On Friday, 19 October 2018, 12 Indoindians artists attended a ‘Clay Workshop’ by Arti Gidwani. Arti is a successful sculptor and clay jewelry maker with a penchant for the unusual and innovative.
She embarked on this creative journey 20 years ago with a ceramic class in Singapore. It has now grown into a flourishing career.
The participants were a tour of Arti’s home studio to get a clearer picture of what was involved while making clay/ceramic artwork. Many of her pieces fascinated the audience, which were in different stages.
Along with her studio, artists also saw the tools used. The place where she works is simply heaven for any clay artist. “When I work here, I am so happy that I refuse to leave”, she told the participants.
On the tour Arti spoke about some of her signature pieces. She also shared what inspired her to create such pieces and the thought process involved while making them.
Clay Workshop
At the start of her workshop, each participant is given clay the size of one’s palm. It was during this process that Arti instructed the participants on how to start. Using water as glue, each artists would start to sculpt and create art from the piece of clay in front of them. She explained, “Treat clay as a person. Be gentle and attentive with them. Similar to a person, poking and messing with it too much can create cracks later on when it is done.”
Arti also helps them to release and achieve their artistic vision. “It doesn’t matter that your art work looks a little kooky, in fact that is what makes it special. That’s why I’m never satisfied when I see a perfect sphere of clay. I get the strong urge to poke a hole in it and make it into whatever I have in mind,” she shared with her class.
At the end of the day, many of the participants went home satisfied.
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