Ceramics
The malleability of clay allows me to capture the movement and energy of living forms. A hand-building technique of pinching & blending, exaggerates the seam between two clay ribbons, forming a spine that spirals around the form. This hand-building technique brings the imprecision of organic forms, and the process of repeating the pinch and blend technique balances intent against technique, and gives room for an egoless expression of beauty and dissonance through form. I finish my pieces with colors and textures that connect to the nature.
CHAI CUPS
Inspired by earthenware train station tea cups of India.
Growing up in India train travel meant open windows, dust blowing in from the endless farms we passed through, stopping at small and large stations to sample the different food vendors offered and drinking tea. Tea was usually 15 Paisa and was served scolding hot in bisque pit-fired disposable earthenware tea cups. The tea had a heavy Buffalo milk flavor, sugar was light, and the tea strong. This series is an homage to those disposable cups that have all but vanished and replaced by plastic which now litters the miles and miles of train tracks and does not disintegrate in the same way as the old earthenware cups.
COMPOSITE VESSELS
Initially I struggled with throwing large forms, and really wanted to explore making water pitchers (surahi’s) that could hold two gallons of water, unless i made it sections. By throwing pieces of different curvature, size and shape, i began to play with how they fit together and create compositional rhythm.
SPIRAL CONTAINERS
Handbuilt spiral jars. “With these jars, I’m exploring the relationship between the spine that curves around the form and the shape underneath. Making the spine stronger or simply as an outward dent on the surface, I embody them with their own composition that might be uneven and moving against the symmetry of the form underneath. Sometimes I work slowly, looking for a balance between the spine and the form, allowing the two to breathe together. In others I move spontaneously, allowing the moisture of the clay and my mistakes to control the movement of the jar. ”