COMMUNICATION TEAPOT

Research Book Communication Teapot

A book by Daria Biryukova

Introduction

-5My diploma research starts with a choice of the country that has inspired me, Uzbekistan. It was a personal point of interest, because I was born in the middle of Europe and Asia and grown up with influence from both traditions. I was searching for the traditional craftsmanship centres all around Uzbekistan that represented in silk production, wood carving, and coppersmith, etc. My search fell for ceramics. The ceramic craft has a long historical development from the 8th century and has been still keeping the rural origin today. Rishtan is being the oldest centre of ceramic art in Central Asia for more than 500 years. The famous technique of glazed earthenware, which local people use for their household needs and which is exported from the Fergana Valley, was created there. I wrote many emails in order to get in touch with someone of the ceramic centres and got only one respond from Master Alisher Nazirov, region Rishtan. He invited me to visit the country and his school Usto-Shorgid. The traditional education system still exists in Rishtan, where Master teaches young boys until they get the acknowledgment and recognition of their talent. They live a life with the Master, keep the household and set up the own way.

-11Before starting my trip, I pointed out the main research fields that I was going to discover: traditional craftsmanship, production way which had been handing down from generation to generation, old educational system, attitude to food tradition. For me it was important to explain the sustainability of the traditional ceramic craftsmanship and social network that exists in Rishtan and the reasons of possible extinction of the craftsmanship.

Rishtan has built its own unique production network of craftsman to craftsman over time. Social network exists between all ceramic centres that include 35 Masters, who are working in traditional way and collaborate with each other. In production, they use natural materials and components, clay and glazes, that are mostly collected in the region. Rishtan ceramics overpass the long way of transformation, due to historical and political changes. It has been transformed into a different shape and went a long way from Iran and China influences, Russian Imperia time and Industrialization period of the USSR. Ceramics craftsmanship is widely represented in Household Items and is strongly connected with food tradition. It has division in everyday and celebration ceramics.

-18Uzbek people say that the dish is created in order to celebrate the beauty of the food, respect of having a meal or a drink.

Sharing, cooking and enjoying the food together are very important aspects. The process of the Tea Ceremony teaches the respect for the guest. You give a tea bowl or a small plate with one hand and hold the other hand on your heart wishing “enjoy your meal”. The particular properties that have ceramic pottery of Rishtan has been solving through ages the problem of keeping products fresh and cool through evaporation and transpiration, made the ceramic using as important as anything else. Buttermilk is produced more successfully in ceramic glazed bowls and keeps better there as the milk stays fresh longer. Unglazed porous vessels (khum, jugs) are preferred for protecting fresh cold water and other products from summer heat. There is no celebration or wedding without round central patterned dish –Ljagan for sharing. The bride gets a gift from her parents – a box that consists of a full ceramic set for 10 persons. Celebration ceramic is used as a home decoration and kept as a family heirloom for decades.

Each neighbourhood Mahalla has own collection. Each shape has a special function and a historical background, beside functions that are related to clay and glaze properties, there are meanings that were set up by Islamic tradition.

-23The traditional ceramics always take an important place at home, although the modern market has the alternatives.

The attachment to the traditions, the impression from the beauty of the art that this ethnicity was observing during the silk way period and later on, made the high evaluation of craftsmen group and handmade pottery.

According to the political and historical changes the social use of the traditional Rishtan ceramics has been developed and changed. During the mass production period, Rishtan ceramics reached the houses of every Russian, Uzbek and Kazak family, joining religions and habits together, European and Asian traditions.

Uzbek tea set of my parents was the first meeting with Asian traditions for me.

Nowadays, after the years of being “lost art� it becomes more and more significant to emphasize the importance the lost connection and the meaning of Rishtan ceramics.

Chapter 1 Speaking with Master

-31During my trip, I got a small piece of the experience and knowledge that the boys get. I was leaving, eating, sharing, speaking and working with the Master.

He was answering my questions and step by step was opening the meaning and the philosophy of a traditional ceramic craftsmanship.

Every morning we were spending about one hour discussing the origin and transformation of Rishtan ceramics. Every morning Rano Apa, the wife of the Master, made fresh tea. The pot was whispering, the porous clay was breathing. The clay collected great energy, it is remains, it’s everything that goes into the earth and comes out of it again. A potter pacifies the clay, it takes a lot of effort. From hundred percent the clay gives one, the potter gives all hundred. The evidence of that was the faces of young boys who were working on the clay and the masters hands that with light movements teaches how to shape it. Each bowl has different sound, the sound of potter’s soul, because Uzbek people believe that clay remembers the energy you give to it.

The variety of different dishes, cups, bowls and jugs is used as table ware and in household, proves the importance of the pottery for Middle Asian habitants.

Ceramics are produced in two basic types: kosagarlik and kuzagarlik (bowl-like and jug-like).

-37This division in shape is explained by different specialisations of the craftsmen.

Kosagarlik potters produced kosas, shokosas, pialas, lyagans, tavoks, togoras, tubs, etc. Kuzagarlik potters produced jugs and korchags of different shape, capacity and function.

The first one includes all relatively flat Items for eating and drinking. The second category includes upright vessels-jugs for water and storing produce. The storing pottery is generally unglazed and simply ornamented. That helps keep such products as milk and water cold and fresh longer. The tableware instead is usually glazed but not ornamented. Simple household wares are only covered with glaze on the inner surface. Both sides glaze are treated only for artistic items.

What do you see, what do you feel when you look at this plate? This question the Master asked to me. Each person see different things on one dish, the plate should invite you to try the food and to inspire your imagination. You will begin to think positive during the meal and this is a way of success. Busy life made people forget how to enjoy simple things.

It is getting more and more difficult to get pure satisfaction, sometimes they just are not able to do it anymore. The Master believes that everything starts from respect and love to yourself, you should cook good even if you are alone.

-38There is the Uzbek quote “a man eats lively”, it means he is healthy. The sensual and visual perception is very important in Uzbek culture. It begins on the potter’s wheel and feels on the hands of a stranger.

Rishtan ceramic patterns are very free, a master has no sketch. During the painting the head and the brush is a single whole.

There is no plate or bowl that looks the same. One of the boys, Bekzot, is 20 and almost ready to be a master. He spends days and nights painting the vessels.

Sometimes other boys say he even sleeps there sitting. No one askes him to work so much, he meditates. The Master understood the passion of the boys at once, some of them will be the Kuzagar (turners) and some Nakosh (painters), he challenges them in order to understand what they like to do.

Once I asked the Master about the meaning of the floral patterns and his attitude to it. The patterns started to develop in the 8th century and are the reflection- stylisation of nature. Nature is the source of energy and inspiration.

Observing it you understand what the brain and hands are able to do. The patterns composition should be a sort of a puzzle; first, you see the colour and the main objects, after a while you see details.

That’s how it works, by eating as well, you dig out the patterns, during the meal discover what is inside. The Master thinks that floral patterns inspire appetite.

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-41Sun, pomegranate, paprika charge and gift the warm that can be felt physically.

Graving the raw clay is another traditional method of decoration the vessels, it is much older and has a connection with carving and graving techniques. Texture is applied on both sides of the vessels; different instruments and stamps are used for that: metal and wooden screws and pins, prints from dry vegetables and fruits.

This tools help create the floral patterns.

The Master says that usually the craftsmen use everything they have nearby. If there are not enough glazes, they make the graved vessels or combine these techniques. There is modern technique that the Master develops: a volume pattern. A volume pattern emphasizes sensual effects; it feels differently on your hands and lips. He says it was first just a try, but after the first production he collected a lot of positive reactions from people. You may turn it around, put them together, they are never the same. The Master never stops experimenting, he is sure that the development of new techniques could have a good influence on traditional craftsmanship, it will never be boring.

Before I visited the Master I read from many sources that Rishtan ceramics has a possibility of extinction. First, such living conditions and problems that the natives are forced to have, as the electricity supply shortage; lack of gas and pure water, makes the potter craft very problematic.

-42Fewer and fewer schools are functioning.

A lot of Masters do not produce enough and suffer from overwhelming of markets.

The school works only in spring and summer. The geographic position of this region specifies very hot summer and cold winter that makes the production season about 6 months. In this period the Master and the boys create the vessels that will supply them with money for the rest of the year. “This is the colour of my dream.

This is the colour of the altitude.

In this blue solute The world is drowned�

Kamilov (c)

-44The second problem is much more efficient for craftsmen. In the 13th century artisans discovered the natural glaze component. Masters of Rishtan had been collecting Qirq bu ‘g ‘in or choroinakare in Fergana Valley to make particular type of glaze for ages. They were collecting and burn the flowers first time together on the fields to make the potash- the main component of Ishkor glaze. After burning, Ishkor glaze let achieve beautiful spectrum of blue colours, which were impossible to be reached by using other alkali. That made the Rishtan ceramic pottery so special and precious. It is getting more and more difficult to collect flowers for preparing Ishkor glaze. In the past there were more flowers, but they didn’t remain to our days. I was curious about the situation now, because the information source that I used was written in 2009.

The Master told me that his Usto-Master already knew about this problem about 60 years ago. He tried to cultivate it, but had no success. That flower has a particular nature, it hides from people, rolls with the wind in a new location. Today it takes 2 weeks for the Masters community Mahalla to collect the flowers, they walk in foothills of Kirgizstan in order to collect enough material. After the dissolution of the USSR the neighbour countries lost the possibility to not pay attention for the boarders. Each time it is a long organisation process with military people of Kirgizstan to get the

-45permission for the plants collection.

My question was whether the Master had found out the alternative methods of glazing or not. The Masters uses Ishkor glaze only to make celebration pottery or exhibiting, selling items. The ishkor pottery is the main income provider. Nothing gets wasted from the glazed items, even if they get broken during the burning, a master will use the pieces to decorate the house and kilns. Modern ceramics always use some lead oxide. Lead dust is harmful for health that is one of the reasons why masters avoided using them. Even today they could order nontoxic glazes, but it is not practiced and very expensive.

The traditional green-light blue painting loses under lead glaze its artistic qualities, resulting in a cold, harsh shine, foreign to the bright harmony of the painting.

Under transparent lead glaze, cobalt oxide produce a dark blue colour instead of bright blue colour, other colours produce in brown, there is no rich turquoise blue and light blue.

The complicated natural structure of Ishkor has never been properly analysed by chemist, the recipe that exists now was handed down from generation to generation in a verbal way and was kept in secret. The master told me that once the chemist arrived in order to discover the formula, but the book that had been published had wrong data.

-47For local masters Ishkor means everything, keep on experimenting they believe that the end of ishkor is the end of a traditional craftsmanship, because the most important natural component will be gone. That make my own interest grow higher, and I was keeping it in my mind as an important part of my research.

Spending one week surrounded by boys who were helping me and introduce to production process, I got more and more involved in their life. The observation of relations between the boys and the Master, respect and friendship, mutual help, patient and desire to study, big love to what they were doing made me feel that I needed to share that experience.

I asked the Master how it is possible for young boys to feel so much responsibility.

There is no restriction of time and roles, no division on workdays and holidays, there are no written rules. The older boys teach the young ones how to turn the wheel, to paint, to cook. Without many words, one brings the fresh water to a painter, the one who sees there is less light will bring the spot. The eyes, gestures say much more.

Speechless observation of the older friend.

The Master’s wisdom plays a great roll; he is the father and the teacher. The Master agrees, in the Mahalla the father usually brings the child to the Master, from this point he is the most important person in a life of student.

-50If the Master gives a good feedback for one of the boys, others will respect him even more.

There is no jealousy or envy, because in Muslim religion the strongest man is the one who overcomes envy.

In the last evening, we came in the workshop with the Master very late. The boys were organizing and placing pottery in the oven. Piece by piece, everything found its own place. It was easy to feel the emotional tension of everyone. That night no one slept, the boys were waiting and watching the oven, drinking tea and speaking quietly. Only early in the morning after ten hours of burning they usually stopped the heating. Before the Master built a new oven, in use was traditional wooden one. Readiness of oven usually was proved by watching the colour of the smoke, if it turns white, the heating was stopped for cooling down. The evening after, everyone was waiting for opening the kiln, the Master carefully opened the door and some of the boys brought the light inside. The Master said that burning is always a miracle, you never know for sure if it is success or fail.

The colours are unpredictable; the same colour under ishkor glaze can turn to be more green or rose. After uploading everything they sat in the circle around the shiny mountain, speechlessly waiting for the Masters words. The Master used to say, if the baking is not successful Nakosh

-51(painter) should say sorry for Kusach (form maker).

Boys were proud of what they had done, they were turning in hands each peace and discussing it. The Master says the boys understand immediately if he is sad or angry, because if something goes wrong, they will not see him some days in the workshop. The mood inside of the workshop changes, this time everything goes how it should.

Collecting all this observational material helped me understand the emotional values of the craft in human relations better.

Chapter 2 Communication Teapot

-54During these weeks in Uzbekistan, I set up my purpose as a design researcher and asked myself about the aim of my diploma project. Creation research in the craft is very important. It helps set up the connection between design and craft, rethink the values of a craftsmanship.

Anthropologic research alone or research of material culture brings less for a craftsman itself, in my case for the Master and his students. That is why I decided to present not only the observational material as a movie and a process book but also think about design project that could better explain my design mission.

Observing, describing the ceramic craftsmanship as experimental knowledge, I found out important values, that I would like to combine in my work. The purpose of my work will be to find out where the emotional values intersect each other. I would like to present the synthesis of traditional and digital crafting approaches.

Through communication with the Master we will create the ceramic set that will base on intersection of these approaches.

Since the ceramic craftsmanship in Rishtan relays on food tradition and this field is close to the Master, I set up a communication topic about food.

For example, in our discussion we will compare the graphic patterns of Rishtan ceramics, their meaning and value in food relationship, glazing techniques and sustainability of materials, meaning and

-55functionality of shapes. What makes us hungry from prospective of the Master and what makes me hungry? The teapot for a lonely person and a plate for sharing without borders, stackable tea bowls and a lead that transforms in a deep bowl. What if the warmth of Rishtan clay and strong Austrian stoneware would be presented in one piece? What are the colours from ashes of a plum tree, Elmwood and nut, expression of turquoise and dark blue?

From one point of view it would be a real experiment where both will communicate only understanding verbal and drawing language. On the other hand, it could be unexpected result for both. How could modern design and a Traditional Craft meet the right match, where the boundaries of the authorities intersect each other and eastern and western values combine together? According to the design methodology, a craft is a combination between emotion and experience. In this project emotional evaluation of a teapot proposal and its development is discussed from cultural, gender and different lifestyle prospective. *Unique qualities of craft is functionality combined with the ability to express human values that transcend temporal, spatial and social boundaries* Risatti . My purpose was not to bring the “design injection� in the traditional world of the Master, but to build the transformation steps, slowly adapting two different pole,

-56analysing what kind of new product could be born. Transformations that were defined in very short period were influenced by my personal positioning in the Masters workshop. From the role of the student, asking the research questions I stepped up to the position of a partner and a person with independent different opinion. After this transformation the project has started.

Chapter 3 Process

-62Shape transformation My starting point was to suggest the imaginative shape that was a complete contradiction to the traditional forms.

Proposal was the teapot with two cups that were placed inside in order to keep them warm and save the place in the kitchen. Using the knowledge about the repetition of shapes and proportions, this function was new but had much in common with other ceramic pottery of Rishtan. In tables below two visions of the tableware and discussion points are represented. The Master’s evaluation of ceramic usage includes the intuitive knowledge and philosophic meaning.

My vision was defined according to the observational material and was more focused on functions of vessels. After the first verbal discussion with the Master he called my attention to his vision of this function. From his perspective it has a strong emotional (traditional) background; stackable bowls are nothing else but the sign of respect. That is how the first shape was born – teapot for parent and child. After that, the Master saw the first sketches and the second shape, very close to the proposal appears, geometric, straight and very masculine. Trying to find the match the Master made the third shape made it longer so that it could remind minaret shape. Beside that, he proposed more traditional version of the teapot that was a combination between

-63a common traditional shape and a new one. At this point, the variety of shapes includes 5 teapots. The outcome of the form adoption gave me an overview of similar and different aspects, made me understand the direction in which form could be better developed. Playing around scaling and curving the shape according to ergonomics, changing the nose and handle I relied on the Master’s professional eye and proportion feeling as well as on the transformation of several shapes before. It got much more feminine and soft, but still kept the geometry.

Functional Values Conrtadiction form

Verbal communication

Traditional shape

Transformed traditional form Emotional Values

Visual communication

New shape

-68Guest cup In final shape, I keep the collected feedbacks – an emotional evaluation of the Master. It is much about respect and traditions. A teapot includes two bowls of different dimensions. With certain amount of tea, you get the attention and set up the long relations. As long as a cup gets empty, a chat will start and a host will look after guest. A honour guest slowly turns to a family friend. At this point there will be the unspoken statement “pour me without respect” which means, I know you so well that the special attention is not necessary. Direct correlation between the amount of tea and a size of a cup find good complement in the final shape of teapot. It doesn’t matter whether you drink tea alone or with your parent or a guest, it makes you feel respect to yourself and others. It makes time stop for a while for you to enjoy the moment.

-74Fruits, vegetables and hidden patterns Having spent two weeks in the family of the Master I realized that tea was included to every meal from breakfast with cake to dinner with soup. Tea is an invitation for a meal. The Master explains: “You cannot invite for a piece of bread, but for cup of tea”- that statement comes with past famished times. The floral patterns Islimy are the central motive of Rishtan ceramics.

Islimy is very free and traditionally is a reflection on the natural world and personal vision of a painter. The subject of fruits and vegetables, that I suggested to the Master as an alternative pattern was not meaningless for him. First step was to bring good organized Islimy composition in to a chaos and place them on a teapot surface in the way they would be hidden from first point of view. The spectator sees the colour and only after a while the complex patterns that are drawn on the vessel. The Master called them “hidden patterns”. Next step was to apply volume patterns that give the particular haptic effect that the Master was using on the vessels initially. I decided to use them in a functional way, placing the patterns where they were necessary for the grip, where the haptic effect was more applicable. The reconnection of the colour and haptic effects brought nice experience that the Master admitted. It kept the symbolic meaning and main perception of Rishtan ceramics but looked from completely different prospective.

-80Secret recipe Having started the experiments on glazes I faced a problem that could not be solved without precise chemical formula of glaze components. From the Master I got only relative proportions and properties but not the necessary data that I could use in experiments. I got from the Master a kind of cooking recipe, I knew the mixing proportion between Ash, clay and quartz, but I needed the complex formula of Ishkor ash. Intuitively and according to books, I analyzed ashes from Elmwood, Beech wood, primitive rocks, nut shells and middle Asian soda, that according to the Master were used sometimes to mix with Ishkor. The interviews with Mr. Widhalm from Glasurfarbwerk Widhalm GmbH and Marion Lorenz Sen. Art. Mag. art. from university of applied arts Vienna provided big input in my work with glazes, they introduced me to the basic research that was made in the field of ash glazes and helped to start the experimental part. I made many samples on 4 different types of clays: red clay, stoneware, porcelain and clay from Uzbekistan. The best result and the closest colour were found using the nut ash. Samples of Uzbekistan clay reacted also very positive and the same colour was looking even more intense. Of cause, there are still many aspects that make the research results very fragile and require to be further developed. The difference in

-81melting temperatures between Uzbek clay and stoneware, the difference in burning technology - wooden and electrical kiln: all these important aspects require to be analysed. However, the results that were made gave a good hope and achieved colours complement Rishtan colour pallet.

Conclusion

-89This research book is nothing else but a collection of the observational data, which are the basement of my project and could be used for further inspiration.

The more information you get about the discovered country the more points of interest you have. The goal of my diploma project was to show how design and the traditional craft could collaborate differently if everyone listens and evaluates the work and proposals. It is very important to make the steps towards each other and not to break the traditional reality with design interference. It is necessary to analyse how to prepare the traditional craft to something new, to bring a variety that could meet acknowledgment beyond the social group. A revival of the traditional craft totally depends on a dialog of two persons: a designer and a craftsman.

Transforming and rethinking the common statements together could help develop new interesting product. These aspects were discovered through the observational research that is presented in this book.

-94Sources: Design Anthropology: Erotic Needlework Nicolette Makovicky; Inner lives of cultures: Uzbekness: From Otherness to Ideology - Hamid Ismailov; Craft Research: Joining Emotion and Knowledge Kristina Niedderer; Research Practice for social studies: - Ann Grey; Thanks to: Master Nazirov Alisher and school Usto- Shorgid Ceramic Workshop University of Applied Arts: Dujardin, Cécile Sen.Art. Mag.art.

Eselböck, Alexander Univ.-Ass. Mag. art. Dipl.-Päd.

Lorenz, Marion Sen.Art. Mag. art.

Pfaffl, Gerald Sen.Art. Mag.art.

Platzer, Peter Univ.-Ass. Ing. Mag. art.

Wiala, Maria Univ.-Ass. Mag. art.

Ursula Klein Schulteswien Elana Shapira Univ.-Lekt. Dr.phil. M.A Andreas Widhalm Glasurfarbwerk Widhalm GmbH