Images tiny birds sitting on trees, a beautiful hand of a woman holding vegetables, cart puller, lord Krishna in swing, etc made of mud were showcased in the exhibition ground here for sale. The eye-catching terracotta items were available in the annual expo of terracotta entitled Mrittika hosted by the State Handicrafts department.
In the grand terracotta exhibition, each product was different from one another and each piece had a distinctive quality of its own. The terracotta artists presented the sculptures, forms of clay and pots before the viewers that portray their imagination about things they see in their everyday surroundings. They also made paintings and tribal art on vases, some of which gave definite messages on social issues.
The exhibition was crowded with city terracotta item lovers, in which they could find some daily use stuffs and show pieces. Main attraction of the Mrittika was the diyas, as it is the celebration time of Diwali.
Terracotta artist Biswa Rana from Sambalpur said, “Sale of diyas have increased compared to last year, which was our beyond of expectation. According to the demands of customers, we have also made different varieties of diyas. The cost varies from Rs1 to Rs3, 500.”
“Though we have our own business in our own places, exhibition gives us an exposure and it is also a platform for learning from other terracotta artists.” said Rana and lambodhar Sahu, artists from Keonjhar.
We can exchange our ideas and technique of doing clay items through our participation in the exhibition, they said, thanking the organiser.
A total of 90 artists of terracotta from different parts of the State exhibited their works in 48 stalls. The organisers said the objective of the exhibition is to provide a platform to the rural craftsmen to sell the products directly and interact with urban customers to study their demands. The five-day exhibition, which concluded on October 22, was inaugurated by Textile and Handloom Minister Snehangini Chhuria.