Lippan art is a traditional Mural art form that originated in the Western Indian State of Gujarat. It is also known as “LIPPAN KAAM” “CHITTAR KAAM” or “MUD AND MIRROR WORK” because it involves the use of a mixture of Mud and Mirror pieces to create intricrate designs on the walls. It is a traditional mural craft of Kutch, Gujarat, India. It is mostly done by the village ladies from Kutch to decorate their homes with locally available materials in the region like mixture of clay and camel or cow dung and also helps keeps the interiors of the houses cool.

 

The designs in Lippan Art are typically Geometric patterns or images of Animals and Nature. The form is often used to decorate the walls of rural homes, particularly in the Kutch region of Gujarat. Lippan art is a highly skilled craft, required precision and attention to details. This artwork has gathered popularity and attention of the modern world as a form ofg sustainable and eco-friendly art, as it uses natural materials and does not require any electricity or other morden amenties. It has also gained attention for its intricate pattern and aesthetic perfection, decorating the walls of homes giving them a unique colourful look.

Materials Used:

MDF Circle 8” Diameter, Pencil, Protractor, Compass, Scale, Eraser, Tassels, Acrylic Colour, Bursh, Molud it Clay – 1 Hardener and 1 Resin, Powder, Glue, tools for Shaping, Different Shaped Mirrors

  

So lets see the steps in making this beautiful Art,

 

• Lets start by gathering all the material & keeping it ready.

• Take the 8 inches circular MDF frame and mark the centre.

Draw the design on the board or you can trace the design with yellow carbon paper. (Don’t use Blue or Black carbon paper)

Use protractor for marking.

If you wish you can draw free hand drawing or circular images

Erase the lines.

Now the next is to mix the Clay –The kit comes with 1 packs of Mould it Clay – Resin and Hardener.

Take equal amount of resin and hardener and mix it well to get the white clay. (If you are doing it for the 1st time, mix both the clays in small quantity)

To avoid the stickiness of the clay you can use talcum powder while mixing these together.

Tip for dry clay – Sometime the clay may harden or show crakes while mixing, so for that keep it in sun for some time or use few drops of water while mixing.Divide the clay in 4 parts to make the Roll.Start to roll the clay with both the hands and make a long even roll.

See to that the thickness is even throughout the roll. It should be 6mm thick, (Thickness may vary)

Use long MDF Strip or Sponge to get even thickness throughout the roll.Make few Rolls and keep it aside.Now apply the fevicol on the drawn area and stick the clay roll on it.

Make textures with scale, pencil point, pen nib, small stick and many more items available at home.If the rolled clay length is longer than its required size, then cut it by any pallet knife. You can use any kind of knife to cut and resize the clay roll.

If the rolled clay finishes, then again mix both the clays and roll it, and start to stick the clay roll to cover all the outlines of the drawing patterns.

While cutting the roll, be careful as you should not cut any adjacent part.

Keep the art work to dry for few hours.

Optional – Apply water based primer to the MDF art work which we have done. It helps to make our colour more bright.Start to colour the art work, for these you can use 1 single colour or multiple colours.

Try and give nice bright colour to make our art work more Beautiful and Attractive.

If you want you can colour the clay with white acrylic colour so the design gets highlighted.

Colour the base first and then colour the clay roll.

While colouring the clay with white be careful as you may colour the base board.

If you are colouring with 2 or more colours let the 1st colour dry completely and then start with the other colour.

If you want a glossy look, then apply varnish and let it dry completely (It take 1 day to dry)

Now start to stick the mirrors according to your patterns and requirements.

You can stick according to your choice and creativity.

Don’t put the mirrors in such a way that it will give a messy and clumsy look to your entire project.Put dots as shown with the Acrylic paint.

Let it dry.Stick Tassels if u want or can hang as it is.

With this our Lippan Art is ready to decor wall of your house or your work place.

We hope you will definitely enjoy with your making.