Anu Cheeran’s ceramic creations—table ware mostly—have a certain lightness and fluidity of form with the colours doing a whimsical dance on surfaces. Her creations have been appreciated for their ‘water colour-like quality’.
When she turned to ceramics, after working with leather for a couple of years, it was more out of curiosity. The post-graduate course in glass and ceramic design from National Institute of Design (NID) was an answer to her quest for “what material to explore next. I like to work with different materials. After my work with leather, I understood what it was and I came across this course. Ceramic and glass are unusual, working with them is very different.” She was working with a multinational designer label in Chennai when she quit the ‘corporate life’ to pursue the NID course. Anu is also a graduate in accessory design (leather) from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Chennai.
Ceramic was the logical choice since setting up a studio/work space was also easier given the complexity of working with glass. Not many in Kerala work with the medium, its viability— artistic and commercial — lies outside Kerala. She set up her studio and brand Little Gold Fish at Thrissur in 2017, following a six-month stint at Auroville. “Auroville gave me a working knowledge of how a studio-workshop operated.”
“When I set up the space, I wanted to see the response and decide what next to do. May be even move to another city. This was a new concept, and I wasn’t sure if I could reach it to people.” But the last one year has been encouraging enough for her to shift to Kochi, where she plans to have a studio and a retail space. For now, in Thrissur, a house doubles up as studio/workshop and pottery classes.
Terracotta pottery is no stranger to Kerala, unlike ceramic which needs an introduction. Anu sees her studio/work space as an instrument of information—“as a live store-studio set up where people see and understand how ceramic pottery is made and give more value to it.” She has a stream of would-be pottery-makers learning pottery, her idea of creating awareness about ceramic pottery seems to be working.
Full-time profession
What started off as a ‘fancy’ is now her full time profession. The former student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thrissur, is grateful for her parents’ support.
The charm of handmade pottery lies in the fact that it is the opposite of industrially produced variety— each piece has its distinct character. She fashions her pieces out of stoneware clay sourced from Haryana, Gujarat and Bengaluru. “Stoneware clay is different from the more commonly found terracotta. Unlike the latter, it is grey and versatile - when fired it assumes the desired colour.” Anu works on a mechanised potter’s wheel and bakes her pottery in a ‘washing machine-size’ electric kiln.
A regular on the exhibition circuit, she retails primarily via social media and undertakes custom orders. As word spread, she has been getting individual and bulk orders, the making of which takes time. “Usually it is three weeks, I ask my customers for time – these are handmade and I have no assistants to help. Drying, for instance, takes time...you can’t hurry it.” Most orders are for table ware.
It is not all pots, cups and plates—Anu also makes ceramic jewellery out of leftover clay. It doesn’t require the wheel and is easier to create. Some time in the future she’d like explore ceramic jewellery-making. “When I have interns, I plan to develop projects and opportunities based on this!”
Anu weighs her words carefully as she speaks of what pottery is to her. “Pottery to me is an art form tied to the history of man —from when man left behind the nomadic life and settled down. Initially pottery was a necessity, later women started beautifying their pots and it evolved into an art form. Art met functionality. It was part of our culture too but today there aren’t many who are taking this up and not even traditional potters. I am just one of the handful who is trying to spread awareness and keep it from dying entirely.”
(Anu Cheeran retails online via her Instagram handle @thelittlegoldfish and Facebook)
