Almost two decades ago Sheherezade Alam, the acclaimed ceramist, told me “the clay is my teacher” before she went on to acknowledge its vast influence on her life. How clay had led to a passionate career in ceramics and given her a profound understanding of one of the world`s oldest unbroken traditions in the medium.

At our meeting on her return from Toronto, where she had been living for over a decade, Alam often talked about sharing her experience and knowledge with the younger generation.

To realise this dream Alam is presently in Karachi conducting a workshop in clay which she hopes will serve as a template for similar initiatives all over Pakistan.

On discussing her vision of the clay workshop at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture she felt the best age groups to target are be 11 and 12-year-olds because they are still enthusiastic about employing their creativity. The second group would be from 16 to 18-year-olds who have discovered their creative talent and are keen to pursue art as a career. Art teachers from schools will be included so they can confidently take clay to the classroom with new skills.

Alam`s aim is to use clay to communicate the forgotten spiritual tradition which is integral to creativity. The

participants will also be given skills to understand clay as a versatile organic medium and most importantly the workshop will create an awareness of the importance of clay through history.

Clay to Alam has been a source of spiritual strength since Sufijee, the village potter who worked with her, made her aware of its indigenous link to Sufic teaching. Sufijee through the ritual of lighting a dia or oil lamp never failed to pay homage to the Creator, before he began his daily work. Potters for centuries have worked with the Kulalnama, a book of prayers which they recite before firing their kiln and undertaking other crucial steps. Theses Sufi potters who are linked to the Naqshbandi Silsila of artisans believe that the pursuit of perfection in their craft is akin to prayer.
Alam, the modern studio potter looks at similar traditions in other cultures especially Japan where pottery is a revered art. To create an awareness of this spiritual connection she plans to familiarise students through rituals that will engage them with traditions of spirituality and creativity.

The energy invested in clay while preparing it for hand-building and throwing creates a physical connection with the medium and opens new possibilities. The experience informs the participant how a humble material like clay yielded from river banks and mountainside quarries can be shaped into exquisite forms and glazed into the most vibrant palette in the hands of potter.

Even though the skills taught at the workshop will be rudimentary but it will give a glimpse into the potential of clay and complex shapes that can be accessed with skill and imagination.

Since the late 1970s when Alam graduated from the Ceramic Department at NCA she has been engaged in the vessel tradition. She has looked at the legacy of functional and decorative pots in various mediums and used them as a point of reference to build her vast vocabulary of forms. She is as fascinated by the degh (communal cooking pot) as she is by the understated Finnish design aesthetic. Japanese pottery inspires her just like the tiered dia stands at temples in India. Eclectic sources have informed the artist in her journey and she wants to share this vast knowledge via film presentations, tutorials and practical workshops.

To Alam, history and clay cannot be separated and to articulate this she will introduce clay forms from the Indus Valley Civilisation to present the stories embedded in a range of clay vessels, toys, bracelets, necklaces etc excavated at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The impressive skill of ancient potters both in refining clay, hand building and throwing with flawless firing all speak of a superior craft based civilisation. The un-deciphered text on the baked clay tablets used in the widespread network of trade that reached Mesopotamia and Oman will one day offer more cultural layers of the Indus Valley Civilisation with greater eloquence.

The introduction to forms indigenous from Indus Valley during the workshop will by Alam and the guest potter Ustad Nawaz who specialises in the replication of Harappan pottery. Nawaz who has been involved with the archaeological team of Mark Kenoyer has researched and developed the skills to replicate the fine pottery excavated at the Harappan site and his work is a part of the collection of several museums in North America.
The demonstration of his throwing skills and his pottery which are a part of the unbroken tradition will be a very special part of the workshop. The last visit of the Ustad to Karachi was at the Kumbhar Mela which was a part of the ASNA Clay Triennial in 2006. Alam says “If we keep his (Nawaz`s) hands busy, there will be hope for other potters as well who will then keep the continuum alive”

The focus of the exhibition at the conclusion of the workshop will be pots by Ustad Nawaz, her ceramics and the work of participants produced during the four-week-long workshop. Always inventive in her display, experience has taught Alam to show pots to their best advantage. To do this an elaborate installation with the help of Richard Seck is planned which will hold the various links in the exhibition together.

As an artist Alam has always demonstrated her ability to bridge modern and traditional sensibilities. With passion, skill and a sense of history she hopes to transfer her own connectedness to a new audience. Even if a handful of them were to take up ceramics professionally, they all would still have been linked to `clay the teacher`