The Art of Making at Studio Karva
From the first lump of clay on the wheel to the final firing in the kiln, my work is about the rhythm, the mess, and the joy of creating with my hands.
A video of me working with local clay from Sandur village during my artist residency at Hampi Art Labs. It's a meditative process of doodling and exploring form on the wheel.
Freshly thrown pots on the wheel at my Hampi residency. Even when I'm away from my Mumbai studio, the practice of shaping clay continues to ground me.
A time-lapse of me building a large pot using the coiling technique. This ancient method allows for creating large, organic forms piece by piece, a slow and rhythmic process.
A look inside our kiln, meticulously loaded with mugs for a bisque firing. Planning a firing is a skill in itself, a learning I am deeply grateful to my mentors for.
Our gas kiln loaded with nearly 200 pieces of student work before a biscuit firing. It's always exciting to see the beautiful and unexpected results that emerge after the firing.
Peeking through the spyhole of our new electric kiln during its first test firing. Even after all these years, I still feel a sense of wonder watching the heat transform the clay.
The control panel of our new kiln during a test run. Adding an electric kiln to the studio opens up new possibilities alongside our traditional gas and wood firing methods.
A sculpted piece waiting inside the new kiln for its first firing. There is always a mix of anticipation and hope as we wait to see the final results.
A video showing an experimental smoke firing in the studio garden. We built a temporary kiln with bricks to see how the smoke would stain the clay body, a constant process of learning and discovery.
It takes a village! Here is our studio team carefully moving a large, heavy coiled pot. This is what community and collaboration look like behind the scenes.
About The Art of Making
You will notice that my work isn't about perfect, uniform shapes. It is about the marks left by hands, the subtle shifts in glazes during the firing process, and the energy of the studio itself. Before you choose a piece, know that every mug or vase you see here carries the story of its birth in our kilns, often with slight variations that make it truly yours.
Behind the Scenes at Studio Karva
Making pottery is rarely a clean, linear process. It is a dialogue between me and the clay. When you see a mug or a large coiled vessel, you are seeing the result of hours of work—wedging the clay, throwing or hand-building the form, and the long wait while it dries to a leather-hard state.
The Kiln and the Fire
I use a mix of gas, electric, and sometimes experimental wood firings to bring these pieces to life. Watching the heat rise inside the kiln is still a moment of pure wonder for me, even after 21 years of practice. Each firing, whether it is a standard biscuit fire or a complex reduction, changes the character of the glaze and the clay body. This is why you might see subtle 'chatter' marks or unique glaze drips on your piece; those are the fingerprints of the fire itself.
The Community Element
Studio Karva is not just my workspace. It is a shared ecosystem where students, apprentices, and fellow artists come together. Many of the pieces you see here have passed through the hands of our community. We stamp our work with love, using custom-designed marks that identify where the piece was born. If you are in Mumbai, I invite you to come by, see the kilns, and feel the energy of the studio for yourself. It is a place of shared growth, and I would love for you to be part of the journey.
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