BHUBANESWAR: Art encompasses a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artworks. It expresses the artist’s conceptual idea or technical skill, which is intended to be appreciated for their aesthetic appeal. Ceramic art is an example of such works.
Artworks of this category are made up of ceramic materials, including clay. It may take various forms including art ware, tile, figurines, sculpture and tableware among others. It is a form of visual art. While some of the works such as pottery and sculpture considered as fine arts, others are used for decorative or industrial purposes.
Ceramic art can be made by one individual or a group of people. In a pottery or ceramic factory, a group of people design, manufacture and decorate such artworks. In modern ceramic engineering, ceramics is the art and science of making objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials by the action of heat. It excludes glass and mosaic made from glass tessera. There is a long history of ceramic art in almost all developed cultures, and often ceramic objects are all the artistic evidence left from vanished cultures, like that of the Nok in Africa over 2,000 years ago.
Orissa Post interacted with few ceramic art experts of the city to delve deeper into the subject.
Artist Sovan Kumar said, “Ceramic is yet to catch the imagination of contemporary artists. Studying ceramic art in the state is a luxury that very few can afford. There are very few studios where such art can be practised. Moreover, ceramic art is slightly expensive as the raw materials are costlier than other art forms. The state can be a hub of ceramic arts as it houses a huge quantity of such raw material. Ceramic is very expensive for us as artists. The process is lengthy and risky. We have to heat the material to 800-degree Celcius as the material itself is so fragile. People of the state do not understand the process and typically compare it to pottery.”
Artist Sudhi Ranjan Maharatha said, “The memories of my early childhood have inspired me to portray those experiences through ceramic art. Ceramic work had always captured my attention as I was very keen on learning this skill.”
Sima Agarwal, a researcher of ceramic art, said, “I sincerely believe that crystalline glaze is a thing of beauty that nature has bestowed upon us. It is an art form where we create a ceramic sculpture out of clay on the potter’s wheel and then dry it under the sun. If one wants to indulge in regular ceramic pottery then the burning process would be different. After cooling the sculpture for 30 minutes, one needs to heat it to the temperature of 1,050 degree Celsius for a maximum of six hours.”
Artist Narottam Das said, “The skill of controlling the temperature at different times is a necessary aspect of this artwork. Patience is the key in this form of art.”
NIDHI SINHA, OP
