Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13: It was a fusion of ideas and a meeting of cultures at a ten-day pottery workshop organised at Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre here that concluded Saturday.
“Ancient pottery skills handed down over generations from as far back as the Indus Valley Civilisation are still in use in some parts of the Kuchh in Gujarat,” said Prithvi Raj Singh Deo, renowned pottery artist at the workshop.
Singh Deo presented a slideshow of his art works. “As part of our process to revive the art, we made use of various new technologies to make pottery more relevant. The pit-firing that is used in the making of the terracotta pots has been replaced with electric firing, gas firing, and studio firing,” Singh Deo said.
Sanjay Kumar Parida, a local potter, said the 10-day workshop was a great opportunity for him to work with other potters and exchange ideas and know more about their art forms. “The ten-day workshop will end today, but I have learnt a lot as it has provided me an opportunity to interact with fellow artists and local potters who hail from nearby areas of the state. The artists who came from Gujarat have also learnt a lot about our style,” Parida said.
“The skills that I have learned from Prithvi will definitely help me and I will use them to produce better art,” Parida said.
Ramahari Jena, regional secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, said, “This is for the first time that we have organised such an event. The response was good, and the centre will certainly continue to organise the event in coming years. The workshop has provided a platform for potters and next year, we will organise this in a bigger way.”
Former Indian Diplomat Abasara Beuria graced the occasion and felicitated Prithvi Raj Singh along with the other artists that took part in the workshop.
