BEING AWESOME BY YOURSELF: DIY TUTORIAL- KALI MAATHA

Here is my first DIY tutorial about airdry clay dolls.

I really don't want to give you all a big shopping list and steps listed out as one,two ..

Lets make the DIY creative rather making it as a blind instruction and so I hopefully believe that at the end of the article I would have made your creative zest boosted up!!

BASIC MATERIALS

First and foremost grab on some airdry clay if you already have one or you can find it in the stores who sell art/craft supplies or just reserve it online.

This is the airdry clay I had been using for years together whenever am inclined to create a doll.

This costed Rs.150 and the usage depends on the size of the dolls. One can make around three or four smaller dolls or two bigger ones comfortably.

Go on a scavenger hunt and pick out some toothpicks,needles,tissues and anything you feel handy for your project.

CONCEPT

When I had the thought of making an air dry clay doll of Goddess Kali , abstract shapes flashed onto my inner mind.

So,I tried experimenting with shapes and combining them to characterize Maa Kali.

You can find the illustration below explaining the form of the concept.

THINKING HAT TASK

What is your favourite character or anything that you longed to make it yourself ?

Is it the glossy superhero doll that you wanted to buy but walked away with a sad face!

Is it the Rapunzel doll you so badly wanted to have one for yourself!!

Or wondering to gift your loved ones something special!!

GO AHEAD!!NOTHING CAN STOP YOU!

HANDY TIP 1: While working on the airdry clay eventhough you dont need any other glue to stick the parts,it depends on the complexity of your doll.

You can use toothpicks or pins to secure head onto the body and use one drop of Feviquick/Flexiquick/Fevicol or anything that sticks firm onto the surface that has to be joined.
If your airdry clay has dried out,dont panic!! Get a bowl of water and put the clay inside it for a night or a full day.
For working on finer details you can use anything that your comfortable with; such as toothpicks,bell pins,safety pins or any sharp tools etc

After the Kali maa had dried out completely, I added some colours to her avatar.

Bright primary colours with a tinge of gold made her body glow.

I abstracted the lion completely with yellow and blue combo!

As kali maa's unique identity is her face and the blue shaded fierce body I painted them as such.

THOUGHTFUL TIP 1 :Whatever geometrical avatar you had chosen to work on, remember to incorporate the elements properly without distorting the cultural/social identity of the selected theme.

For eg, Kali maa need not necessarily be slender and fierce, so I abstracted her body and face but the elements like lion,objects in her hands,colour of the skin etc should not be forgotten.

HANDY TIP 2: While working on details like hair its better to paint them separately and attach them later because if u paint it aftermath it creates a mess onto the other areas.

You also get coloured air dry clay wherein you can mix them or use them directly without painting.

Now my Kali maa seems to be ready shining at her best!!!

I used toothpick to work on the eyes and mouth but as mentioned earlier you can use anything that you are comfortable and confident on working with !

I added some stones to decorate her dress and throne which adds more bliss to it.