Sally Walk

Well, with just about everything glazed and preparations underway for a paper kiln firing the following day we were beginning to wind down. Only two days left in fascinating India and now I have finished my presentation to the group I was relaxed. I have been finishing a small sculpture based on a curled up dry leaf that I found a week ago. It is the most amazing form, but also represents the delicate nature of beauty and how easily it can be destroyed. It is nothing like I would ev...

This day was still a day in the studio. Many artists working on the final stages of their work. The kilns were unpacked and glazing had begun for the wood fired kiln which was due to be loaded later in the day. The gas kiln was also reloaded for a glaze firing.

After staying up all night in shifts to fire the kilns, they were cooling now. This of course means another day to explore. This time we went to Vadodara to check out a studio supporting emerging ceramic artists, followed by a trip to the Baroda University. Like the fate of all ceramic courses, it had been incorporated into the sculpture degree. We visit the sculpture faculty to see a group of students working in clay trying to recreate indian artifacts.

Well we were all still working at this stage. Much of the first group of work has been bisque fired, which means we are all are now focused on glazing. It is always a interesting time, with limited kiln space and so much work to fit in. Everyone hovers around the kiln hoping to encourage those stacking to include their work. My work is particularly annoying to get it with its unusual shapes and delicate spikes. So much so that everyone refused to touch them, and I was called when it was time ...

Madhur had organised for us to have a day out whilst the kilns were cooling. We boarded a very funny small, tall bus lined with red fabric at 6.30am. We had a long drive through the crazy traffic of India, but the sights and sounds were so interesting. 3 hours later we arrived at an ancient step well. I wish I could remember what it was called. It was an heavily carved and decorated sqaure building that stepped down a number of levels to allow  access to the water. It was an amazing beau...

Today was another day in the studio, then later in the evening we were having the opening of our exhibition 'Tatva'

here are some images of the other artists hard at work

Did you know that the state of Gujarat is a dry state, yes really.. no alcohol. Not without a permit that is. So today I went with Indian artists Vineet and Madhur to help set up the exhibition and get some alcohol. Seems like that should be a simple process. Well the setting up of the exhibition was fine, dragging plynths and arranging everyone's art work was the easy part. Getting alcohol, on the other hand is a little more complicated. Firstly we had to get copies of passports and tickets ...

This was one of the highlights of the whole trip. Our patron, Mr Rakesh Agrewal invited us to a dinner at the palace. This was held in the gardens and only the photos can explain the atmosphere. It was like a dream.

Much of day 4 and the previous day were spent carving intricate designs into the terrocotta slip. This is a slow process, but effective.

2 weeks is really not enough time for ceramic work, so days 2 and 3 were really full on in the studio. Everyone of the 24 invited artists were focused on completing their work. It is always interesting at one of these residencies as you are not familiar with the clay or the equipment and you do have to accept that it may never be your best work. As for me, I quite liked the white stoneware clay I was using. I began some slab built sculptures that were familiar to me. It is a bit tricky t...