Copy of journal article: Hay, G., (2023), Stepping outside clay, into paper clay; Mirn, Indian Ceramic Art Foundation, India, 2, 62-66.
Stepping Outside Clay Into Paper and Clay Paper Clay Master Class, Aorang Studio, Kolkata
Graham Hay
Of the firm belief that "master classes are not just about the transfer of knowledge, but have the potential to create social capital and contribute to dynamic maker communities who maintain or spread new ideas and creativity," Graham Hay internationally recognised as a pioneer in the paper clay sculpture movement shares his experience of conducting a paper clay master class in Aorang Studio, Kolkata.
I was keen to explore further the emerging contemporary ceramic community in India since I was first invited to participate in the 2019 International Ceramic Symposium at Art Ichol, and co-led a short Raku and Paper Clay workshop. The contemporary ceramic art community is rapidly evolving, with the first Triennial, establishment of a national body and now an international journal. So, it was an honour to be invited back by Falguni Bhatt to give a Paper Clay Master Class in Aorang Studio, Kolkata.
I was excited by the possibilities. I knew beforehand I would have a group of highly motivated practitioners and an expanded workshop format, so I could be ambitious in planning and expectations. Most of the sixteen emerging and established ceramic artists were flying in from across the nation, and I had formally surveyed their training, experience and expectations, well before the five-day event. The workshop was to present the extensive possibilities offered by paper clay. I planned to demonstrate techniques such as wet to dry joins, dry to dry joining, sculpting, and surface decorations, and other techniques likely to be relevant to their abilities and preferences. From extensive experience I knew that the versatility of paper clay would captivate the participants, as the addition of processed cellulose fibre to any clay results in a medium that transcends traditional ceramic practices and offers an opportunity for heightened artistic expression.
Teaching a master class workshop is always exhilarating, requiring a higher level of planning, preparation and instruction. The longer five-day format was beneficial to both the participants and me in multiple ways. Not only were participants introduced to the unique characteristics and techniques of working with paper clay, but they had more hands-on time to try the demonstrated techniques themselves. More excitingly they had time to experiment with making new variations of their own work and trying to express new ideas which had not been possible in conventional clay.
I was keen to explore further the emerging contemporary ceramic community in India since I was first invited to participate in the 2019 International Ceramic Symposium at Art Ichol, and co-led a short Raku and Paper Clay workshop. The contemporary ceramic art community is rapidly evolving, with the first Triennial, establishment of a national body and now an international journal. So, it was an honour to be invited back by Falguni Bhatt to give a Paper Clay Master Class in Aorang Studio, Kolkata.
I was excited by the possibilities. I knew beforehand I would have a group of highly motivated practitioners and an expanded workshop format, so I could be ambitious in planning and expectations. Most of the sixteen emerging and established ceramic artists were flying in from across the nation, and I had formally surveyed their training, experience and expectations, well before the five-day event. The workshop was to present the extensive possibilities offered by paper clay. I planned to demonstrate techniques such as wet to dry joins, dry to dry joining, sculpting, and surface decorations, and other techniques likely to be relevant to their abilities and preferences. From extensive experience I knew that the versatility of paper clay would captivate the participants, as the addition of processed cellulose fibre to any clay results in a medium that transcends traditional ceramic practices and offers an opportunity for heightened artistic expression.
Teaching a master class workshop is always exhilarating, requiring a higher level of planning, preparation and instruction. The longer five-day format was beneficial to both the participants and me in multiple ways. Not only were participants introduced to the unique characteristics and techniques of working with paper clay, but they had more hands-on time to try the demonstrated techniques themselves. More excitingly they had time to experiment with making new variations of their own work and trying to express new ideas which had not been possible in conventional clay.
Master Class In Progress | Photo Credit: Falguni Bhatt
The class became an adventure into the unknown, where the impossible in clay became possible. Dry clay became stronger. Work could be resumed days, even years later. Ceramic hierarchies were inverted, emerging clay artists quickly adapted to new landscape, established artists struggled to adapt. The old became new. The longer duration and restricted number of participants allowed plenty of time to start individual conversations, build rapport between all participants as well as with me. This rapport also enabled deeper conversations and understanding of the unique nature of each participant’s personality and studio practice. This understanding enabled me to teach in a way most relevant for both the individuals and collective composition of the group.
I constantly challenged myself to not just talk about and show paper clay techniques, but to actively foster and expand the creativity of participants and expand their artistic horizons. I encouraged them to work in their own ways with paper clay. I wanted to see what sort of problems they would likely to individually encounter later using paper clay in their own studios. That way I could then provide the necessary knowledge and solutions for each student to solve these problems both now and much later.
To encourage them to immediately take risks I presented images of my own studio disasters, documenting the constructive lessons learnt or unexpected wins from these. Owing to the combination of these examples, individual conversations with the participants and my positive encouragement, the capable participants took a lot of technical and artistic risks with their own works. This was aided by the hospitality plus relaxed, welcoming and supportive environment created by
Falguni Bhatt, and her support crew including Kinjal Shah and Emmi Roy. Aorang Studio and the garden courtyard provided a relaxed ambience and multiple spaces for a conducive learning environment.
After giving over 300 paper clay workshops, I consciously take excessive risks and let accidents happen while demonstrating techniques such as dry to dry, wet to dry, dry to wet joining and radical wet and dry casting. From experience I know that these examples would give the participants ‘permission’ to make mistakes and take risks; and in doing so learn faster and more deeply the full possibilities of paper clay. There was occasional swearing as well as a lot of laughter and mutual encouragement and compliments given over the five days. An atmosphere of collaboration and change was fostered, where participants shared ideas and learned quickly from one another.
Workshops like this are an enriching experience not only for the participants, but also for me. Having worked exclusively with paper every day for over thirty years, I occasionally forget how radical this material seems within the very long history of ceramics. Having learnt so much from other paper clay users in paper clay symposia and conferences have led in Europe and North America, there is always the possibility
I constantly challenged myself to not just talk about and show paper clay techniques, but to actively foster and expand the creativity of participants and expand their artistic horizons. I encouraged them to work in their own ways with paper clay. I wanted to see what sort of problems they would likely to individually encounter later using paper clay in their own studios. That way I could then provide the necessary knowledge and solutions for each student to solve these problems both now and much later.
To encourage them to immediately take risks I presented images of my own studio disasters, documenting the constructive lessons learnt or unexpected wins from these. Owing to the combination of these examples, individual conversations with the participants and my positive encouragement, the capable participants took a lot of technical and artistic risks with their own works. This was aided by the hospitality plus relaxed, welcoming and supportive environment created by
Falguni Bhatt, and her support crew including Kinjal Shah and Emmi Roy. Aorang Studio and the garden courtyard provided a relaxed ambience and multiple spaces for a conducive learning environment.
After giving over 300 paper clay workshops, I consciously take excessive risks and let accidents happen while demonstrating techniques such as dry to dry, wet to dry, dry to wet joining and radical wet and dry casting. From experience I know that these examples would give the participants ‘permission’ to make mistakes and take risks; and in doing so learn faster and more deeply the full possibilities of paper clay. There was occasional swearing as well as a lot of laughter and mutual encouragement and compliments given over the five days. An atmosphere of collaboration and change was fostered, where participants shared ideas and learned quickly from one another.
Workshops like this are an enriching experience not only for the participants, but also for me. Having worked exclusively with paper every day for over thirty years, I occasionally forget how radical this material seems within the very long history of ceramics. Having learnt so much from other paper clay users in paper clay symposia and conferences have led in Europe and North America, there is always the possibility
Images Courtesy Falguni Bhatt
of learning anew within a master class. Moreover, my own passion for paper clay is invigorated by the enthusiasm displayed by participants as they begin to realise the opening possibilities for their own creative expression.
Master classes are not just about the transfer of knowledge, but have the potential to create social capital and contribute to dynamic maker communities who maintain or spread new ideas and creativity. So I often stepped back from demonstrating and leading discussions, confident the group would solve through stimulating discussions (the dipping exercise!), vibrant idea exchanges; eventually fostering social cohesion. Why? Post workshop dialogue between myself and the thousands of paper clay workshop alumni is not realistically possible, if I am to maintain my own studio practice, coordinate my studio collective, write (articles like this), and organise further paper clay events. So it is critical to encourage participants to mutually establish their own paper clay user communities during these classes and events. They can then easily and quickly solve each other’s studio problems, share technical advice, celebrate achievements and support each other well after the master class. In this way knowledge and creativity become alive and dynamic, supported by a social substructure.
Master class and workshop alumni may come together into a critical mass capable of working together to save studio time and resources. For example in finding or making soft paper clay: other alumni have formed digital communities on social media, then individually and collectively lobbied clay suppliers or manufacturers to make their clay into paper clay, or import inexpensive paper clay in bulk until they do. Alumni also share or hire resources, then make paper clay for themselves and even share with others. My impression is that the current alumni are capable of doing any or all of these things.
In summary: the diverse group of participants brought together different backgrounds, artistic perspectives and practices from all across India. New ideas within a supportive atmosphere empowered participants to experiment and build mutual appreciation and personal connections. Interesting discussions, exchange of ideas and an amazing diversity of structurally adventurous works were created and are just the beginning. I thank Falguni, her team and all the participants for the opportunity to engage with them and through them their diverse and deep contemporary ceramic community.
Short video reviews from all participants start at https://www.instagram.com/p/CqxBaGAteDD/
Images Courtesy Falguni Bhatt
Master classes are not just about the transfer of knowledge, but have the potential to create social capital and contribute to dynamic maker communities who maintain or spread new ideas and creativity. So I often stepped back from demonstrating and leading discussions, confident the group would solve through stimulating discussions (the dipping exercise!), vibrant idea exchanges; eventually fostering social cohesion. Why? Post workshop dialogue between myself and the thousands of paper clay workshop alumni is not realistically possible, if I am to maintain my own studio practice, coordinate my studio collective, write (articles like this), and organise further paper clay events. So it is critical to encourage participants to mutually establish their own paper clay user communities during these classes and events. They can then easily and quickly solve each other’s studio problems, share technical advice, celebrate achievements and support each other well after the master class. In this way knowledge and creativity become alive and dynamic, supported by a social substructure.
Master class and workshop alumni may come together into a critical mass capable of working together to save studio time and resources. For example in finding or making soft paper clay: other alumni have formed digital communities on social media, then individually and collectively lobbied clay suppliers or manufacturers to make their clay into paper clay, or import inexpensive paper clay in bulk until they do. Alumni also share or hire resources, then make paper clay for themselves and even share with others. My impression is that the current alumni are capable of doing any or all of these things.
In summary: the diverse group of participants brought together different backgrounds, artistic perspectives and practices from all across India. New ideas within a supportive atmosphere empowered participants to experiment and build mutual appreciation and personal connections. Interesting discussions, exchange of ideas and an amazing diversity of structurally adventurous works were created and are just the beginning. I thank Falguni, her team and all the participants for the opportunity to engage with them and through them their diverse and deep contemporary ceramic community.
Short video reviews from all participants start at https://www.instagram.com/p/CqxBaGAteDD/
Images Courtesy Falguni Bhatt
Copy of journal article: Hay, G., (2023), Stepping outside clay, into paper clay; Mirn, Indian Ceramic Art Foundation, India, 2, 62-66.