Alpona Casserole

This collection is a product of the artist’s time spent at Golden Bridge Pottery in Pondicherry in 2022, an experience that proved to be transformative for her. At GBP, she had the privilege of learning and participating in the ancient art of wood-firing stoneware. Founded by Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith in the 1970s on the Coromandel coast, GBP has a legacy of producing unique and masterful pieces and artists. The pots in this exhibit are a blend of traditional Japanese pottery techniques, which were passed down to Deborah Smith during her years of studying with masters in Japan in the 1960s, and a contemporary touch, born from her own personal interpretation of these functional and non-functional pieces in the modern world. The stoneware clay body used here was made in-house with various types of clay, and each piece was carefully glazed to ensure that it was food-safe and vitrified. The wood firing process is an arduous task, requiring constant attention and stoking of wood to maintain a temperature of up to 1300 degrees Celsius over a 24-hour period. This method of firing pottery is a physically demanding yet ultimately rewarding process and is a testament to the enduring power of human creativity, resulting in uniquely exquisite pieces that cannot be replicated by any other means.