“Simplicity and vividness were the best attributes to describe her art and ceramics. Simplicity, for her, meant silent sophistication. Nature was her leitmotif. She framed forms through her own understanding of nature and human experience.
A ceramic cat or owl was more than just an artwork for her. She glazed her ceramics in such an inimitable way, giving them evocative rugged and rough surfaces.
Jyotsna behen, as she was popularly called, considered Ira Chaudhri as the Guru of the Indian ceramic movement. In India where a lot of ceramic work has echoes of borrowing/imitation, Jyotsna behen’s intrinsic understanding of the relationship between form and the ferment became her signature.
Her sculpted entities around nature, the spontaneity of clay and the marvels of expression speaking through her plant forms, owls and smiling cats.
Born Jyotsna Shroff in 1940 at Mandvi in Kutch, she lost her father early but her uncle saw her aptitude in fine arts and encouraged her to pursue it.
Her journey at the wheel began in the 1960s in Vadodara. A high priestess of the world of minerals and fire and clay, she looked around her garden at Vadodara for stimulus and inspiration.
Married to celebrated artist and Padma Shri, Jyoti Bhatt, she always maintained that her husband was very supportive and her family played an important part in her achievements.
She studied sculpture under Prof. Sankho Chaudhuri at the famed M.S. University at Baroda and later ceramics at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in the U.S. Returning to India she taught at, and later headed the Department of Ceramics at her alma mater until her retirement in 2002.
Her sensitivity and her distinct sensibility was born of a deep understanding of the arts and crafts heritage of Gujarat. Her journey saw the genesis of a silent yet robust modernist potter, who was at home in the contemporary world and comfortable in her own skin, sharing secrets as she went along.”
Little Things Art Prize was founded by Marnie Ross in 2015. Artists are invited to submit creative expressions of the ‘Little Things’ that make them happy or feel grateful. The science of Positive Psychology emphasises the benefits such focusing of our attention contributes to our health and happiness. As well as inspiring community creative engagement, the resulting finalists exhibition is a celebration of the artwork displayed and a shared positive experience.
The People’s Cup Auction is LIVE! Visit our feed @siltstudioltd to view all 47 cups on offer. Each cup closes at a designated time throughout the afternoon and evening of this Friday, July 10th. You can find essential auction details and rules in our IG Highlights. And stay tuned for more auctions to come over the summer as cups continue to roll into the studio for firing!
The People’s Cup is a community art project born out of the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a small business, we needed to find a way to keep our studio fires burning but we also wanted to offer creative respite and give back to the community in these challenging times.
Each cup was hand-thrown by Jay Kimball at SILT Studio, with the surfaces designed and carved by local artists/makers. Even if you didn’t carve a cup, you can be part of this project by purchasing a special piece to enjoy forever. This collection of cups will go out into the world, and each time they’re held in your hands or put to your lips, we hope they’ll remind you of the strength of community. We believe that the objects we choose to surround ourselves with can enhance the meaning of our lives. Beauty with purpose makes a difference.
50% of general auction proceeds will be shared between Carmichael Outreach and the Regina Food Bank. We believe in compensating artists for their labour, so for cups that are part of the Artist Series, 50% of all proceeds go to the artist who carved the design, unless they opted to donate their proceeds to charity which many have generously done.
In 2019 Shoji completed a massive long-term collaboration with Chinese master craftsmen, students, and artists from the world over, culminating in KAPOW! Finding Heros in the Age of Trump. This exhibition hosted by Eutectic Gallery in September 2019 featured the products of this collaboration, exquisite porcelain vessels created according to millennium-old processes but emblazoned in the classic blue and white style with female comic book heroes rising up against the hate and misogyny of President Trump. Shoji recently released a new round of works from this project, including polychrome jars and Trump ash trays. Listen in as Shoji takes us deeper into the project, its inspiration, and his hopes for the future.
