Nagini
Disha S.
Ceramics - Different colors and textures of Clay
-
This piece is dear to my heart because of what it represents. My father was quite the story teller as a child, telling all about Hindu Mythology. I steadily became really invested in the Indian Epic, the Mahabharat. It is a hero's journey style story about 5 brothers going to war with their 100 cousins over the throne of Hustinapur. In the story, the middle brother, Arjun, is particularly strong, the strongest warrior of the Kuru Princes. He later marries a half snake, half human, Naga, or for women, Nagini, named Uloopi. She eventually gives her life up for Arjun, by taking her Nagamani, a jewel from the middle of her forehead made to keep her forever young, to sacrifice her life for her husband’s. Her story has always stuck out to me, even though it is a simple part of the epic. So when I was given the opportunity for my first sculpture, I chose to make a nagini. I was given two weeks to sculpt her, and I started with the marbling of the clay. I simply took different colors of clay and smashed them together by throwing them at the ground. I then sculpted her tail, and then her torso, and finally, her head and hair with the combined clay. The outer layer formed one color, meaning that once sculpted, I had to slowly scrape away the outer color of the tail in order to get the marbled effect on the tail that makes the snake pattern.
-
For me, creativity is the outlet from which I express things. If I'm overwhelmed I collage, if I'm angry I journal with paper scraps, and if I'm sad I use pastels. It is the lens from which I feel my emotions in all their power and just process.
