Displayed at the Koel Gallery in Karachi, the exquisite porcelain work of the country’s foremost studio ceramist Sherazade Alam is perfection personified (or should it be porcelainified?). It is for the first time in the artist’s acclaimed vocation that she works in the medium of porcelain after studying and practising the art at a five-week residency at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen. It is the city in China where porcelain has been made from the times of the Han dynasty in 206 BC.

Speaking of the experience, Alam related that it was the most intensive period of her vocation. On her arrival, she was astonished and delighted to meet her teacher from the Farnham School of Art, the Japanese potter Takeshi Yasuda, after three decades. He advised newcomers to spend the first few days at the workshop absorbing the ambience and the environs. There were streets, walls and courtyards paved with porcelain tiles. Painted pots, figurines and furniture all have been created in porcelain.

In the workshop she studied the methods and traditions of working with porcelain in the international design studio. Explaining the experience, she states, “The time we spend at the workshop was focused and intense with little respite, but utterly enjoyable.”

Sherazade Alam exhibits her magnificent ceramic artworks

Alam is a ‘potter’ of international repute. She graduated with Honours from the National College of Arts in 1972 and studied ancient pottery relics of Mohenjodaro, Mehergarh and Taxila. A scholarship to Farnham School of Art, UK, gave her the opportunity to work with professional potters. With her artist husband, Zahoorul Aklaq and children, she lived abroad for years. She taught in Ankara and ran her studio in the US and Toronto, eventually returning to Lahore to re-activate her studio and kiln. There she continues to create beautiful art pieces and has opened the studio to other artists to encourage them in their work.

Photos by Fahim Siddiqi / White Star.

The Jingdezhen body of work displayed was collectively titled “The Pilgrimage with Porcelain: A tribute to the earth and sky of Jingdezhen and everything in between”. There one discovered 96 porcelain artworks; many pieces of sheer sculpture. There were vases, bowls, large plates, delicate tea pots and the dervishes and shapes reminiscent of the swirling garments of the dancers. One large luminous piece the artist spoke of as a ‘gift of nature’, its beauty exceeded even the creator’s expectations.

When asked how she had achieved such a variety of luminous shades in the work, Alam explained: ‘In Toronto I had worked with mid-fire porcelain. But Jingdezhen super white porcelain is of an exceptional quality. It’s high-fire clay and comes from the mother rock in the surrounding hills.” She further explained that traditionally, the rock would be hammered into powder and mixed with water and the process is now mechanised.

At ‘The Pottery Workshop’ the glazing of the work involved collaboration within a limited time frame. So on this occasion, Alam selected first a silvery shade of pale green, hues of glassy, frosty pale celadon. She used matte whites and a soft, mint green matte with shiny crystals. Pointing to the rich red hues of pieces shown she explained, “An old favourite, when it comes out well, it is ox-blood red or sand de beouf. This then becomes my glaze palette.”

Seldom has one seen such a beautiful collection of pieces, there were pots painted with floral motifs, found objects, little porcelain flowers scattered among the artworks, delicate pieces of gold and silver. As Alam aptly said, “You touch the articles and you begin to be transformed …”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 23rd, 2014