Welcome to Nakhshilpkar

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"Nakha Shilp" is a unique art of drawing picture on a plain paper just with your hand nails, by using the middle finger and thumb and applying varied pressure.
It is a rare art, wherein you do not use pen, pencil, color brush or any art material. The art calls for very high levels of focus and concentration. During the drawing care has to be taken for zero errors as there is hardly any scope for any corrections. Pressure is applied intermittently on paper, the drawing gets elevated on the surface of the paper. This process gives a unique feeling of shilp (sculpture). Hence it is called "Nakha Shilp", creation with nails.

Nakhshilpkar - Late Shrikant Hari Deolalkar

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  • Served for~38 years in Crompton Greaves
  • Retired from Crompton Greaves Limited, Stamping Division as Asst. Design Manager in 1999
  • In his distinguished career has two patents in his name, Blank Dispensing unit for a Power Press and Oscillating Vacuum operated pick & place blank feeding system for an inclinable C frame Power Press.
  • During his heydays in school in the fifties, was given a prize by “Bombay Art Society” for Drawing
  • After a gap of four decades since 1999, commenced his old hobby of Nail Drawing.
  • Nail drawing continued to be his passion post retirement.
  • Grateful to wife for constant encouragement to create more-n-more nail drawings with variety i.e. from famous sportsmen to saints like Dnyneshwar & Tukaram, eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi & Subhash Chandra Bose, R.K. Lakshman’s Common Man, animals these were his own creation using circles.
  • In addition would also focus on developing calligraphy his latest creation was the Gayatri Mantra
  • The first exhibition of Naksha Shilpa in Thane in April 2008 and subsequently in April 2009 in Pune was well received by all, especially art lovers.
  • Conducted a session for Visually Challenged Kids @ Indore
  • Conducted a session for Deaf & Dumb kids @ Pune

NAIL SCULPTURE (NakhShilp) -
A CREATION BY NAILS - A GRAND OLD ART

  • English

      Usually to paint a picture one needs pencil, colours, brushes etc. You will not believe, if you were told that without any of the above you can still draw a picture? Actually, one can draw a picture without using any of the above material. The point we wish to elaborate is, Males cut their nails vis-à-vis hygiene the moment they grow, ladies paint their nails to enhance their makeup, this sums up our usage with nails. We can do much beyond this and ie we can draw beautiful pictures of our choice.

      A Nail Sculpture means a picture drawn by using bare nails. A picture drawn with nails has a look and feel like a 3D picture. Post efforts it gives us the feel and sense of accomplishment of a sculpture, which is why it is called as Nail Sculpture (NakhShilp). The art of drawing by nails is in existence for ages ie during the Kalidas era or during BC period .The term NakhShilp is mentioned in the dialogues between Shakuntala& her friend Priyanvada, in the world famous Sanskrutdrama, ‘Shakuntal,’ written by the legendary poet Kalidas.

      A few days of no nail cutting or like maintaining a stubble of the thumb and the middle finger, is enough to enable you to draw a sculpture by nails. The process involves holding the paper between the top of the thumb and its nail. The front portion of the thumb and that of the middle finger needs the required pressure on the paper this enables us, we can draw lines of different lengths, breadths, darkness, and curves and so on.

      While drawing a line, the thumb nail and that of the middle figure give required amount of pressure on the paper from top and bottom respectively, and the other hand gradually pulls the paper resulting in the line being drawn as require, .since the length of the line is controlled by the other hand (without grown up nails), the coordination of both hands becomes very important. This results in creating two levels on paper, which make the picture drawn by nails very impressive.

      While drawing a nail sculpture the paper keeps on moving between the space of the thumb and the middle finger sometimes straight, sometimes diagonal and sometimes in a rolled format such time the art lies in ensuring that the paper does not get damaged and the drawing remains symmetrical. The painter while drawing a normal picture affixes the paper on a drawing board and his hands keep moving around the paper bringing the picture alive. The process is different i.e. speciality of a Nail Sculpture is that unlike in the normal picture, the paper keeps moving between the nails as explained earlier. This results in limiting the size of a nail sculpture.

      The absence of colours in nail sculpture has its own unique aura and charm beyond imagination. Nail sculpture does not need a huge canvas just four equal pieces of an A 4 (295*210 centimetres) paper we get roughly a post card size paper on which one can easily draw. One can, after a lot of practice, even use an A 5 size paper in place of an A4 size. The largest picture can be drawn on an A4 size paper. The Nail sculptures really stands out on snow white alabaster or handmade paper of 100 GSM width. In reality however Nail Sculptures can be drawn on any paper, even on an aluminium foil. Since Nail Sculptures protrudes on paper, even a blind person by feeling them with his fingers or hand a la Braille can recognize them. This is an inexpensive art which everyone can enjoy and even an amateur painter can draw.

      In Today’s times it is difficult to get a teacher to learn nail sculpture, as there are very few painters practicing this art. There are hardly any books available on this art, one therefore has to learn this on his own like Eklavya with no colours, and this rare art does not immediately attract quick attention. One can cherish it only in bright light or with a spot light as a result not many take nail sculpture as a full time profession. It has remained limited to a hobby but one thing is certain; whosoever sees a nail sculpture is in admiration and awe of the same.

      The appreciation of this rare art is summed up in the following lines :

      Colourless lines they all though are,
      They carry a different aura,
      Getting inter twined amongst them,
      They create Nail Sculpture an awe.

  • Marathi

      चित्र काढण्यासाठी पेन्सिल, रंग, ब्रश इत्यादी चित्रकला साहित्याची आवशक्यता असते. परंतु कुठल्याही चित्रकला साहित्याचा उपयोग न करता चित्र काढता येते असे जर कुणी सांगितले तर खंर वाटेल? नाही ना ! हो पण हे खंर आहे. कसं पाहू !

      हाताच्या बोटांवरील नखं वाढली कि आपण ती कापून टाकतो. स्त्रीया सौदर्यसाठी नखं रंगवितात. एवढाच काय तो नखांचा उपयोग आपण करतो. परंतु ह्याच नखांनी आपण कागदावर आपल्याला हवं ते चित्र काढू शकतो.

      नखचित्र म्हणजे नखांनी काढलेले चित्र ! नखचित्र कागदाच्या पृष्टभागावर उठून येते. त्याला शिल्पाचा भास निर्माण होतो म्हणून नखचित्राला नखशिल्प असेही म्हणतात. नखचित्रकला पुरातन काळा पासून अस्तित्वात होती. कालिदास लिखित शाकुंतलमध्ये, शकुंतला आणि तिची सहेली प्रियंवदा ह्यांच्या संवादात त्याचा उल्लेख सापडतो.

      नखंचित्र काढण्यासाठी अंगठ्याचे नख कागदावरून दाब देते आणि त्याचवेळेस मधल्या बोटाच्या नखाने कागदाखालून दाब दिला जातो आणि दुसऱ्या हाताने कागद ओढला जातो, अशी कागदावर रेषा काढली जाते. ह्याक्रियेत रेषेच्या लांबीचे नियंत्रण दुसऱ्या हातात असते म्हणून दोन्ही हाताचा समन्वय असणे फार महत्वाचे, अश्यारितीने नखांनी कागदावर रेषा काढली जाते. ह्यात कागदावर दोन लेव्हल्स निर्माण होतात, म्हणून नखचित्र कागदावर उठून येतात.

      नख चित्र काढताना हाताचा अंगठा आणि मधले बोटाच्या पोकळीतून कागद कधी सरळ, कधी तिरका, कधी गुंडाळी करून फिरत असतो. तेव्हा खराब होऊ न देता हाताळावा लागतो. तसेच चित्राची प्रमाणबद्धता राखणे हे कौशल्य !!! चित्र काढताना चित्रकार कागद ड्राईगबोर्डवर लावतो आणि कागदाच्या भोवती त्याचा हात फिरत असतो.

      पण नखचित्र काढताना कागद बोटांवरील नाखामधून फिरत असतो. हे नखचित्रकलेचे वैशिष्ट्य ! पण त्यामुळे नखचित्राच्या आकारावर थोडे बंधन येते, फार मोठी नखचित्र काढता येत नाहीत. ह्या चित्रात रंग नसल्यामुळे त्यांची कमी भासू न देणे हे कौशल्य !!! A४ ( २९५ * २१० मी.मी. ) आकाराच्या कागदाचे चार तुकडे केले असता, कागदाचा जेवढा आकार होतो ( साधारणतः पोस्टकार्ड साइज ) त्यावर फार कष्ट न करता नखचित्र काढता येते. ए ५ आकाराच्या ( ए ४ च्या अर्धा ) कागदावर खूप सरावानंतर नखचित्र काढणे जमते. मोठ्यातमोठे नखचित्र ए ४ आकाराच्या कागदावरपण काढता येते.

      पांढराशुभ्र १०० GSM जाडीचा ALABASTER कागदावर किंवा हंड्मेड कागदावर नखचित्र उठून दिसतात. परंतु कोणत्याही कागदावर नखचित्र काढता येतात. अल्युमिनिअम फोईलवरपण नखचित्र काढता येतात. नखचित्र कागदावर उठून येत असल्यामुळे, अंध व्यक्तीपण ही चित्र ओळखू शकतात. सर्वात कमी खर्चाची नखचित्रकला सर्वाना आनंद देते. थोडीफार चित्रकला अवगत असणाऱ्याला नखचित्र काढणे जमू शकते.

      नखचित्रकला एकलव्यासारखी स्वतःच शिकून विकसित करावी लागते. ह्यासाठी गुरु मिळणे कठीण, कारण फारच थोडे नखचित्रकार आपल्याला दिसतील. तसेच काहीपण लिखित साहित्य उपलब्ध नाही. अशीही दुर्मिळ नखचित्रकला, ह्यात रंगाचा वापर नसल्यामुळे पटकन लक्ष वेधून घेत नाही. स्वच्छ प्रकाश किंवा स्पॉट लाईट टाकून त्याचा आनंद घेता येतो. त्यामुळे फारसे कोणी ह्या कलेकडे वळत नाही, छंदापुरतीच हि कला मर्यादित राहिली आहे. पण एक गोष्ट खरी कि नखचित्र बघून, बघणारा आचंबित होतो. नखचित्र कलेसाठी मी रचलेल्या चार ओळी.

      रंगहीन रेषा साऱ्या डौल त्यांचा आगळा
      एकमेकांत गुंतुनी साऱ्या नखशिल्प जाहल्या


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"For any additional information related to the Nakhshilp / creations of Late Shri Shrikant Hari Deolalkar, please write to

E Mail : kiran.deolalkar@gmail.com