Making terracotta jewelry yourself

Discussion in 'North Eastern and Eastern States' started by diptisengupta, Feb 19, 2009.

  1. diptisengupta

    diptisengupta New IL'ite

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    Hi! Girls,
    I really have some very interesting news for everyone. Have any one of you tried of making terracotta jewelry yourself? I have never, nor did I know any such thing is possible. I became familiar with the term last week when I eavesdropped in bus. :thumbsup I was quite amazed to listen to the conversation, but sadly could not make much as I had to get down.
    Have you all heard any such thing ever? Please let me know so that I can clear up my ideas and try something.
    Love ,
    Dipti
     
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  2. bhaswatismiles

    bhaswatismiles New IL'ite

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    Yes! You've heard it right. You could indeed create hand-made jewelry! But first you need the things to make them. Terracotta beads, hooks, strings and maybe glue are some of these. But even more important is to have a design idea in your mind…you se, you have to sketch it down in a paper and string the beads according to the pattern. You could make necklaces and ear-tops in this manner... I’m not too sure about bangles…these have to be molded and etched -I don’t know if you’ve the skill to do it at home. But I wish you luck all the same in your new fun venture.
    Let us know how you progressed. Take care.
     
  3. vaiju

    vaiju New IL'ite

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    Hi! I used to think like you...that making terracotta jewelry must be hard and can't be done at home. But recently I attended a workshop (in Bangalore) and am happy to break the myth :)

    The making process itself is quiet easy. All you need is a design (for earring, chain or pendant or anything else) and processed clay.

    Processed clay is what they call "secondary clay" - mud that is gathered from pond and river beds, dried and then soaked in water for 2-3 days, filtered and sieved and then mixed with water again to the right consistency (something like Chapathi mix) that can be molded and shaped. I guess this is different from the clay that is used to make Ganesha idols -which is primary clay - just the mud that is taken from the river bed.

    So the first thing that you will need is to source this secondary clay - you got to be careful as different kind of clay have different texture, quality, etc - which might affect your final design outcome.

    The making process is very easy as I said - you take a little clay from the mix (which is always kept in a air-tight bag so that it does not dry), mould and shape as per your wish (for instance small round balls for beads, square/rectangle for pendants), carve the design, and then make a hole thru it with a sewing needle (so that you can string it once you bake it into a chain), and then you let it dry (again inside the air-tight zip lock bag). Once it dries for 2-3 days, you bake it at high temperatures inside a kiln (an equipment like an oven) for 8-16 hours for hardening the designed clay. Your basic jewely components are now ready - you will need to paint it, dry it and then string it (using black thread or plastic wire) and you are ready to wear it!

    Making a chain/necklace is easy - but for earrings/pendants, you will need to insert a hook into the clay while you are designing/while it is wet. You will insert a Nicrome wire into the wet piece (which can stand high temperature while baking) - you can get this wire from any electrical shop. Then once baked, you can use the ready-made jewelry/earring hooks that you get to join the clay pieces together to make the finished item.

    I guess this might sound complicated but is actually easy. The only problems or issues will be sourcing the clay and then finding a kiln or a potter who is ready to rent his kiln to bake the finished good.

    I am going to try posting detailed instruction in my blog - shall let you all know when I do that.

    Till then, have fun :)
     
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  4. kanthaeikon

    kanthaeikon Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Dipti and Vaiju
    Thanks for your details about the terracotta jewelry will definitely give a try.
    kantha
     
  5. praneetharaj

    praneetharaj New IL'ite

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    Can it be dried in sun
     
  6. laksrk

    laksrk New IL'ite

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    hi,

    can u send me the contact number of the teacher who can teach me how to make terracotta Jewelry ..i would really like to learn this..

    Thank you,
    Mahalekshmy
     
  7. PriyaDominic

    PriyaDominic Gold IL'ite

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    too interesting!!! it would be good if e could get clay from shops ;)
     
  8. varmaswathy

    varmaswathy Gold IL'ite

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    From where can we get processed clay?



     
  9. sphema

    sphema Bronze IL'ite

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    nice tutorial.
     
  10. shikhagoel

    shikhagoel New IL'ite

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    hi please send me the details from where u joined for workshop in bangalore
     

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