Shaping the Mud that Is Our Life

Pottery is a beautiful art form. It is an art of shaping earth with hands, on a rotating wheel.

- Ms. Hiral Haria

I am sure you all have seen the potter's wheel sometime in your lifetimes. It appears so calming and relaxing doesn't it? How easily the clay takes form. But in reality, it is not so.

Let's see the steps involved in this. First you form a ball of the clay to be used and slap it on the wheel. The clay's natural tendency is to go outwards due to centrifugal force. Now you turn the wheel on to full speed and push the clay to the centre, not even half a centimetre off. Just imagine having to push your raft upstream against the flow of water.