Bhu studio, my ceramic studio has been taken its time to get ready. I rent a space in the International Zone of Auroville. I started to work on creating this tudio since may 2019. It was a thermocol storage space, walls are made of bricks from compressed thermocol with 2% cement mixed in. For the roof we put a metal one as it is faster. Then we started to work on the garden area as the entire neighbourhood is quite barren. Then I started working on designing the kiln with drawings of Ray Meekar, my teacher. So i adapted his existing gas kiln and scaled it down to one third. Then came drawings, material requirements and organising. My first time in building an gas kiln from scratch! Phew, the drawings took ages. Michel Huton, was a big help in figuring tiny details. Then after 2 months when all the materials arrived, it was time put them together. The outer kiln frame in metal was ready. Then came brick work of kiln floor. By this time the area of kiln needed to be cemented and gas storage was organised. Roofing above kiln developed leakes so that was redone with metal roofing. Then came the fixing of the cera blocks- fibreglass blocks which are the insulating material , to hold the heat inside the kiln. Installing them was beyond my physical capacity. However, a few people tried and gave up! It took the next 2 months of this trying to find people to fix them. Finally in September end it was done!
At the same time, I had a bike accident. Head injury, emergency, concussion - the works. I was in bed for 3 weeks. Starting to walk slowing, recovery took almost 3 months. Doing too much, life pulled the brakes. So here is my beautiful, little studio, finally functional. I do handbulding classes and teach wheel work. Figuring how to make clay, testing glazes and the regular chaotic life of a potter!! But, i try to slow down regularly, I keep the learning from the accident very much in the fore.
Not to forget Krishnamurthy has been a support, advisor throughout.
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