Crafting a contemporary ceramic culture in Georgia

As small industries go, ceramics must be one of the most dynamic in Georgia. Shops selling ceramics of one sort or another are on every main street in Tbilisi, and studios teaching all age ranges have popped up in Sololaki, Vera, the arty lanes of Plekhanov, around Fabrika, and in other up-market areas where rents are reasonable.

At the top end of the retail market there is UK porcelain group Wedgewood’s new showroom on Chavchavadze and French-German Villeroy & Boch’s several outlets, including on Rustaveli. Cost seems no bar to those looking for birthday, or particularly wedding presents.

Yet there is certainly no shortage of local craft, with most of Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi gift and homeware shops carrying examples of Georgian workmanship. Probably the most successful of the Tbilisi ceramicists is White Studio, whose turnover through its two dedicated outlets and online presence is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over in Zugdidi, Robert Absandze’s black-smoked ceramics and his ORKOL Studio have also gained international followings.

ORKOL

Most of Georgia’s contemporary ceramicists have ideas of their own, producing vessels in clay from their own inspirations without calling on Georgia’s long ceramic history. But ORKOL is an exception. For many years, Robert Absandze has been at work perpetuating traditional Georgian and Megrelian pottery techniques, including the art of ‘black-smoked ceramics,’ which dates back to the 4th millennium BC.

Absandze has been working with clay since 1987, and a few years ago, the family re-branded as ORKOL– the word coming from Megrelian for a wine pitcher – now that all of them are working on its ceramic production.

Absandze uses a blend of two clays for his pottery, the ratios all being done by sight and touch. Along with the clay, he also makes his own lead-free paints by grinding pigments and combining them with sand. He chooses to fire most of his work on a kiln of bricks that he built himself. He also has a more sophisticated kiln, funded by USAID, at his study, but he prefers his own, keeping this one for when demonstrating at public workshops.

Most of ORKOL’s ceramics are decorated with geometric patterns, drawn from traditional Megrelian symbols. Some vessels have contemporary motifs such as pomegranates and small flowers – bands of geometric motifs have been a feature of Western Georgian ceramics since the Late Bronze Age. By contrast, pottery from Kakheti is usually raw and unadorned. The inspiration for the motifs, bright colors and the use of glazing, say scholars, is the influence of Greek traditions on Western Georgia.

The technique he uses to produce black-smoked ceramics goes back to the Early Bronze Age and was especially popular in Colchis (modern-day Western Georgia). They are the product of an additional firing in a second kiln – a modified Georgian tone oven with a heavy lid. It is used for producing the black finish through a traditional Georgian technique that involves burning pieces of pine wood inside the kiln alongside the pottery. The red clay absorbs the smoke and charcoal dust, staining it a deep black or matte gray colour. The black residue is rubbed off the design elements on the vessel, but sticks to the raw clay permanently. These black vessels have a metallic-like sheen and are extremely light, but are tough and can even withstand use in a microwave.

Like other Georgian ceramicists, Absandze also produces sculptures inspired by his archaeological finds. He often attends digs in Nokalakhevi and elsewhere and borrows symbols and shapes from the Colchic treasures he discovers. In fact, with the exception of White Studio, most studios in Georgia seem to produce more sculptures than functional household vessels. Well-known Georgian ceramicists who exhibit regularly at international fairs include Otar Vhepkhvadze, best known for his figurative and stylized ceramic sculptures, and Gigisha Pachkoria, who, while focusing mainly on tableware, produces works of art that are objects too beautiful to use!

White Studio

White Studio’s ceramics are certainly made for use, beautiful and colorful though they are. This company came into being, they themselves describe, when two artist friends – Nato Eristavi and Nino Kambarashvili – decided to turn what they loved doing most into a business opportunity. Their commercial acumen and the quality of their ceramics attracted help in scaling up from the EBRD and other donors.

They specialize in using white clay, thanks to a serendipitous decision made back in 2015, when they had only this material because of a delay in the delivery of a kiln. Once the kiln arrived, Eristavi recalls, it was unrealistic to paint everything. So, instead, they hosted a white exhibition, gaining acclaim and the motivation to go forward with their business. The passing of time has brought a migration of color into their collections, however, and their outlets are now probably among the most colorful spots in the city.

‘’Our focus is on white clay – a mixture of different Georgian materials. We often call it white porcelain because of its similar qualities, such as transparency, elasticity, and the ability to be fired at a high temperature. We aimed at reviving this art and showing that this material can be used for interior, exterior, monumental art, and landscape design. We feel a responsibility to showcase it in the best possible light,’’ Eristavi said at an EBRD presentation.

The studio also uses red clay to produce dinnerware, lamps, and interior design items – now rich in color thanks to the arrival of the missing kiln.

The backing they won from the EBRD’s Women in Business program matched their company with a team of consultants responsible for designing a strategic plan, suggesting ways to operate and become profitable. ‘’It gave us perspective. We can more clearly see the picture. Prior to the consultants, we knew what our challenges were instinctively; now, we know what to do. It gives us the confidence to grow our business not only in Georgia, but also abroad,’’ says Kambarashvili.

White Studio not only sells work by a number of ceramists, but it is also at the forefront of teaching ceramics and passing on knowledge of Georgia’s history in the craft. As the co-founder of the Georgian Ceramic Art and Craft Foundation, Eristavi has been instrumental in revitalizing Georgia’s traditional ceramic culture while introducing her perspective through new techniques. White Studio helps do this with its apprenticeship scheme, currently employing 11 young artisans.

Participants work with locally sourced Georgian clay, mastering hand-building techniques and traditional ceramic firing methods. They explore intricate Georgian pottery motifs, uncovering their historical and cultural significance.

Bringing back Georgia’s traditional craft

There is ample scope for inspiration to be gained from Georgia’s ceramic history. “Medieval pottery production in Georgia is characterized by a diversity of shapes and glazed ceramics. Here often to be found are ornamental patterns incorporating animal, bird and figural images. The 9th-10th century ceramics are mostly represented by entirely glazed bowls with engraved or painted floral ornaments. The 11th-13th century artifacts are more varied in shapes (bowls, lamps, and jugs) with blue, green or light purple glazing covering the inner part of the vessels, featuring crosses, geometric or floral ornaments and zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images,” states Georgian Folklore Magazine.

Productive though Georgia’s ceramicists are, their scale cannot compare with that of earlier times before mass industrial production was introduced and imports from Asia-Pacific flooded the markets. According to Georgian Folklore Magazine, “even in the 19th century, after the revival of the craft following the decline created by the Mongol invasions, Georgia had around 50 centers producing ceramics.” Then, glazed ceramics produced in Gori and painted green were extremely popular, as were the unglazed ceramics produced in Telavi. Dozens of ceramic factories operated in Tbilisi, producing pottery of a high artistic level that were richly decorated.

The traditions of 19th century pottery were largely maintained in the beginning of the 20th century. The establishment of a studio of ceramics and glass in Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1959 helped promote a professional school of ceramics in Georgia. Throughout the 20th century, ceramic production was still maintained in Shrosha, Ikalto, and also Mtskheta and Zugdidi, where the factories of ceramics and porcelain were functioning, employing a number of skillful master ceramists in their premises. However, most of this went with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

While ceramics are still produced at Shrosha, only the ghosts of past masters survive at most historic Georgian ceramic centers. The new masters work on a much smaller scale, and mainly individually or under the umbrellas of such businesses as White Studio. Thanks to the internet, the work of Georgia’s ceramicists can be found and bought on the international market, but few have yet developed the marketing drive that they exhibit on their home ground and lack even the basic requirement – a website!