Foreword about Miniature Arts and Crafts…… Dr.Diwakar Aiyaloo
Miniature carvings are “Arts and Crafts” of already existing life in portable size. It is a hobby involving variety of activities made with hand. Indian arts include variety of art- forms like paintings, sculptures, pottery, textile arts and rangolies using different Medias. Indian arts have some cultural and religious influences such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity and Islam in its arts.
Indian arts started early during Indus Valley Civilization, 5000 years before Christ, followed by Mauryan arts, Buddhist arts, Shunga dynasty and Satavahana dynasty …. All before the birth of Christ.
Later many dynasties including KushanEmpire, gupta arts, Pandian, Pallavan and Chola dynasties developed their arts.Mugal, Rajput and Persians developed their miniatures and painting. Later the British also encouraged Indian arts and started the First government college for Fine arts in Chennai.
These genes of arts are in every one of us. We have to kindle the light of art within the young and develop the same. These arts and crafts can be exhibited in different medias like Soaps, Chalk Piece, Charcoal, Pencil lead, Tamarind Seeds, Single Rice, Wood, Thermacol and Stones. Similarly water color and oil base painting can be made on board paper, canvas and miniature painting can be made as leaf paintings and painting inside egg shell through small opening.Slowly construction models made scale to scale, can be done using hard boards. This will help and guide the architects in their construction.
For an artist to be successful in life, he requires patience and calm atmosphere.
I am Dr.Diwakar Aiyaloo, from Tamil nadu in India. I am blessed with a calm atmosphere in my home. I developed my interest in arts at the age of fifteen. In my childhood, I used to have a very neat hand writing that was the starting point of my interest into artistic skills. My father, a teacher, was the man behind my motivation towards the art forms. With him, the encouragement given from my mother, brothers and sisters and now from my grandchildren enable me to continue my arts and crafts passion till date; at my seventies.
I have got a collection of more than 500 miniature carving. Many of my oil paintings are displayed in many temples all over Tamilnadu and many of my construction models are placed as exhibits in many offices and Hospitals in Chennai.
I have made over 500 miniature carvings till date. These 500 miniature carving include carvings made of Soaps, Chalk piece, Charcoal,Pencil lead, Tamarind seeds, Single rice, Wood, Thermacol and Stones.
I used to put different types of Rangolies. Rangolies using stone powder, saw dust and salt. Have shown my performance in more than two hundred government functions, hospital functions and many marriages…… so, happily recognized as a “State Artist”.