Works by miniature artistes - everything from food to TV show memorabilia - are new hip collectibles to go online shopping for
In 2017, model and Instagram's favourite funny mother Chrissy Teigen got a tiny treat from her partner-in-crime and husband, singer John Legend, for her birthday. Singaporean clay artist Jocelyn Teo created 15 miniature replicas of dishes from Teigen's cookbook, Cravings, including chicken satay, fish tacos, kale salad and chicken noodle soup.
It all began in Japan though, in 2014 when a YouTube Channel, Miniature Space, started producing videos that showcased the makings of a variety of miniature meals and dishes prepared with tiny utensils. It was the start of fanatical trend of miniature food in Japan, which then catapulted into an international trend. But it's a rare artiste who can actually do justice to the fine art of miniature clay art. And in a time and society, where extra large is the order of the day, and almost always considered better, miniature art is a refreshing genre.
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Tapasya Prabhu. Pic/Ashish Raje
"I started in 2013, and, at that time, you couldn't even buy polymer clay in India anywhere. It's really that nascent here. I found one little shop in Crawford Market, and then in a year or two, I started buying it on the internet," says miniature artist Tapasya Prabhu, who goes by the name Lovely Little Charms on Instagram (@lovelylittlecharms). An architect by profession, Parabhu says being a miniature artiste combines her two passions - food and art. Wadala-based Prabhu uses polymer clay in different colours, and each work of art is around one-and-a-half inches.
Oorjitha Dogiparthi
As we look at a picture of the pav bhaji clay plate she has uploaded, we are stunned at how real it looks - the pav, the creamy bhaji with the butter melting on it, and the crispy onion next to it. "I spent three days, working around five hours a day, to make 10 of those plates. The most important thing for me is texture and colour, and I spend a lot of time on these aspects. If I am making bread, then I poke the clay with a pin, till it has the exact texture of bread. I used to do this as a child as well, but at that time, I'd use aata," says the 25-year-old. There are also avocado toasts, macaroons and ramen bowls, which you can add to your collection as keychains or magnets, at a cost upwards of Rs 800. Most polymer art is made of polymer clay, but can also include resin, glass, wood, metal and paper.
If Prabhu was playing with dough, paper artist Oorjitha Dogiparthi, used to make origami art as a three-year-old, thanks to her mother who loved the Japanese art form. "I am a science student and so is my mom, but origami was our main hobby. Then one day, I found out about miniature art and said why not try it out," says the 22-year-old. That was 2012, and today in 2018, Dogiparthi makes and sells all kinds of miniature clay art - the last one being a customised F.R.I.E.N.D.S set she made with a sofa, guitar, and pizza in it.
"I had to study a lot, and this was my diversion, as you really have to focus and then you forget everything else. One has to not just be patient, but also come up with ideas on how to make it look real," says the Chennai-based young lady who is known as @oorugami on social media, and sells her work for anywhere between Rs 200 to Rs 1,000.
Shilpa Mitha, though, started with paper quilling, during long recordings she attended as a sound engineer. "While bored, I'd try to make things out of paper. One day I wanted to make a burger and fries, and the paper just wasn't the right material. That's when my mom, a craft teacher, introduced me to clay," says the 31-year-old, known on Instagram as @suenosouvenir. She says that miniature art is still a less-practiced form in India is because we focus too much on engineering and medical streams. "There is no true engagement with the arts - no introduction to ceramics or clay. The only miniatures I saw growing up were the dolls we put during Navratri who are dressed up, like the one of the demon Kumbhakarna."
Shilpa Mitha
So when she found that there weren't many artistes turning Indian food into clay miniatures, she decided to take up the challenge. "It looks cute in the end, but the process is a lot of work. You have to think of colour, composition, shape... It takes me 17-hour days, sometimes two to three, to make few of these," says Mitha, a Chennai resident, who sells her work for Rs 500 upwards.
As Instagram buzzes with these artists, known for their precision and steady hands, it's insightful to know why they do it, and why are people lapping up the trend. Prabhu puts it into words, when she says, "I think people like them because of the scale difference and the amount of detail that goes in. Why we do it? Only a person who has immense patience and love to make the art piece reach some point of perfection can do this. Isn't that reason enough?"
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