She Is the RAINBOW- a Modern Lippan Art Portrait

Lippan art is a centuries-old wall art tradition from the Kutch region of Gujarat, India, where artisans create intricate raised patterns using a mixture of clay and mirror work. Traditionally adorning the walls of homes in bold geometric and floral motifs, Lippan art is as much about texture as it is about colour.

We gave this ancient craft a modern canvas — literally.

For this Instructable, my sister and I created a portrait of a woman in profile, reimagined through the lens of Lippan art using Fevicryl modelling clay instead of traditional mud clay. Our theme was the rainbow — not just as a colour palette, but as a symbol of modern womanhood: vibrant, multidimensional, and full of quiet power.

Every white raised line you see — the delicate leaf vine, the borders of her dupatta, the floral details — is hand-sculpted clay. Her dupatta drapes in bold, joyful stripes of colour. The rainbow clip nestled in her bun carries all seven colours — a crown of quiet power. The background blooms in soft sky blue, lush green and bold magenta. A neon yellow halo frames her in modern grace. And the mirror work catches the light, completing the Kutchi soul of the piece.

Where traditional Lippan is bold, thick, and dark — we made it delicate, pastel, and luminous. This is Lippan art for the modern world — rooted in tradition, painted in rainbows.

1.Cardboard (41X32cm square)

2.Pencil, Scale, Eraser

3.Tape

4.A4 size sheets (*4 sheets)

5.Fevicryl Clay (*2 packets)

6.Scissors

7.Acrylic White Paint

8.Poster and Watercolors

9.Sticker stones

10.Mirror stones

Every great artwork begins with a vision. We searched online for a portrait of a woman in profile and found one that felt right — graceful, elegant, with beautiful traditional details like a jhumka(earring) and a bun. We then reimagined her in bold, rainbow colours — a modern woman rooted in tradition.

Since drawing directly on cardboard is tough, we sketched the design on A4 sheets first, joining them together to get the full size. My sister did the sketching, carefully transferring all the details — the halo, the leaf vine, the earring, the hair.

We pasted the entire sheet onto our cardboard base (32×41 cm) using Fevicol. This gave our artwork a firm, sturdy backing. We used tape along the edges to secure it neatly.

This is where the Lippan art begins. We used Fevicryl modelling clay and rolled it into thin, even strips — much thinner than traditional Lippan art, which is our deliberate modern twist. Traditional Lippan uses thick, bold clay lines; we wanted something more delicate and refined.

We pressed these thin clay rolls carefully over the pencil lines — the leaf outlines, the floral vine, the earring details, the hair strands, the borders. This was the most time-consuming and meditative part of the whole project. Getting the clay to follow curves, tiny flowers, and hair strands without breaking. It literally required a lot of patience.

Before any colour went on, we painted the entire surface with white acrylic paint as a base coat. This is an important step — it primes the surface, makes the poster and watercolour shades pop brilliantly, and gives the whole piece a unified brightness. We let it dry completely before moving to colour.

Now the most joyful step. We painted the artwork in full colour with every colour choice being intentional:

The woman's saree drape colours, bold and unapologetic. The background blooms in soft pastels — lavender, sky blue, sage green — a deliberate contrast to the boldness of traditional Lippan art. Where Lippan is usually dark and heavy, we chose softness, because a modern woman carries both-power and grace.

The multicoloured leaves on the vine echo the rainbow theme, and the neon yellow halo frames her in quiet divinity.

The rainbow hair clip in her bun is the heart of the piece — it symbolises her power, her identity, her refusal to be one thing. The pastel shades surrounding her represent the elegance and tradition she carries within. Together they say: she is bold and she is soft. She is modern and she is rooted. She is the full spectrum.

We were very careful to leave the white clay borders unpainted as they define and elevate every element.

After painting, even after so much carefulness many of the white clay borders had gotten colour on them — especially inside the delicate leaves and along the hair strands. We went back carefully with white acrylic paint and restored every border line. Then we added golden paint over the hair strands, giving her that warm, luminous glow.

The finishing touch. We added crystal sticker stones along the borders, the halo edge, the hair accessory, and the earring — catching light and adding that traditional Lippan sparkle. Then came the mirror work, the soul of Lippan art, placed carefully to complete the Kutchi spirit of the piece

And there she is — She is the Rainbow.

Every thin clay line, every painted leaf, every mirror catching the light came together to tell the story of a modern woman who carries the full spectrum within her. This project taught us that art doesn't have to follow the rules of tradition to honour it — Lippan art has always been about texture, colour and soul, and that is exactly what we brought to this modern portrait.

If you make your own version, we'd love to see it. Go bold, go pastel, go rainbow.

THANKYOU !