, he says. “It’s true of any art. There have been times I have had to make the same miniature 16 times in a row, before I got it right. You can finish the whole thing, but it will get messed up or break when you are putting the finishing touches,” he says. “You have to keep going despite repeated failures. It’s a useful life lesson as well!”
The workshop will be held at Studio Pepperfry, in Phoenix MarketCity, Velachery, on March 31, from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm. Call 8190808991, or follow Kailash @bk_pencil_sculptures_
