Terracotta unlimited

Clay artist Sunil Babu gives a contemporary twist to terracotta with his range of kitchen utensils and décor items

Sunil Babu with some of his products.

Think clay utensils and most of us would probably recall mom’s favourite meen chatty or that old kuja full of ice-cold water in the ancestral home. But, teapots, cups and saucers, plates, storage jars, serving dishes, bowls, puttu kudams , frying pans…in clay? ‘Clay artist’ Sunil Babu is here in the city exhibiting his range of “contemporary terracotta” products that celebrate the modern even as it celebrate the traditional. He retails the products under the label Clay Arts.

“You can make just about anything you want with clay; it’s that malleable a material. For those not in the know, terracotta is simply fired clay. We can make tiles, folder holders, newspaper stands, wall hangings, figurines and sculptures, mural-inspired art work, garden and home décor items, sculptures, and vessels to set curd, pans to make omelette, pans to make chatti pathiri, to name a few. Only our imagination limits us in experimenting with clay, really,” says Sunil as he points out each of the items on display at the exhibition.

A native of Nilambur, Sunil belongs to a family of traditional potters. He started “branching out” with new products some five years ago.

“Once upon a time, there used to be some 150 families in Nilambur in the pottery business. Now, there are only about 15 left. For one, youngsters are not too interested in the trade. Also, clay itself has become quite difficult to source and is expensive, to boot, nowadays upwards of Rs. 22,000 for a load. Then there is also the difficulties and costs involved in sourcing

chakiri (unprocessed coconut fibre) and firewood to bake the clay. One has to think and change with the times to keep the craft alive,” says Sunil.

The clay used for his products is sourced locally from paddy fields, which is refined by passing it through meshes, and each item is then hand-made in his kiln at home. “We don’t use oxides for colouring the products, only natural products such as burnt chaff, red sand, and so on,” he adds.

Sunil also makes ‘pot composts’ on order for source-level processing of bio-degradable kitchen waste. “All that people have to do is put the day’s kitchen waste, sans plastic, into the pot and layer the top with some cow dung or jaggery syrup. Close the lid and allow it to ferment. Repeat the process for 30 days and you will get fantastic bio-fertilizer for your garden. In addition, the pots have taps attached from which you can collect slurry from the waste, which is also a good fertilizer. Each set comes with two pots,” he explains.

Clay Arts’ exhibition and sale is on till October 6 at Orthodox Students’ Centre, opposite AKG Centre, Palayam . The prices range between Rs. 80 and Rs. 750, with most of the pots and pans coming in at around Rs.300. Contact: 9447518053.