: Oriel 1

Over the weekend the painting of the Goddess began. Before arriving on Sunday morning, the artists had boiled up some glue made out of tamarind seeds and water. This sticky (and quite pleasant smelling)light brown mixture was then mixed with a little clay and painted over the figures to seal them and to make them white. Powdered natural paints were then mixed with water and applied to the goddess as a base coat, with another coat just being applied this morning (monday).

The pictures below show the stages followed.

Painting glue over a thin layer of cotton to seal to seal the form

Mixing the paint

The artist Purnendu Dey mixing the natural powdered pigments with water

The artist Dibyendu Dey painting the Goddess Durga

Ganesha

I have been away from the gallery for two days, and the Gods and Goddesses have been transformed! The artists are very near the end of this stage, and once the clay dries the painting and decorating begins!

All the figures now have hands and feet and are now looking all smooth (with the help of cotton on top of the clay) and more refined. Have a look at the photos below, and don't forget to come and visit the artists before the 4th April!

The artist Dibyendu Dey shaping the Goddess Durga, her lion and her foe, the buffalo demon

A close-up of the head of Kartikeya's peacock

The face begins to dry

Ganesha before being painted

The Goddess Durga's Lion

Below are a few images which show you the process of making hands fit for a goddess!

Rolling the clay to make fingers

The clay rolled to form fingers and palms

Placing the fingers on the Goddess Durga's hands

The image of the Goddess Durga drying before being painted

Ganesha's mouse, perhaps a symbol of his keen, quick intelligence

Each of the figures is accompanied by an animal, and are sometimes even seen riding around on them! In our images being created in Oriel 1, Kartikeya is sitting on a peacock, and Durga has one foot on a lion, the other figures have small animals next to them: Sarasvati has her swan, Lakshmi an owl, and Ganesha a little mouse.

There are many different stories behind the symbolism of the mouse, some say that the mouse represents wisdom or the intellect as, owing to its size, it is able to enter places that no one else can and it also teaches us to remain alert. I have also read that the fire god Agni was once terrified of Shiva's rage and turned into a mouse so he could hide underground! Do you know of any other stories behind the mouse or any of the other animals? Please let me know!

Using a heat lamp to dry the clay

Securing the neck of Sarasvati's swan to the body with string as the clay dries

All the figures now have faces! Sarasvati has her swan, and Kartikeya's peacock is also taking shape.