Pottery Barn

The last thing I did in India was go on a heritage walk in the Nandi Valley just out of Bangalore. We saw British graves from 1800 and an incredible Hindu temple from 800... both fascinating.  But in between getting to those things we dropped in on a 'barn' where there were a team producing big pottery urns. 


Bangalore might be the software capital of the world (according to Indians) but here may as well been in the 8th century.  Such is the ever-present contrast of modernity meets medieval in India.  This guy spun his wheel with a big stick on the foot circle below.  When it slowed down he got the stick out and spun it again. And again.

These chaps were making their pots using the coil method (yes actually I do know a small amount about pottery I'll have you know).   I think they are used as clay ovens for cooking tandoori, I missed that bit as I was so distracted watching the guy with the stick.

The world does not need more bad pots

For the past two years I've been dabbling in a bit of pottery, I may have mentioned it.  Starting out with a beginners class at Perth Studio Potters, I've now nearly finished a semester of Cermaics at TAFE.   It is quite different at TAFE, all about the skill and art in pottery, rather than the craft.  Oh yes, there is a difference.

I've made lots of really bad pots.  But this is not one of them.  This one was charmed from the moment it centred on the wheel like a breeze, to when it came out of the kiln from it's glaze firing.

I won't bother putting up any pictures of the dud pots.   As the wonderful Bela tells us constantly at TAFE, the world does not need more bad pots.

This week I had to buy a wedding present for some girls who are tieing the knot.  Perth Potters have a great gallery open on Saturday mornings where you can buy amazing pieces for snip made by people with far more experience, skill and creativity than I will ever have.

They gave me a copy of this when I was there and I've been enjoying living the history of ceramics in our little town.  For over 50 years a group of passionate and dedicated ladies (mostly ladies) have kept the craft alive in Perth.

It is full of lots of shots like this, god bless.   Another collared shirt on fetching jumper, you might remember the look, from the eighties.  I know I do, I had plenty of both.

Going back a bit further to the sixties, look at the ladies down on their hands and knees laying crazy paving out the back of the studio, no old jeans for these dames!

By loveliest of all are the stories of passion and pleasure gained from the process of mastering a craft, and constantly adding to the skills and ideas that take a lifetime to gather to be a truly great potter.   I hope I'm still throwing pots when I'm in my eighties.  Now that's something to aspire to.

Potty

I've been promising myself for ages that when I stopped working I would do pottery classes, and this week I've come through with the goods.  Today I did my first beginners class at Perth Studio Potters, where I've been buying presents for years.    I wish I could say these were the fruits of my labour, but are in fact a (small) selection of the items I have gifted to myself from PSP.

For peanuts you can buy beautiful handmade items from their gallery (open Saturday mornings), and now that I've had a go at making a bowl on the wheel, I can tell you the quality of their wares on sale are bloody outstanding for the price.

For over two hours I was completely absorbed in clay and tableware design, with not a thought to housewifery duties or other random pointless concerns.

But what did occur to me, was the complete mismatch between the amount of time absorbed by art, and relative financial value of its results.  In fact this is probably the whole point of most art and craft, is that there is no monetary value in the end product 99% of the time, just the enormous pleasure of the creative process, to be banked.    I won't be giving up my day job though....  er, if I had one.