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There is a mystic and time-warped aura around the ceramics of Jag Mehta. One is intrigued by the simplicity of the style, form, shapes, and the rustic finish. The earthiness of the end product that Mehta creates transcends and is reminiscent of mankind’s early romance with pottery, creating functional and decorative terracotta art. Pottery made at Matticookware Studio, Pahari, Rajasthan, India. February/ March 2020 Call it a coincidence or the strong influences of his land of birth, Lahore, Pakistan, and living in the port city of Karachi, home to the Indus Valley Civilization, Mehta’s ceramics transport one to the pottery of that bygone era. Or as Mehta says, his works are born out of the fact that he is self-taught and not having any formal training in ceramics and the intricacies of its processes. “I have no formal education of ceramics and I know very little about glazes,” said Mehta, who has used his creativity to produce simple, yet awe-inspiring pieces. “I use oxides and undergl...

The creator and his creations - Wazari Johnson “I am like a child on Christmas morning when I open my kiln,” said Wazari Johnson, his shirt dotted with spots, and hands caked in clay, ready to shape the docile, earthy mass of mud into statement pieces. It's love, he said, that makes the wheel spin around, fire in the kiln burning and ideas to create the poetry and prose in glazed ceramic. “For me, everything about ceramics is just simply awesome,” Johnson said. “I love everything about the process, from getting the idea of what form I want to create, to preparing the clay, to taking it on the wheel. I love seeing the piece slowly dry and finally proving what it's made of in the fire, I love glazing and glaze firing.” These ideas, like any artists’ creation, form on a blank slate. In this case, from specks of mud, which Johnson said is therapeutic to work with and is also adaptable to changes. “I find that clay is a very versatile and "forgiving" material,...