About

Crafted by Chitra is a one-person studio. There is no workshop floor, no production line and no second pair of hands. Every piece on this site was made by Chitra herself.

Five disciplines

The work moves between five materials, and they inform each other more than you would expect. Painting taught the colour sense that shows up in the resin pours. Mandala work taught the patience that carving a wax pillar demands. Stone work taught her to start from what the material already is, rather than forcing it into a shape.

Painting is relief work - scenes modelled up off the board, painted in detail and sealed, so they cast a real shadow. Mandala art is laid dot by dot from the centre outward, with no way to correct a dot placed wrong. Stone art begins at the riverbed, choosing stones for the shape they already have. Resin art is poured, left to move on its own, then sanded through several grits and polished. Candle art treats wax as a sculptural material rather than a commodity.

Why nothing matches the photograph exactly

Alcohol ink blooms differently every time it hits wet resin. Wood grain is never twice the same. A wax flower set by hand sits at its own angle. When you order a piece, you are getting that piece - close to the photograph, not identical to it.

Several items, particularly the painted portrait stones, are genuinely one of a kind. Once one sells, it is gone.

Commissions

Personalised letter keychains, names on bookmarks, wedding favours in bulk and larger commissioned pieces are all possible. Write to EMAIL@EXAMPLE.COM with what you have in mind and roughly when you need it.