CHENNAI: A pair of pretty little jhumkas catch our attention. As we pick it up and take a look, we notice intricate designs painted in black and gold. But wouldn’t such big jhumkas make your ear go sore? “No, they are lightweight; they are all made of wood,” says R Uma Maheswari. The artist will be conducting a wood jewellery painting workshop on May 12.
While she was pursing her masters from MOP Vaishnav College for Women, she took art as her hobby course. The art enthusiast started off with Thanjavur paintings, but she soon began to explore and experiment with other mediums as well. But she took a break for six years.
“When I came back to art in 2016, I wanted to explore terracotta, as it was in demand then. But then I realised that it was really challenging as it broke easily. So I wanted to try out something else and that's how I came up with the idea of making jewellery using wood,” she recalls. And before she knew it, Uma started hand painting on wood using different styles of art forms including mural, kalamkari, shadow painting, etc. She paints on necklace, jhumkas, bangles, finger rings, keychains, and fridge magnets. “I can make around eight pairs of big jhumkas and 30 smaller ones in a day. While painting on them, I first sketch with a pencil, give the base colour, and then after completing the piece, finish it with a coat of varnish," she says.
These wooden pieces by Uma are a hit. “Earlier people were sceptical about it. But once they get their hands on it and notice that it was light weight, customers started purchasing more such products. Now, I get orders from all over the country, mostly from Chennai and Bengaluru. I even got a few from the US, through my friend who lives there,” she shares.
She conducted a workshop last year and the positive responses motivated Uma to conduct more. “I noticed that a lot of middle-aged women attended my workshop last time. Some came to learn it as a hobby while others wanted to start their own ventures,” she says. Uma also plans to take online classes.
(The workshop will be conducted on May 12 from 10 am onwards at T Nagar. For details visit her FB page: @dreamzwoodenjhumkas)
“Colours are close to my heart. They make me forget about all my problems. So I give products Tamil names like nizhal, which is white and black combination.”