Category: Uncategorized

Kerala Mural Painting is one of the most popular forms of classical South Indian painting. It is the native art form of Kerala. The dense composition, surface richness and vibrant colors of Indian Kerala Mural Paintings distinguish them from the other types of paintings. The relief work gives them a three dimensional effect. Kerala Mural Painting of India originated mostly dating back between the 9th to 12th centuries CE when this form of art enjoyed Royal patronage..

The masterpieces of Kerala mural art include: the Shiva Temple in Ettumanoor, the Ramayana murals of Mattancherry Palace and Vadakkumnatha kshetram. The “Gajendra Moksham” mural painting in the Krishnapuram Palace near Kayamkulam, the Anantha Shayanam mural painting in the Pallikurup Mahavishnu Temple, Mannarkkad Palakkad District and the mural paintings in the sanctom of Padmanabha temple at Thiruvananthapuram are very famous.Some of the oldest, largest, and best executed murals in Kerala are to be found in the churches at Cheppad, Alappuzha (dozens of panels on the three walls of the Madhbaha depicting scenes from OT and NT),Paliekkara, Thiruvalla ( a dozen panels, scenes from NT), Angamaly(esp. huge murals “Hell”, and “Last Judgement”), and Akapparambu.

Making of Kerala Mural Painting 

Here is how a Mural Painting is done on Canvas.

1. After the Mural Painting is conceptualised and drawn out with pencil on canvas, it is prepared with shades of yellow.

2. The first set of colours are filled in a certain prescribed order.

3. The darker shades are filled last and that completes the Mural painting.

A Mural Painting has a lot of visualisation, theory, vastu principles and rules that are learnt over years by the artist. There are proportions that human body and face is to follow, and rules for the skin colours for various mythological characters. An artist does innovations within these traditional boundaries, that gives a unique and mesmerising feel to Kerala Mural Paintings.

Handmade jewelry has been all the rage lately. The personal attention and love that makers and artisans infuse into their work is evident in the masterpieces that they create. What most people don’t understand is why handmade jewelry is more of an investment than its mass produced counterparts. There are many reasons why handmade jewelry is more of an investment than pieces that are mass produced, so I thought I would break it down for you!

1. No Mass Production Machinery Involved: By definition, handmade jewelry is literally just that, made by the “hands” of the artisan or maker.  The pieces are soldered, sawed, carved and shaped without the use of mass produced manufacturing machinery. A machine can crank out hundreds of units per hour while an individual can only make a finite quantity or fraction of the number of pieces in the same amount of time.

2. The Value of Time: As previously mentioned, since there are no machines involved, handmade jewelry takes an incredible amount of time to produce just a single piece. As a designer myself, I know I often spend hours designing a single piece of jewelry for a client. The time to make the piece often can take weeks.

3. The Maker’s Process: The maker has a very intimate relationship with each piece or design they create. The design process is key to the value that is inherent in each piece. Emilie Shapiro talks about her process and says, “While creating jewelry, there is a very intimate relationship with my work. I know every curve and line (is) put there with intention. As a maker your energy goes into the piece.”

4. Materials: In almost every case, the value of the materials involved in a handmade piece are of stellar quality. It’s difficult to regulate or even know exactly what alloys are used in mass produced factories where dirty metals are blended together to create costume pieces. Handmade materials are generally sourced from highly reputable suppliers.

5. Sustainability: Jewelry Makers are often dedicated to sustainability and ethically sourced materials. By nature, being ethical can be much more costly than taking the easy route and purchasing from the refiner or dealer with low prices and shady sourcing. Once again, Emilie Shapiro always uses the highest quality materials sourced from suppliers who share her ethos about sustainability whenever possible. Smaller scale production is almost always higher quality.

6. Quality: Smaller scale production is almost always higher quality because the ability to track and control the process from start to finish is inherent in the making process. Makers and artisans are extremely proud of the work they produce. They aren’t going to let something of inferior quality leave their studio with their name on it.

7. Locally Made with Love: There is a lot of buzz with “buying local” these days. Reducing your carbon footprint and supporting local artisans is good for the environment and good for everyone. Artisans and makers infuse love and energy into each piece of work. There is HUGE value in supporting local from a sustainability and energetic standpoint. Along with the extra value inherent in handmade jewelry you are also buying a truly one-of-a-kind product. Even if the handmade piece is part of an edition – no maker creates two pieces that are exactly identical. You are the only person with that specific piece of jewelry which says a lot.