One of the rationales for this series of workshops was to present to participants the opportunity to engage in the complete ceramic process (other than digging and refining the clay), in a fundamental form in a short time frame. Another was the possibility of cultural exchange between some of the Australian and Indian ceramic community. The Prasad family, Giri Raj Prasad, Angoori Devi and their sons Shyam Prasad and Bhuvnesh Kumar, practice traditional Rajasthani pottery techniques although they have developed forms that respond to a contemporary New Delhi aesthetic. Their’s has been an heredity vocation, Giri Raj had been instructed by an uncle. Shyam’s principle profession is as a photographer, he is also an interpreter. Bhuvnesh has chosen to continue the families’ pottery heritage.

The two workshops were held in Geelong, Victoria. One was at the Institute of Koori Education (IKE), Deakin University over a six day period. The participants were Indigenous art students that come from their own communities for intensive blocks of study at the Geelong campus. The other was four days at Karingallery, which works with artists with disabilities. The wider Geelong community was also invited to participate in the Karingal series of workshops and many locals potters attended.

Both workshops followed a similar program. At each venue a kiln was built of the type used by the Prasads, an updraught introduced to New Delhi in the 1950s from Pakistan. The idea was to use materials found locally. When we arrived at the venues there were about 350 house bricks on site. The challenge then was to find a suitable material for mortar and render. At IKE this meant the students getting into the campus lake and foraging for mud. After struggling to get three buckets, I asked Giri Raj “how many more?” Thirty in total was the answer. Serious team work was then organised. The ‘hard bits’ had to be meticulously removed under instruction from Angoori Devi. This was then used as a mortar. At Karingal there was earth lying near the kiln site from a nearby excavation that was deemed to be suitable and as there was a cement mixer on site it all seemed too easy. Both mixes were much too plastic and there was great disappointment the next days to see cracks develop. So over a period of days, the mixes were refined with the addition of finely thrashed cow manure, sand and powdered Northcote Terracotta, and eventually at IKE fresh cow manure and sawdust.

The sites were levelled and a circle of about 13 bricks was the footprint for the kiln. At three points inside this base were additional bricks, as the courses were added, the walls canter levered from these points to eventually form the floor of the packing space. Vents were left in this floor. From this the single brick walls of the stacking space grew. The rendering process was a more inclusive activity; teams prepared the render while others smeared it over the bricks with some participants having to get over the squeamishness of handling mud and manure.

The form making was based on using the traditional wheels the Prasads had bought with them. All the wheels were powered by the potters revolving the wheel with a stick placed in an indentation on the wheel head. The oldest and mechanically simplest was a stone wheel of two parts. The wheel rotated on a hard timber pivot that was imbedded in another stone. The second was a concrete wheel cast onto what we would use as a very heavy banding wheel, and the third, a smaller wheel similar to a heavy duty banding wheel, these two ran with bearings.

A potter using a wheel is captivating. The participants who had no experience with working on the wheel were mesmerised; those who use the wheel could appreciate the skills mastered to use these particular ‘silent’ wheels. Those interested had the opportunity to have a go on the wheels. The Prasads assisted to the appropriate level of the participant’s expertise to ensure they all ended up with a piece.

Giri Raj threw some thick bottomed pieces that when dry to certain stages were beaten out to form the traditional round bottom water pots. In his hands the clay became like leather, once again those with experience in using clay were amazed at the degree to which he pushed the clay, and appreciated the beautifully generous rounded forms that resulted. We were using Northcote Terracotta PS 2000.

On subsequent days the pots made were turned and then burnished on the wheel with smooth stones. These pieces were available for participants to decorate. The Prasads brought three earth material colours with them; an iron rich red known as bharni, white, like ball clay and a dark brown . These were all mixed with water and applied to the pieces in their dry state. Angoori Devi demonstrated one decorative technique. On one of the water pots she used a lid to rotate the piece on its round bottom enabling her to paint concentric circles, she used a brush she had made of long pig hair bound around a nail, as handle, with sewing cotton. Other tools used were ribs of laminex and open ended cutting threads made of plied sewing cotton. No batts or boards are usually used, all work being placed directly on the ground. Clay is also wedged on the ground.

We did four firings, the first in each kiln to fire the saggers and slabs of clay to use as roofing in the absence of shards. The pot firing days followed a rigorous pattern leading towards the firing reaching temperature in the dark. As the temperature was determined by colour it was easier to do this when surrounding environment was dark. Giri Raj was most emphatic about the pots warming in the sun the morning of the firing. We were lucky to have fine warm weather. The pieces were all placed in optimum positions for sunshine. Meanwhile bharni was mixed with water by fingers into a watery solution. This was mopped onto the warmed pots with cloth. Then with the softest cloth available (a well worn fine cotton t-shirt), slightly dampened, the pieces were polished. The final surface was a rich earthy lustrous red. As with any kiln packing it is a puzzle to optimise the available space. Firstly the larger pieces were fitted into the bottoms of appropriate saggers. Sawdust, dung, small blocks of wood and small pots were randomly places around the pieces for colour variations. The lids were then sealed on with mud and then into the kiln. To the amazement of the onlookers Giri Raj was standing on the floor of the kiln and at times perched on the single brick kiln wall to pack the kilns. Space around the saggers was also filled with pieces. With the Prasad’s expertise and the many hands available for handing pots, the kilns were full in no time.The stack went well above the kiln walls and was finally covered with layers of shards and the pieces we had made to simulate shards.

9. Mixing the bharni; 10. Angoori Devi covering a piece with bharni; 11. Angoori Devi decorating; 12. Pots going into saggar; 13. Giri Raj Prasad closing saggar; 14. Firing in progrss; (Below): 15 . Angoori Devi breaking open the saggars after the firing; 16. Finished piece burnished and saggar fired

The firings started with a small fire of wood in the entrance to the fire box. At the beginning there was a seemly casual approach to tending the fire. As the temperature increased the attention increased. The last hour or so someone was constantly throwing sawdust into the fire box, a hot and dusty position. Occasionally the fire box was raked so unburnt fuel was available for combustion. When it was determined the temperature colour was right the fire box had a final raking and the entrance was bricked up. The firings took about four and a half hours.

The mornings after, the kilns were unpacked. Unlike some kilns where you open the door and all is revealed, this was a slow unveiling. A fine layer of ash covered everything. As the layers of shards were removed pots became visible and were then removed. The saggers were then lifted out, still hot. The sealing mud had to be cracked open, the top removed and then the piece was exposed, and finally lifted from the bottom section. The pieces that had been treated with the bharni and polished were oranges to deep reds with flashes of satin black where combustible material had been. Remarkably there was nothing lost considering the short firing time. In the beautiful warming morning sun, there was a final dusting off of ash and the pots were considered and admired.

The techniques, equipment and tools the Prasads used are deceptively simple, as is often the look of such things in the hands of people skilled in their craft. They provided to workshop participants the experience of a complete ceramic process. The grace of Giri Raj’s craft has been achieved by a lifetime dedicated to its pursuit.