From creating terracotta jewellery for personal use, Supraja and her sister are now teaching the art to others. Vipasha Sinha meets the duo

Terracotta jewellery has found a special place in every woman’s life. It is eco-friendly, colourful and goes with almost everything. Cashing in on the trend are Terracotta sisters who organise regular workshops in T. Nagar.

Supraja P. Sasikumar and Saranya Damodaran learnt the art of terracotta jewellery-making so that they could make their own jewels. Eventually, they decided to teach others the art.

“I’ve always been passionate about jewellery and keep up with the latest fashion. I heard about terracotta jewellery and wanted to learn how to make it. I joined a class three years ago,” says Supraja.

She regularly made jewellery for herself and people always took notice of her accessories.

“Making a piece of jewellery for oneself is different from teaching others. I prepared for three months and my sister helped me out. I am a research scholar and a professor at Adhiparasakthi Engineering College. It is the teaching instinct that led me to do research before starting my classes. Since a year ago, we have been conducting regular classes during the weekends and teaching anyone above the age of eight. We have taught around 350 students,” she says.

At Supraja’s workshop, one can learn to make varieties of studs and jhummkas, anklets and she also teaches how to make Ganesh idols out of terracotta. “The session is inclusive of designing and painting,” she says.

The workshop is held every weekend at 101/35 Bazullah Road, T. Nagar, next to Vivek and Co. For details call 7708752662.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – May 01st, 2014