Healing touch: Pottery as a form of therapy

There’s more to pottery than aesthetics or functionality, it has been discovered to be a form of de-stressing and therapy through studies by the mental health community. Ever since the revival of handmade pottery and clay modelling began in the city a few years ago, the spotlight on using this craft as a form of therapy has been on the rise.

According to artist, sculptor and photographer Dewakar Chandran, there are two categories of people who approach him to learn pottery — those who wish to take it up as a profession and others who approach it as a form of therapy. “Many people join the courses because they feel that when they work on the wheel or with clay, it helps focus better and acts as a stress buster. In the case of children, it has been known to improve task-related skills in them,” says the founder and director of Life and Art Academy.

“Pottery has relaxing effects due to its rhythmic and extremely slow movements in the process, which act as a balm on frayed nerves. Also, in today’s stressful world, a hobby like this doesn’t cost much considering the good effects it has on the individual. Not to mention the exercising effect on one’s hands in the bargain,” states Reiki Grand Master and holistic healer Malini Kalyanam.

Thiyagarajan, who regularly conducts pottery workshops in the city, says, “The very first step is centering the clay on the wheel. This is therapeutic for me because the mind needs to be in our control. Even if anyone’s playing music or talking around me, my focus remains the same.” He shares that on days when he’s stressed or emotionally disturbed, just touching clay and sitting at the wheel help clear his mind.

Once a person gets the hang of it, pottery can be a life-changing experience, feels Ananya Govind, who spent three months learning a handmade glazed stonework pottery in Himachal Pradesh. “It is a wonderful form of therapy because it feels good to be connected to something real.  As much as 90 per cent of a person’s day goes away in using his/her hands to operate a smartphone or keyboard but when I get to feel the mud and water in my hands, it makes me feel closer to nature as opposed to a gadget,” she remarks.

She further elucidates, “The fact that you get to create something from basic elements provides an additional feel-good factor. No two pieces of pottery can be the same because there’s no set mould. The perception from which I make each creation varies and gives me a new learning experience each time.”

Thiyagarajan believes the same — he justifies, “I never used to like working with clay or ceramics in the beginning but over time, I realised that pottery is one of the few mediums where an artist can ‘touch to create’ without the help of a tool. Unlike painting or drawing where the help of a pencil or brush is required to create art, my own body becomes a tool in pottery.”