Solah Pith

I did some more research on the icon-makers of Kolkata and discovered that there are around 100 carvers working just on the decorative pieces for the sculptures - the icon's jewellery. The material they use is called pith and is basically the inner core of cork. From June to around the end of September these carvers create the most extraordinarily decorative pieces that are then incorporated on to the icons in time for Durga Puja, which is around the middle of October usually (depending on the moon).



Today, I'm meeting an arts promoter from Kolkata who might be able to connect me with some of these carvers; the purity of the colour combined with the intricacy of the detail, holds some interesting possibilities for me to explore a decorative element to the project that may combine well with the strong colour and luminosity of araash. Exploring the possibilities, at least of the form these pieces might take (I need a scalpel to try and play with the decorative possibilities!), I made some paper models (excuse Barbie).