Ceramic Crafts of Kutch from Potters in Peril
by Paulomi Abhyankar

Thursday, June 9, 2011, 7.00 p.m.
Home of
Matra Majmundar & Raj Mashruwala
450 Melville Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301

Please join us for light refreshments between
6.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.
Free admission; Limited seating
R.S.V.P. 650-918-6335 or info@sachi.org

Pottery has traditionally been a locally and environmentally sustainable craft in the region of Kutch. All the natural resources needed to turn earth into pottery are local. Clay, water, thorns, tender stems from the ‘bawal’ or Prosophis Julifera plant, jaru leaves, and the black stone used in making pottery are local materials found in the potters’ villages. In 2001, a massive 8.0 earthquake in Kutch, Gujarat devastated the city of Bhuj and the local potter community in western India. It severely disrupted work rhythms and the production, sales and market patterns of this traditional age-old craft of Gujarat. The Potters in Peril Trust, a non-profit, arose in response to the urgent need of these craftsmen. On June 12, 2001 an Indo-US ceramic exhibition, ‘Potters in Peril’, conceived and curated by Ms. Abhyankar was launched and inaugurated by the US Consul General at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. It displayed art works by over 60 Indian and American ceramicists for the benefit of quake-hit potters of Kutch. June 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the ‘Potters in Peril’ initiative and the US-India collaborative exhibition. In commemoration of Kutch potters, Ms. Abhyankar will provide a background of Kutch pottery and acknowledge the role of California ceramic artists in spontaneously reaching out to fellow artisans of the Bhuj earthquake.

About the speaker: Ms. Abhyankar is a renowned potter, who has shown her work in several countries, including Cyprus, Sweden and the US. She has been working with clay since 1970 and has been a member of several clay organisations including The Lalit Kala Akademi and The Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California. Paulomi Abhyankar also has a deep understanding and knowledge of the pottery of ancient civilisations and has lectured worldwide on this topic.

SACHI and the PAAC extend special thanks to Matra Majmundar & Raj Mashruwala for support towards the program.