Pottery

The potters of Kutch are famously known as ‘Kumbhars’ in the local language. One can say that the potters of Kutch play a necessary roll in the lives of all subdivisions of the culture of Kutch and they still do. Water and food are increased for the future use in different kinds of pots of different shapes and sizes. Today, the potters are also providing metaphorical models of animals and human forms as toys for children and offered sculptures for the festivals of the Hindus.

As the time goes continuously, shapes of the pots are changed in different shapes, though artistically pleasurable have the most advantageous functionality. On the other hand, craftsmen have made their own little arrangements which give their pots their individuality and an identity which has been approved down the family line for many developments. This may involve small standards in the shape and more observably, the painted or scored designs given to the external of the pots.

The sculptural work was involved in the making of toys and offered archeological items have a lot of scope where inspiration is apprehensive. In this case, the functionality is not of any concern but of sensitive beauty. Therefore, the forms are differing from one potter to another potter. Each potter has his own individual style. For example, elephants are made in the same way but they have very different shapes from one potter to another.

Process:

A wheel is used for preliminary process for the pots and for most of the toys. This wheel is called ‘Chakedo’ in the Kutchi language. This wheel is made from a large, absolutely balanced disc like a cartwheel, made of wood but packed with soil to make it heavy. Wooden claimed hold up a platform at the centre on which the pot is prepared. An iron rotate supports the centre of the wheel. The wheel is competently rotated at speed using the stick positioned in the small hole at the border of the wheel. The weight of soil makes the disk be active as a flywheel, keeping the wheel in the momentum for a long stage of time.

Clay is broken up nearby and prepared by the relatives. Afterwards, it is thrown on the wheel to shape the elementary pot. The pots cannot be completed on the wheel as they typically have a round substructure. Therefore, after some hours, when the pot has incompletely dried and toughened, the pot is supported from inside and flattened with a wooden hit chasing the pot into the most wanted shape. Then, it is allowed to dry completely.

The sculptures are regularly made on the wheel. When these are dry, they are trapped together and covered with fresh soil. Then, sequences of the animals’ features are added and the surface is smoothed out. The paintings on the pottery are typically done by women folk and for this reason, the process of pottery becomes a family expertise. The paintings are generally made from black, red and white earth colouring matters found nearby. ‘Gheru’ is made from red mud, ‘Goru’ from white soil and ‘Karu’ from black stone. Normally, the pots are given a wash of the base colour and then the other colours are painted over by the help of bamboo stick. Many different decorative designs are prepared by using dots, diagonal, concentric and zigzag lines.

Finally, the pots are fired up using the open-firing process. Afterwards, the pots are piled up or produced and mixture of dried cow dung, straw and other fuel is piled up around the pots to form a field. Then, mud is sited over the whole pile. With suspiciously positioned air channels, the fire burns for several days. The pots are removed when cool.