Design Resource
Soap Carving - Shilpakala
Art of shaping
by
Making Process
Soap is one of the objects that is used in the daily life which also can be used in the making of sculptures. On the dried soap outlines are made with help of a pointer or with the old refills on which the smaller portions which can be removed out are taken with the Cutting tools, Modeling tools, Thai knives etc. to obtain the depth and details of each parts.
Designs of flowers motifs, face, flutes etc. are concentrated at the beginning stage and the next step it is carved little more dipper. Parts such as crowns, necks are concentrated on and then further on chains, ear etc. are carved out with intricate carvings. In olden days the old umbrella needles were used to draw and mark the details while sculpting / carving. Mostly the gouges, flats and v shape tools are preferred to carve out visualized figures or motifs required. Cloth is used to hold the soaps in between to avoid the moisture on the surface of the soap while scraping out the parts. After the sculpture is made on the soap, it is kept in glass to keep it from air and water molecules.
