Neelu Gunvantbhai Patel (Facebook), born October 1st 1973, from Ahmedabad, Gurajat, India, has achieved an Official World Record. The founder of NGO “MUKHOTE” CREATIVE ART FOUNDATION, has been working with waste papers for the last twenty years. She started making this eco-friendly pot on 28th September 2015, and completed on 28th October 2015. Now the great job has been awarded an Official World Record. World’s tallest paper sticks pot. (News external link 1 and 2). Using 24.000 pages of waste newspapers, along with 5.950 paper sticks in its making, the pot measures 16 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. All made with recycled product.
This kind of pot is unbreakable and can be easily shifted. However, it needs to be protected from water. Value additions to the pot can be done in form of painting and decorations. Neelu, who is 41, said, “It was not easy to give the finishing touches to such a tall pot. I was constantly worried if the newspapers would hold the huge structure. I used 24.000 pages of newspapers along with 5.950 sticks in its making.” She can roll up one stick in a minute using the roll art. She initially came up with an idea to make 10-feet “kothl”. However, the desire to apply for world records led her to make the 16-feet high pot. A great piece of art! Founder of NGO Mukhoti Creative Art Foundation is not new to making of pots. She has worked on pots earlier using different styles such as weaving, cross-weaving, coil work, tying of rings etc. She also has skill in paper mache craft. So, this inspired her to come up with new, big, innovative, different and challenging experience. She added, “It was very difficult to work as its height posed problem every time it was moved. Moreover, it is light-weight so stability was another problem”. There was no use of chemicals to retain its eco-friendly quotient. At first, two-feet newspaper ring was crafted as a base.
A total of 16 sticks are attached to the ring to provide the scaffolding. Thereafter, an alternate weaving with paper sticks is done. The weaving pattern in on the lines of bamboo basket wherein one stick revolves internally to the scaffolding while the other does so externally. The second base of the ring was 4 feet in diameter. The process continues for the base structures that are 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 feet in diameter. This leads to the structure emerging in the shape of a pot with the smallest ring on the top. Neelu said: “I worked for 14 hours a day. It is like making best from the waste. I am planning to come up with a sculpture designed in paper roll art. I worked very hard on it. The skin from my fingers peeled off as making 600 sticks everyday in not an easy task.”
