Exclusives from the potter’s wheel

Surekha Kadapa-Bose
 
“It’s art equivalent to paintings hanging on walls!” — Shalan Dere.
 
“General public dismiss our work as chini mitti ka kaam. It’s not that simple. Lot of creativity goes into each of our creations.” — Sejal Mody.
 
“Even if we make 10 of the same products, these are not the same. Every product is different. Each object is unique.” — Sandeep Manchekar.
 

Dere, Mody, Manchekar are all Mumbai-based potters — ceramists or studio potters. Very few people are aware of this art form. As Dere had said, it is not a mere “chini mitti ka kaam.” Their creations adorn the walls of celebrity homes, five-star hotels and corporate offices. The ceramic artists are making it their mission to popularise and make people aware of their work and garner long overdue appreciation for their art. Their world revolves around crafting classy hand-crafted vases, tableware such as plates, mugs, jugs, cups and saucers, jewellery pieces, lamps, besides figurative and abstract sculptures.
And it’s all done with just a simple lump of clay, slight colours and glaze. Once the lump of clay reaches the hands of these potters and their wheel, it turns into unimaginable artefacts. The best part of this art is that there is no limit for imagination or creativity. One can make just about anything from clay.
Like Sejal Mody’s beautiful ceramic jewellery. One look at the small and large pendants or cocktail rings, and one will forget diamond jewellery. It is breathtaking to see such highly glazed and coloured delicate noodle-shaped ceramic pieces intricately woven to form pendants or crown of a cocktail ring. Her glazed ceramic murals with crisscross paints mounted on chiselled tree trunks or plain mirrors will any day compete with works of an abstract painter.
“To be a studio potter, one has to be an all-round artist. I have been into abstract art since my days in the arts college. I try to create the same look in my ceramic works,” explained Mody.
Another studio potter Anjali Aney is a sculptress of ceramics. Her series of ‘drifting men’ lazying in boats either with a book in their hands, or simply contemplating the night sky are the works of a sculptor.
“Who wouldn’t want to drift in a boat gliding smoothly on a serene river? I have created my dream in white ceramics,” said Aney.
It’s not as though the art of studio pottery has suddenly erupted. Men have been fascinated by ceramics for centuries. Practitioners of clay art since ages have been fashioning it into desired shapes and still continue to do it. Earlier one was able to find ceramic items only in white or pale colours. Today these studio potters produce items in many colours and hues. No two items are the same as moulds aren’t used.
Earlier much of studio pottery was only tableware or cookware. However, the number of studio potters creating non-functional or ceramic sculptors is increasing. Many of them prefer to call themselves ceramic artists, ceramists or artists. A group of Mumbai artists have joined hands to form Cerafest, an organisation, which tries to popularise the art of ceramics.
“In Maharashtra, I am fascinated by Lord Ganesha. But I certainly didn’t want to make one in the most popular shapes which is worshipped. I wanted my work to look different. The Ganesha statues in my studio are in abstract forms. And as each one is made and painted by hand. Naturally no two statues are similar,” says Dere, who is one of the forces behind Cerafest.
There are several other studio potters here like Anshu Dorairaj, Raja Mohanty, Ajay Abhyankar, Anjali Aney, Sumathi Madhav, Shayonti Salvi, Rashi Jain, Hanif Galwani, Vanmala Jain, who are creating beauties.
“People here have to be educated that studio pottery is an art equivalent to paintings hanging on the walls. They need to understand that pottery is a painstaking, and often frustrating, art where our work depends on the whims and fancies of the kiln used to bake the objects. So maybe our products are slightly expensive but then they are art forms!” chorus these artists.
So it may be simple tableware like a cup and saucer, dinner plate, soup bowl, etc. These are all individually made and hence, the prices also escalate. Customers have to understand that paying Rs 400 to Rs 500 for a mug or Rs 1,200 onwards for a dinner plate, Rs 2,000 for a small pendant or Rs 30,000 plus for a small mural is worth the price. It’s a work of art.