Seashell Craft - Puri, Orissa
Seashells are the precious gift of God to human. There are more than thousand varieties of shells (that is seashells, land snails and fresh water shells etc.,) with hundreds of colours, patterns and textures. These shell crafts are very adorable because of its rich look with elegant colour combination and natural design. Plywood sheet, reflective glass sheet and seashells are the basic raw materials, which plays a very important role in making seashell mirror. Initially the plywood sheet is cut using handsaw according to the required shape to make a frame for the mirrror. Then the pre-cut and shaped glass sheet is glued at the centre of the plywood sheet.
The shells are purchased from the local market of Puri, which is brought from the coastal areas of Tamilnadu. Thick layer of Fevicol is applied on the flat surface of the plywood, which provides a smoother gluing surface for shells. The clamshells are glued by dipping the each single shell in the adhesive. Generally the clamshells are glued first by following the required design, which gives a shell background and makes easy to recognize the empty space. The coloured shells are added in between to cherish the design. Only few shells are coloured with brush according to the required design. Then the cone shaped small shells (turritellas) are arranged at the corner of the frame. The in-between gaps are filled with small snail shells by dipping them in to the Fevicol to complete the design. The eco-friendly wall hanging mirror made of seashell is finished. Apart from the seashell mirror artisan also good in making show pieces made of seashells.
