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APRIL 2002 Contents

 

Travel 

 A Journey through Bhutan

 'Baikunth' - the mountain
 resort overlooking Kasauli in 
 Himachal Pradesh

 Literature

 At Home in the world

 Visual Arts

 Jatin Das - 4 decades of 
 passion

 Studio Potters

 Music

 Zakir Hussain - Compelling
 Beats

 
 Heritage

 Hakim Ajmal Khan's ancestral
 Sharif Manzil & Hindustani
 Dawakhana

 
 Environment 

 Eco-friendly Tyre furniture 

 Business & Economy

 Textiles of Pakistan

  Performing Arts

 'Fakir of Benares' -1922 French
 Opera revived in Delhi

 Films

 Revathy Menon's 'Mitr - my
 friend'

 Books

 The Power of Vastu Living

 'Knock at Every Alien Door'
 
- Serialization of an
 unpublished novel by
 Joseph Harris - Chapter 4

 People 

 Naveen Jindal

 


 
the craft shop

 the print gallery

 Books

 Silk Road on Wheels

The Road to Freedom

Enduring Spirit

Parsis-Zoroastrians of
India

The Moonlight Garden

Contemporary Art in Bangladesh

 

 

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 Page  1  of  2

 

STUDIO POTTERS

- SHAPING A NEW NICHE IN ART

by

Mukesh Khosla

 Art-potters-4.jpg (41218 bytes)

While the traditional potter is gradually slipping into the endangered list, a new breed of urban studio potters is re-casting the scenario in the most eloquent terms. Functioning from their individual studios these artists have not just up-held the traditional utility of these clay pots but have been instrumental in elevating this modest craft into an artistic pursuit, at par with painting and sculpture. Sardar Gurcharan Singh was the father of studio pottery movement in India.

 

Art-potters-2.jpg (42736 bytes)
Mansimran Singh - pottery is a labour of love.

Over the years, a sense of despair has overcome the traditional Indian kumhar (potter) who has been reeling under the crippling grip of power cuts, hounded by the anti-pollution laws for his coal-fired bhatti and burdened by a 12.5 per cent sales tax on the finished product. And as he abandons the profession to look for other avenues of earning, the ancient art of pottery has become a languishing craft, sorely in need of government intervention.

But while the traditional kumhars find themselves in this knotty predicament, a new breed of urban studio potters is re-casting the scenario in the most eloquent terms. Functioning from their individual studios these artists have not just up-held the traditional utility of clay pots but have been instrumental in elevating this modest craft into an artistic pursuit, at par with painting and sculpture.

These ‘clay’ artists have gained instant recognition for their innovative designs. They’ve crafted wall hangings and jewellery hitherto unknown in pottery. Their creations range from tiny plaques and coasters to large murals, which adorn the foyers of business houses.

This new batch of designers is quite unlike the traditional clan. Theirs is not a father-to-son learning process as they have acquired this skill from studio masters around the world. Be it Adil and Preeti Brar from Pondicherry or even the not-so-new Bani De Roy from Delhi, new and upcoming studio potters have given it a distinct new flavour and elevated it to an art form.

Recently, the Delhi Blue Pottery Trust organised an exhibition to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of the father of studio pottery movement in the country, Sardar Gurcharan Singh. The exhibition which is an annual affair brought together as many as 101 eminent studio potters from the country at the elite India Habitat Centre.

Studio potters like Bani De Roy are backed by a decade-long education in ceramic pottery under the Japanese master, Shoji Hamada, the revered `man of clay'. When he passed away, she continued her training under his son. Another senior studio potter, Devi Prasad took his initial training under Nandalal Bose at Kala Bhavan, in Santiniketan and Gandhiji's Sevagram.

The art came to India during the renaissance brought about by Rabindranath Tagore at Santi Niketan and many of our now established studio potters have that background. Though most of the potters still follow the traditional European style, two distinct and different schools have emerged from India---Delhi Blue Pottery established by Sardar Gurcharan Singh and The Golden Bridge Pottery at Pondicherry started by Deborah Smith and Ray Meeker.

 

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