The allure and exoticism of an ancient culture beckoned me to return to India, the birthplace of three of the world’s religions where a people’s past energetically melds with present everyday life. The crowded streets assault the eyes, ears and hearts and fill me with a passion that eludes me in the empty Australian landscape. It was with reverence that I set out to experience India. Floundering to understand her complex culture and beliefs I hoped to learn about the traditional potter only to return with a desire to know even more of the modern Indian studio potter.

In December 2004 I received a fellowship for the opening of Global Arts Village, a haven on the outskirts of New Delhi where artists could embrace an alternative lifestyle and a workspace conducive to their particular discipline. What immediately stimulated my senses was the ornamentation that surrounded me. From the body decoration of bindi, mehendi and jewellery, to the printed and embroidered saris; from the smallest shrines to the tallest minarets and goporums of their holy places; ornate ornamentation often aged, cracked and metamorphosed with the garish, contemporary incursions of the global world.
I immediately connected with and collected the symbols that have become the body of my present work, particularly those of the hand and feet which represent the totality and reason for my journey.

Wall Amulet Rebirth, Kleinton’s clay with oxides, 42x42

Following them were folk art patterns, terracotta stamps and unusual bric-a-brac and refuse I collected from the streets and the Rajasthani gypsies to use on my work. The textures of these were to serve as the moulds and patterns for my work.
The basic form I most connected with was the shrine or temple, a symbol of the solid aspiration to learn and ascend to reach a higher state. Much imagery and symbolism was not of my culture but they translated understandably to a new global context. My path became not so different to those trodden by others in the desire to understand man and relate to my own contemporary world.

The Delhi ceramics scene was also one attempting to come to terms with the past and present,
the native and foreign. Traditional potters struggle with declining traditional markets and environmental issues whilst the emerging studio potters balance the functional and their newly arrived ‘art market’ acceptance. In the imagery of much 2D and 3D work there was often a clear tension between the ancient traditional and contemporary global. My meeting with a large range of artists was one of the most rewarding of all my experiences abroad. I was supported, encouraged and helped and ultimately realised how similar we all were.

Since my return to Australia in February and a second trip to southern India in June my work has grown in stature and complexity. The major shapes have been press moulded from hand made moulds of plaster and wood. The highly textured surfaces were achieved through the use of impressed jewellery and plaster slab moulds made from stamp originals purchased at the markets. Some surfaces were stressed, misshapen, distorted and sewn together with staples and wire. Many of the shapes and symbols I have chosen are universal. In India the mandala and yantra are often the floor plans of shrines and temples, to modern society the circle many may associate to time. In all my work soft mute colours aim to create a timelessness and meditative quality. Layers of slip are applied in various colours and oxides are added to emphasise the textured surfaces. Small areas of glaze have been added to some pieces and some were fired with metal additions. Other non-ceramic additions include gold leaf and adornments that hang like jewellery or traditional malas around or from the pieces.

(Left) Compliation, Zahir 1, 2 & 3, Kleinton’s clay oxides and glazes, approx 150 x 30 x 20cm

Left: Shrine to the Modern World, 74 x 32 x 22cm
Right: Shrine - Remains of the Day 74 x 32 x 22cm, Kleinton’s clay, oxides, glazes and found objects,

From my residency experience I have brought back to Australia a myriad of experience and knowledge to stimulate my art making for years to come. The National Ceramics Conference in Brisbane in 2006 will see a number of Indian potters come to Australia to share our global concerns.

As the Sanskrit states: perhaps art can be Yatra visvam bhavatieka nidam, “Where the whole world meets in a single nest” and shares ‘wealth of mind` for the benefit of all.