Stepping into an artistic fantasy, an Indo-Portuguese house with the ambience and temperature of a bygone era, cool and tranquil, I met Shruti Bolar Mascarenhas to talk about her journey as a ceramic artist.
Shruti obtained her BFA and MFA (Creative Ceramic Sculpture) from the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda.
Her great affinity for clay paved the way to her becoming a ceramic artist. She says, “Clay was something that was always with me because as a child I saw my mom, my grandmom cooking in earthen pots. That really fascinated me – something outside the house, mud, could be converted into pots.”
Coming from a family of southern Indian origin (Mangalore and Maharashtra), Shruti’s home showed influences of her heritage, especially in terms of the cookware used.
She remembers her grandmother being extremely particular about cooking various dishes in different earthenware.
Once Shruti began cooking, she realised the reasoning behind this was that the earthen pots would hold on to flavour, making the next meal taste like whatever was cooked earlier. This meant that the pot was also infusing the food with the many minerals contained in the earth it was fashioned from.
Though a distinction student, Shruti chose sculpture, which was considered an option for those who were not high achievers. Her introduction to a subsidiary subject on pottery fuelled her love for clay.
She says, “That was my start where I felt I could give shape to any form…here you just threw your clay on the wheel and had a finished product. Then it was just about firing it. It was so addictive for me.”
Shruti had the opportunity of learning pottery under one of India’s most celebrated ceramic artists Jyotsna Bhatt.
Shruti had the opportunity of learning pottery under one of India’s most celebrated ceramic artists Jyotsna Bhatt. During her master’s degree, she received her first national fellowship and her works were selected to be exhibited at the Gujarat State Lalit Kala Academy.
Despite her vast education and training, Shruti says, “Twenty years into the field and I’m still learning. I must have done more than 2000-3000 firings by now, but I’m still experimenting. I feel like this field is endless.”
Shruti worked for two and a half years as an art teacher at a school, helping traumatised students deal with their issues using art and sculpture. It was difficult to detach from the girls, who had become close to her almost immediately.
As she applied for the post of assistant lecturer at MSU, Baroda, her husband, Celestin, decided to return to his Goan roots to be closer to his parents. On moving to Goa in 2010, she found employment quite quickly with Marcou Artifacts, who produce ceramic souvenirs.
As her daughter started school, balancing work and home life became stressful and tiring. She took a year’s hiatus to introspect about the future.
The director Francisco Martins was accommodating, providing her with a furnished cabin where her young child remained while Shruti worked.
As her daughter started school, balancing work and home life became stressful and tiring. She took a year’s hiatus to introspect about the future. “I’m very blessed with the husband I have got,” says Shruti, revealing how her husband constantly encouraged her to not lose touch with her craft and bought a furnace for her.
Ceracotta - The House of Clay came into being in 2015. In no time, there was progress with orders and Celestin resigned from his job to help with the business. But then tragedy struck with Shruti’s father suffering a stroke and Celestin’s mother being diagnosed with cancer.
Rising again from financial ashes, the business was resurrected in 2017. The first order was hand-painted terracotta earrings for Maalicious, a New York jewellery brand. But she had no access to her furnace because her landlord had illegally locked it up citing non-payment of rent.
Using her prawn curry clay pot, Shruti was able to fire the terracotta jewellery which, to her surprise, featured in the Paris and New York fashion weeks. “If only they knew how they were made,” laughs Shruti.
From then on, she has gone from strength to strength, producing crockery for various well-known hotels and restaurants. Shruti has even made the mural for the High Court and now she’s sprucing up the District and Sessions Court, North Goa, with her work.
Shruti has a Christian-themed mural project with azulejos for the Our Lady of Succour Church, Socorro, Porvorim.
She has a Christian-themed mural project with azulejos for the Our Lady of Succour Church, Socorro, Porvorim.
Shruti is driven to promote the use of earthenware to save the art and the livelihood of traditional Goan potters because she understands the health and environmental benefits that earthenware has. To advocate for clay vessels, she has taken to gifting them to friends and family.
Studio pottery is not seen as a lucrative occupation, and now Shruti has narrowed her offerings to only customised pottery and azulejos. Still, business at Ceracotta is steady and fulfilling to Shruti as a ceramic artist.
DETAILS
WHAT: Ceracotta - The House of Clay
WHERE: Zoswaddo, Porvorim, India, Goa
CONTACT: +91 8888597040/ ceracotta.goa@gmail.com