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Honey bee publish details |
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Russia |
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Siberian Roots of Creativity
Traditional Pottery in Siberia, Russia |
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| Abstract |
In March 2013, Professor Anil Gupta visited Siberia and participated in the first trial of a Shodhyatra in Russia – a short expedition to the village Semiluzhki, situated not far from Tomsk. One of the very interesting encounters was interaction with a potter, Andrey who demonstrated his clay pots with unique features made according to very old Russian traditions. Later, a group of students visited his pottery studio and asked more detailed questions. Our friend Olga Ustyuzhantseva from Tomsk, Russia, reports this conversation. |
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How long have you been practising pottery? For about 17 years. At first I started to work with wood, then with birch bark, with fine and applied arts – certainly, all these I made by hands. All of these always had functional and practical meaning. But initially I was supposed to be a doctor- after school, I entered university.
What was your specialisation at the University? I was a medical student but I did not go through until graduation.
When did you realise that medicine isn’t your way and you want to be a potter? When you start to search something in your life and try to take it forward, step by step you understand if this is what you are meant to do, your inner realization can change your life. It comes for each of us in different ways and at different time. I am happy to create something with my hands, by myself. Medicine was not taught so well anyway. I was upset with the quality of teaching. I then found my destination in pottery.
Tell about your pots? What is the main idea? Actually, the idea is very old. For example, when we see the oldest traditional ceramics, we think that they are so dilapidated, old and useless that we can only place them in a corner of the room and enjoy their outer appearance for many years. I attended may agricultural festivals and events, communicated with craftsmen and was impressed by the skills transferred by our ancestors to make pots that were beautiful, functional and pleasant. I discovered my inner calling. If you are interested in something, you will find a way to pursue it.
Do you use any local techniques from your village and other local villages or is everything inspired by the festivals that you have visited? No, in fact, to find information about pottery was difficult enough, even in Siberia. We have the Tomsky Kreml, which was actively excavated and became surrounded by tractates. All excavated ceramics were believed to be imported, because ostensibly we hadn’t enough skills to make such ceramics. In other words, in olden times it was better to import from Moscow and use it here. And the prills that were found in different houses were defined as “not local”. The nearest ceramics found to be of local origin is Altai pottery (Altai is a Siberian region situated 550 km from Tomsk). There were many pottery settlements between Novosibirsk and Barnaul, some of them were serious trade markets in the 17th and 18th century. I suppose they existed in Tomsk too, but there are no distinct descriptions, at least I couldn’t find any. Maybe someone who reads this interview knows; I would be grateful for the information. I think all potters of the Slavic world utilised similar techniques. Everything was clear and there were not any big secrets. Pottery for milk (with antibacterial features), ceramics and black-polished pottery with different scald were created in the traditional and organic ways with water-proof features. The technique was widespread in Russia.
Are the same ingredients used for all the pots? Are just the colours different, one dark and another lighter? There are some nuances in the work process which make them a little bit different. Generally, the main thing is to make the side thicker and water-proof. Simultaneously, if the pot is used as a container, then it needs to respire. These are the main features and are similar for many of the products. But there are also exceptions that once were made with different techniques for different purposes. There is for instance a special technique for pots that are intended for storing water or food material over a longer period of time. There is also a technique that allows to cool the content of the pot. When we place the vessel on a windowsill on a hot day, the content stays fresh and cooler. Not only Slavs knew about this method but all the people of middle Asia have used such devices from the time immemorial.
The technique of glazing was developed to make pots flame-proof. This led to people designing pots that were more glossy and beautiful and could be used for storing alcohol as well. Antibacterial wax is also an important and pleasant feature. Moreover, the design of these pots is creative and interesting. It is very different and sometimes one cannot understand why it is formed in a certain way. One good example is this jug. Its form is special. It was purposefully designed in such a way that, when heated milk cools off, the cream is separated from the milk. These kinds of vessels are more complex. When a pipeline is added inside the vessel, then, if poured from one side, one gets the milk but if poured from the other side, then one gets the cream. Such wonderworks have existed till now. Or take the refrigeration technology. For example, this pot looks funny because of the lashings wrapped around. It’s not the traditional way, I just tried to keep it alive. Its appearance is not Slavic, but the main thing is how it was created. It was not so easy. This hole in the middle of the pot helped to cool down its contents. This pot was intended for kvass or other drinks that must be kept cool especially on hot days. The peculiarity lies in the milk-wax treatment, which allows the vessels walls to get saturated with the aroma of the food that is cooked. For example, we cook fish in a pot. Next, we are going to cook vegetables or borsch. Usually the dishes were cooked in different pots in order not to mix smells. Thus, there were pots for cooking fish, for keeping onions and potatoes, etc. The vessels’ ability to accumulate the smell of food and to make what is cooked next more aromatic and delicious, is inherent only in this kind of tableware. With the usual glazed dishes we cannot create this effect. Another interesting thing that unexpectedly surprises is our traditional penny whistle, which is simple and nice-looking, but sounds amusing. Apart from its usual sound, it hasn’t any other sound. But if you fill it with a little water, it becomes an entirely other thing. Filled with water, it can produce a bird’s sound. Even our sparrows, tomtits and other birds can take it as the sound of a real bird. Whistling has a history too. I suppose it was created in the 16th century, may be earlier, who knows. On the one side it’s funny, but on the other side whistling has a sacred meaning: penny whistles were given to kids in order to protect and save them from demons.
Siberia: from crane to craft
Andrey visited Ahmedabad for the Sattvik food festival. During the food festival, Andrey enthusiastically promoted the pottery works and techniques from Russia. Although he hails from Siberia, he has mastered techniques of pottery practised across Russia. He came to India empty handed except for some exciting clay whistles.
The entire set of pottery he displayed at Sattvik was made at the place of Mansukhbhai Prajapati, the innovator of the Mitti Cool refrigerator, at Wankaner in Gujarat. Andrey Saltan tirelessly explained the pottery art of Russia to thousands of visitors as they took keen interest in the displayed art.
Andrey pointed out that the traditional clay water jugs were different for men and women because of different grips and size of their hands. The smaller size of women’s hand meant that their hand could go through a tinier mouth of the jug while cleaning. Men however, had bigger hands, so for them to clean the jugs, the mouths of the jugs had to larger. He showed how in older times, a vessel with openings on two sides and suspended from the ceiling was used to wash hands after dinner. One only had to press the mouth on his or her side and the vessel would tilt allowing water to flow to his or her side. After Sattvik, Andrey again visited Wankaner for a potter’s workshop organised by the Gujarat Grassroots Innovation and Augmentation Network (GIAN), Ahmedabad and Gujarati MatikamKalakari (GMK) and Rural Technology Institute (RTI), Gandhinagar. The workshop was supported by SRISTI and NIF. The objective of the workshop was to acquaint the potters of Gujarat with techniques and ideas from Russia.
In the workshop Andrey narrated his struggles as a potter and many Gujarati potters could relate to him. He urged potters to continue taking risks and trying new things to be successful.
He explained to potters techniques like the use of milk, double kilning process, use of self made natural wax coating and showcased a few articles made by him. Andrey also made a few articles in front of the potters and explained the use of small tools to make design of their clay articles, he even used a cut out from plastic bottle, waste paper, floor tiles to make various design and give different shapes to his articles. The potters from the Gujarat, in turn, showcased their talent which fostered cross learning.
Andrew explained how he designed his products for the niche market and sold them at premium. He also acknowledged that products similar to his, were available in Russia, but his quality and precision fetched better returns. The slack months in production were due to rains in India and in Russia these were due to extreme winter. Andrey further explained how climatic conditions affected the nature of technology. In India, it is necessary to retain the porosity of the clay articles as it enables cooling by evaporation while in Russia the porosity has to be minimum.
Later, Andrey joined the 32nd Shodhyatra in Punjab to explore India’s creativity at the grassroots and share his message across.
Andrey Saltan, Tomsk, Siberia
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 24(3) 10-11, 2014 |
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