Indian Clay Crafts as Building Blocks
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Abstract
Clay is one of the oldest and extensively used materials in Art and Architecture. Clay Craft and Construction form a thick coil of timeless and elegant art. It gives an insight to the human culture, history and evolution of various civilizations. Every place has its own technique of clay craft and the local men are the masters of it. Clay is the base material for all the clay crafts across India while the add-on materials, techniques and tools make each clay craft unique. In the phase of rapid modernization many such crafts are lost, forgotten and are replaced with machine made replicas of craft. The skilled craftsmen are migrating to urban areas in search of livelihood. A re-integration of the bond between clay craft and architecture would provide a sustainable solution to this problem. The artists would make the crafted clay wall modules from their own craft towns and ship them to the places of need. Integrating various clay crafts with interiors would shed light over dying clay crafts and provide a different perspective on how the traditional techniques can be used in the modern day. Each wall shall be an art work and earthen walls are one of the cheapest, sustainable and durable building options of construction. Earthen walls have been around for more than 1,000 years and stood the test of time while emanating their beauty and strength through ages. The wall shall be divided into smaller interlock able blocks to make it convenient to work with at the craft villages and towns. Later, the Crafted wall blocks are interlocked and arranged on site. This would bring down the overall cost and duration of the project. Thus, protecting the heritage and harmony of clay crafts and the Craftsmen.
