Lippan Kaam……Kutch Mirror Art in My style!

Hello all you wonderful people

This is Mukta here today and I have an art canvas for you all today.  I was recently doing some research for a vacation to Rann of Kutch,  Gujarat and doing that, I came across this traditional mural art form of Kutch called  Lippan Kaam. It is also called mud and mirror work or Chittar kaam.

So traditionally, It is made using a mixture of clay or mud with animal dung (preferably donkey, camel or peacock) and mirrors. It is done on the interiors as well as exteriors of mud huts for decoration. I am however using Plaster of Paris to make this mural. You can also use ceramic powder or chalk powder, but I am going to try my hand at this new Glitter Plaster of Paris from Itsy Bitsy and show you my take on this art form.

A few things I would like to explain to you all about this project:-

  1. I used Plaster of Paris(POP) on purpose knowing that I won’t be able to make it like a dough and roll strings or balls from it.
  2. The glue to water ratio I used was close to 1:1
  3. I did not whitewash the end product as the POP has a lot of glitter and sparkle. I would have colored it or whitewashed it if it was regular POP.
  4. This is my take on Lippan Kaam, but traditionally the clay mixture in pressed on the canvas and then shaped to form walls and edges and then  mirrors are pressed into the cavity. If you want to do so, please use ceramic powder.
  5. So, below is the video showing you the entire procedure though I did speed up few parts so save some time……I encourage you all to watch it and give it a try.

If you have any queries related to this, please feel free to ask by writing in the comments below.

Here is a list of supplies:

Thank you for watching the video and reading this post. I hope you liked my project. Do stop by again for some more inspiration from my teamies…….Have a crafty day ahead.

Hugs

Mukta

16 comments

  1. Wow!! This is fabulous!! Totally loved the fact that you’ve thrown light on a wonderful Indian artform.. and you have done it beautifully!! And the video tutorial is very Good!!!

    1. Thank You so much Shantha……glad you liked my spin on this artform. Happy to know the tutorial was good…
      Hugs

    1. Hey Daksha….
      Yes you can do it on a wall…but I recommend you to use ceramic powder mixture or plaster of paris mixture. Use a cone to add the mixture on the wall rather than your fingers. Draw your pattern and fill it up with your cone…place mirrors in the centers.
      Hope this helps.

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