Avant Garde Pottery

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsPotter’s wheel is considered as one of the greatest inventions of all times. Pottery has been elevated to great extent in the artistic world. The wheel, spinning out aesthetically appealing shapes and forms out of terracotta and clay, iswhat one normally sees. But for the first time in Kerala, a new concept called ceramic studio pottery has been introduced under the brand Clayfingers. The brain behind the idea, sculptor Haseena Suresh, says, “Pottery is an art form approximately 5000 year old. It was one of the traditional jobs of our ancestors. We are merely reinventing it.” Haseena says normal terracotta pottery and the ceramic studio pottery are poles apart in form, characteristics andartistic grandeur. “Here, people are not familiar with ceramic studio pottery. It is terracotta pottery that we have seenmore of. Studio pottery is almost the same as painting; a medium to express our creative side.” Ceramic pottery is more hard and durable than terracotta. “Terracotta is porous and fired at 800 degree centigrade, while ceramic is made from clay which is fired at 1350 degrees. It’s clay body is hard and is also called as stoneware,” explains thesculptor-cum-ceramic artist. Ask Haseena what allured her to ceramic studio pottery, she says, “Sculpting was always my passion. After I got married, I got the chance to travel to many countries. In places like the US and the UK, ceramic art is already a popular art form. In India, there is a society for the ceramic art, in the US there is American Ceramic Society and there are similar association in the UK also. Ceramic biennial is also held every year. The exposure to the art form made me think about introducing it in Kerala,” says Haseena who got to know about this art while studying sculpting at Shantiniketan. Haseena says through this venture, she wants to start a new movement inKerala. “Studio pottery is a handmade art form where the potter’s hand gives some amazing forms, shapes, coloursand textures to the art piece,” says Haseena, who bought an old tile and brick factory at Kadalassery, Pudukkadnear Thrissur. The factory is converted it into a potter’s den and all the ceramic work is done here.Clayfingers offers a range of ceramic pottery with beautiful glaze finish and in a variety of colours. The normal utilityobjects like teapot, plate, glass and cup made by the artists of Clayfingers come with an aesthetic finish andcould also be used as show pieces. To set the studio, Haseena had to import firing gas kiln from the US. “Wedo not have kilns for ceramic products here, so we had to import it. And there are five senior sculptors who are alsobehind these beautiful art pieces,” says Haseena. Clayfingers is holding an exhibition, ‘Out of the Earth, In to the Fire’, at Potters Gallery, Bay Pride Mall, Kochi. The exhibition is on till September 17. first published:August 29, 2012, 11:58 ISTlast updated:August 29, 2012, 11:58 IST 
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