How the mindful craft of pottery is growing popular in Visakhapatnam

Discover the magic of pottery in Visakhapatnam, a calming creative outlet sparking renewed interest among artists and enthusiasts.

There is a certain rhythm and magic to pottery. And this bit of magic is sparking a renewed interest in the craft, and creating a thriving community of artists, enthusiasts and collectors in Visakhapatnam.

An antidote to the hustle of urban life and the digital world, pottery is experiencing a resurgence in popularity with more people seeking to experience a tactile outlet for creativity.

For Manjari Agraharapu, it was love at first throw down. An architect, Manjari was exploring working on creative mediums when she found herself drawn towards pottery while pursuing a course in Bengaluru. “I loved working with the material and the entire process of preparing clay, centering on the wheel and shaping the forms was so satisfying,” she says. “I had issues with anxiety and used to get overwhelmed easily. Pottery had a calming effect on me.”

About a year ago, Manjari started her studio Mattikathalu in Visakhapatnam and has seen the community grow and an interest in pottery spike in the city over the past one year. Manjari spends time experimenting with forms and patterns. “I love playing with colour. Recently, I started working on a project where we incorporate colour with clay,” she says.

Mattikathalu exudes a minimalistic charm with shades of whites and yellows in the space. At her studio, where she conducts workshops for enthusiasts, beginners start working on the basic cylindrical form, then move on to cups and more complex forms. According to her, the key elements for mastering the art of pottery are being mindful and focussed on what one is doing.

Social media might have helped fuel the popularity of the craft, but Manjari feels there is a lot more to it than the “perfect, calming videos”. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. There are days of failures and consistent hardwork before the perfect piece comes out of the wheel,” she adds. Corroborating with her, artist Anita Rao says while Instagram reels show potters hypnotically shaping clay, unfortunately, the videos beguile viewers into believing it to be simple. “There are hours of preparation, learning and cleaning up involved!” she adds.

Even though artist Anita possesses a pottery wheel, she finds herself gravitate towards freewheeling sculptural forms resulting out of hand-building with clay. “The wheel is amenable for functional products, which doesn’t enthuse me,” she says. Her studio called HappySpace in Visakhapatnam is primarily a place to experiment. “To try out various processes, acquiring and trying different tools, exploring various glazes to finish the bisque fired ceramic pieces,” she adds. Her learning curve was not a smooth one, but which she slowly and steadily went through with distance learning mode with guidance from her college seniors of Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai.