Learn to make some handmade Diyas this Diwali in 6 easy steps: Diwali DIY

India is the place to be when you have festivals like Diwali and Dasshera. As an expat, this is the time I miss the most being away from family and friends and missing all the celebrations and rituals, sweets and desserts, fun, frolic and merrymaking, that revolve around the festival.

It is one thing if you buy ready-made Diyas from the market and another if you make them yourself. However, if you are in India, I would insist buying handmade Diyas from the local artisans...they are not only some beautiful piece of art that would illuminate your homes but buying Diyas from them would lighten up their homes too. 

For those who are miles away from your home, and would like to add a little personal touch to this festival of lights - Diwali or Deepawali by making Diyas or oil lamps, this tutorial shall help you in a small way.

Handmade Clay Diyas

With Diwali just round the corner, it is not too late to make your own Diyas. 

Here, is a brief tutorial on how you can try and make some Diyas all by yourself at home and use them for this Diwali. Try making them at the earliest and leave them to dry, for it takes about 24-48 hours to dry before you could actually use them. The materials you can use for making Diyas could be salt dough or from air dry clay. Here, for the tutorial I have used plasticine clay but you can follow the same steps using air dry clay or salt dough also.

Material required:

Air Dry Clay of any color. 

If you want a traditional look use the terracotta color. The end result is beautiful and you needn't color them. Otherwise, you can try using the white color clay available and later paint them with acrylic colors or add glitter too and decorate them with beads or sequins further as per your wish. Here, for the tutorial I have used plasticine clay which of course doesn't dry and it can't be used for Diwali. But the steps are similar for making the diyas using air dry clay. For my previous workshop on Clay Diyas from Air Dry clay we followed the same procedure. You can have a look at the pictures of the Diyas made with Air Dry Clay and get a fair idea. Just click here to get a glimpse at the Air Dry Clay diyas made by the workshop participants.

Procedure:
Step 1: 

Take a ball of clay just enough to fit into your palm say about 1-1/2 to 2" in diameter. It could be less or more depending on the size you wish to make. Take the clay ball and flatten it between your palms to get a disc like shape. Be careful not to make it too flat. Let the thickness of the disc be at least 1-1/2" thick so that you can make a depression in the centre in the next step.

Step 1: Take a ball of clay and flatten it between your palms

Step 2:

Using your fingers to pinch one side to get the almond shape. Then flatten the middle part of the almond disc with your thumb to get a depression in the centre. Be careful not make the bottom layer too thin. It should be at least 1/4" thick or else the bottom may crack later.

Decide what you want to use it for: whether you want to use it for burning oil in the traditional way using cotton wicks or whether you want to use the diya simply for holding a tealight candle, make a depression in the centre accordingly.

If you want to use it for burning oil in the traditional way then you may make the depression bigger and deeper in size to be able to hold a good amount of oil. In case you want to make it for holding a tealight candle only, then you can use a tealight holder and press it in the centre to get the size of the required outer diameter and then shape the walls with your fingers.

Step 2: Pinch the sides to get the almond shape and
using your thumb create a depression in the centre

Step 3:

Shape the wall of the disc using your fingers and rolling the disc in your palm and the basic shape of diya is ready. If you want to decorate it further using clay itself, then scratch the surface using toothpick or any object so that you can add the layers to it. This will help in adding details on the surface of the diya without using any glue.

Step 3: Shape the disc to get the basic diya shape 

Note, since I used plasticine clay, I have not scratched the top surface, but if you are using air dry clay, please don't omit this step.

Also, note if you see cracks appearing at any point of time, apply a little water to smoothen the surface.

Step 4:
Now, it is time to add little details to the diya you made.

I used a flower mould to cut out petals from a long flattened strip of clay and then added them to the top surface of the diya. Using the mould will make it easier to get all the petals of the same size.

Step 4a: Adding petals on the surface of the diya

For Air Dry Clay, add a little water to the surface, where you want to add the details, with your fingers only. This will help if the clay surface has dried and the details will get glued naturally with the clay.

Next, I twisted some clay rolls and added them lining the inner edge of the diya. You can just make a single line and add it to the inner edge, and then using a sharp knife or a scale, add indentations on the surface. While you twist the rolls around each other be careful not to break them in the process. Adding a border to the petals will help cover up any gaps or un-evenness to the edge of the petals. Remember it is the small details that will make the Diya look neat and beautiful. 

Step 4b: Add a border, lining the inner edge of the diya.

Step 5:

Here, is the fun part...adding textures to the clay surface. I used a toothpick to add indentations on the surface of the petals and also on the sides. Be ready to experiment when it comes to adding textures and patterns on the diya.

Also, add an indentation on the narrow side of the diya using the toothpick so that it can hold a cotton wick. This step can be avoided if you just want to use it as a tea light holder.

Step 5: Adding textures to the diyas

Step 6:

The diya is ready but to practically use it, you need to dry it. So, this is an important step which can't be avoided. Leave it to dry for atleast 24 to 48 hours before using it. 

Step 6: Leave it to dry for 24 to 48 hours before using it

Note: For the tutorial, I have used plasticine clay but you can try the same method using air dry clay. I was experimenting with plasticine clay trying different shapes and sizes. Here, are a few pictures of the same.

Handmade Clay Diyas by Art Hours

Here, in Dubai, children are not much aware of the customs and traditions that revolve around the festivals, especially when both parents are working. With the intention of making my students aware of Diwali and letting them also realize how clay Diyas are actually made, I gave my students the exercise for making Diyas themselves. They enjoyed experimenting and used various objects to add textures to the surface of the diya. They used the caps of sketch pens to make flower indentations on the surface and even thermocol to add a rough look to the diya. Below, are just a few samples of the diyas they made, for they carried away the rest to their homes before I could even take pictures! 

Clay Diyas by Students

If you wish to make the same diyas using air dry clay, do so at the earliest. The advantage of using air dry clay is that once it dries you can paint it with acrylic colors of your choice, adding colors to the festival of lights and laughter.

Beautiful Handmade Diyas for Diwali

Thank you for reading this post. If you find it helpful, do share it with your friends and make some diyas on your own because handmade is beautiful.

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