It was an early start this morning, 7am!
We went to visit the Prajapat Colony in Uttam Nagar, a ceramic community just on the outskirts of Delhi. Even with our guide and experienced taxi driver we had considerable difficulty negotiating the back streets and winding roads (when I say roads they are more like dirt tracks!)
Cows, pigs, dogs and the odd goat are just a few of the traffic hazards for the experienced driver here in India! Getting from one place to another is never a dull experience!
I went with a lady based in Delhi called Minhazz, a contact from an American lady here on a Fulbright scholarship here at the Kendra.
Minhazz supports Indian artists, particularly those who have no formal arts training, she is very much an advocate for Outsider Artists. She spends much of her time supporting local artists and creating connections between Indian artists and artists from other countries, to enrich all artists experience through cross cultural engagement.
She first took us to meet a potter who has a studio on the outskirts of the ceramic colony.
His name is Giri Raj Prasad , originally from Ragisthan he migrated to Delhi in search of work, he has slowly built up a studio and now makes the most beautiful crafted, highly skilled ceramic work.
Working in traditional terracotta he uses an electric wheel rather than the traditional kick wheel often seen here, I am surrounded by original vessels of varying scales and form.
Huge 10ft pieces line the back walls. This is both his studio and his home.
His passion for his work is tangible, and whilst many potters here in India struggle to make a living from their work he seems to be doing relatively well with the support and help of people like Minhazz.
Up some stairs we make our way to his roof. A tall brick kiln emerges from his flat roof, there are also large neat piles of cow dung, used as fuel to fire his kiln.
The kiln is a huge chimney structure, firings are done on average once every three months when there is enough work to fill it.
Most of his work is burnished to produce a shiny surface before firing, the pots emerge from the kiln part blackened by sawdust, a beautiful sheen on the surface, each piece is different and unique due to the firing, touched by the flames and the kiln differently.
Just before we leave we exchange business cards!
He looks intrigued and slightly bemused by the image of my ceramic installation work on the front of my card! I explain a little about my work and as we stand there and chat with the help of Minhazz, he suddenly asks us to stay a little longer to watch him work.
We are delighted, as is he!
He clearly enjoys visitors to his studio and I feel very lucky to be there to watch him.
So we stay a little longer and watch him work …
