Ganesha making

The time in Pondicherry before the 'road trip' was spent at Golden Bridge Pottery making a Ganesh.

I had made 'them' before, a lot. It had obsessed me.  Then I stopped making them, for a variety of reasons, none of which were very clear to me at the time. I went to the wheel and tableware and stencils.....all good.

But when I went to Japan and met Ray & Deb (who run Golden Bridge) I was advised by Ray (Meeker) and Jeff Shapiro (who is an extraordinary ceramicist as well and ran the Japan trip) to go back to Ganesh and continue the relationship and explore that avenue. 

Initially, I tried throwing different parts of Ganesh on the wheel. It was a manual kick wheel, that we saw heaps of in Japan. Compared to my Lockerbie a motorised kick wheel at home, it was like attempting to play tennis with a baseball. The voice that spoke to me, that dialogued with me would have nothing to do with the idea either. "Madame, you have to make me with your hands, not with parts from a wheel. You must touch the details of who I am." This is a deity that is much beloved in India and actually all over the world. He's the remover of obstacles, the deity invoked when beginning a new endeavour. He is a taskmaster. At least to me.

 

He or the part of 'he' that is 'me' or however you want to explain this consciousness spoke to me and we had a dialogue in his creation. The push/pull of how he should sit, the size of his trunk, the gaze of his eyes or his 'waking up'. Which I found out is a big deal when they make the giant ones for ceremonies. The photo below left is the first attempt, a bit too 'Disney' and it got altered.

This time I made Ganesh's vehicle 'Mooshika' a rat or mouse that he sits on or rides. This time I made an Indian style bench. Mooshika is considered 'the little hoarder' who is hyper and is completely run by his senses. Sound familiar? Ganesh 'riding' this creature is the idea of a deity in control over the senses. I see it as the greater consciousness over the material conscious mind. That's my take as the western white girl who makes these things. Who doesn't know why she does it. At all.

So here's my Ganesh after a wood bisque firing sitting on his rat mobile (vehicle) with a bit of clay supports. I'll post the pix of him being glazed (actually with slip) in the next entry.