Ceramicist Tanuja Jain can fire up any corner of your home or kitchen with her range of glazed ceramic and porcelain line of accessories and kitchenware
Ceramicist Tanuja Jain can fire up any corner of your home or kitchen with her range of glazed ceramic and porcelain line of accessories and kitchenware
Ceramic artist Tanuja Jain works with the philosophy that art should be accessible to just about anyone. Along with aesthetics, functionality is an important aspect of her art. This 53 year-old Delhi-based ceramicist says, "I want to promulgate the idea of art as a part of everyday life.
Tableware
I want to take it off the pedestal and make it approachable to everyone." Keeping this philosophy in mind, Tanuja creates a range of ceramic and porcelain pots, figurines, centrepieces, tableware and jewellery, all glazed and fired up, bent and twisted into different, funky shapes that can be used as is or displayed as standalone pieces in your living room.
Art for all?
Taking inspiration from the philosophy that art ought to be part of everyday life, Tanuja's creations draw heavily from the Art Nouveau tradition that is popular in France and Spain. Art Nouveau stands for New Art in French and is an approach where art can be part of everyday life and can be used in just about anything from architecture to furniture to interior design to jewellery to advertisements or any form of visual communication.
Tanuja, who works out of her studio space in Delhi, tries to improve this functionality in her creations by emphasising on the fact that "art can enhance the usability of everyday objects instead of impeding it".
All fired up
What fascinates Tanuja the most in her work process is the part where she uses firing to bring lifeless ceramic pots to a beautiful glaze and tone. She uses a range of techniques like Raku where the pot is removed from the kiln when it is at the maximum temperature. This instant cooling produces a shock to the body of the pot and makes the surface fractured. This is known as Crazing and gives a lovely cracked texture to the pot. Smoke Firing, Reduction Firing, Wood Firing and Gas Firing, are other glaze methods that Tanuja uses in her works.u00a0
A melting pot
Though her glazed pottery is interesting, it is the Tabla Tua range of tableware that will capture your imagination. Tabla Tua is Spanish for tableware and comes with the philosophy of presenting tableware in an art form. "Tabla Tua is a modern and post modern mingling of shapes and forms to create stunning tableware which looks decorative but is equally utilitarian to serve food and bake in," says Tanuja.
The range includes serving dishes, bowls and trays and comes with imperfect but beautifully curved edges, glazed in burnt orange, pista green and aqua stains. The utilitarian aspect of Tanuja's entire range is the fact that you can microwave, bake and even cook in it in some instances.
The porcelain jewellery comprises statement neckpieces, cute colourful buttons, chunky pendants and earrings. Tanuja's pieces are one-of-a-kind, rather than being mass-produced or customised. So that means that what you buy off her will only be yours to keep and no one else's.
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Call: 09810169090
Email: tanujajain@gmail.com
Log on to: www.tanujajain.com
Cost: Rs 6,000 onwards
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