Thomas Jacob’s micro art is winning hearts in social media

The former engineer fashions eye-catching works out of graphite in pencils

Thomas Jacob’s micro art in graphite pays homage to the fishermen who rescued many trapped in flooded buildings in Kerala

Carving ink-stained chalks into figurines and shapes was a past time for Thomas Jacob. Over the years, the school student who used to carve the chalks into eye-catching works found that what he enjoyed the most was micro art. From chalks, he moved on to pencils and painstakingly chiselled the soft graphite into pieces of art. Without depending on magnifying lens or glasses, Thomas is adept at crafting tiny everyday objects into works of art, including painting on grains.

Thomas Jacob’s micro art in graphite pays homage to the fishermen who rescued many trapped in flooded buildings in Kerala

“I always used to draw and sculpt during my school days in Raipur and Indore. With a compass, I used to chisel chalk bits into figurines. My artistic pursuits took a back seat when I was in college and during the initial years of my career. Three years ago, I found that graphite was ideal for micro art and began working in that medium. I have more than 25 years of experience in this kind of work,” he explains.

Thomas Jacob’s micro art in graphite depicts the rescue of a pregnant woman from a flooded building

Recently, two of the self-taught artist’s works, both of which pay tribute to heroes of rescue operations during the floods that ravaged many parts of Kerala, have been winning hearts on social media.

Thomas Jacob

One of the works, 5 mm wide and 45 mm long, pays homage to naval pilot Commodore Vijay Varma’s rescue of a pregnant Sajitha Jabil trapped in a flooded building while the other, which is 5 mm high and 35 mm long, is an ode to the fishermen who rescued thousands of people.

A sculpture of Madhu, a tribal man who was lynched by a mob

“While reading about their work, I was inspired to come up with the pieces. Earlier, I had done a work, again in graphite, which was inspired by the rescue mission in Thailand that saved children trapped in a flooded cave,” says Kochi-based Thomas.

Thomas Jacob’s micro art in graphite symbolises the rescue of children trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand

The 35-year engineer and business analyst quit his job last December to follow his passion and become a full-time artist. Since then, he has been busy like never before as a teacher of art and also as a practising artist. “I teach 60 students drawing and clay modelling. Once, their hands become steady, perhaps some of them might want to learn micro art. I also do portraits and commissioned pieces in different media,” says Thomas over phone. He has just finished a commissioned wall art at a café in Kochi.

Thomas Jacob does cake art on the theme of the film Thor

Recently, Thomas’ nimble fingers have also begun sculpting cakes for themed pieces of culinary art. He says it began when he contacted a friend of his, a home baker, to make a theme cake on Thor for his eight-year-old son, Ryan. “She requested me to help her with the making and now I do quite a few three dimensional cakes for her,” says the father of three.