Namrata | Handmade Ceramics + Pottery School & Community Space

A closer look at some of the pieces inside Terra Reverie - a collection shaped by earth, memory and material transformation. Each piece is built from stoneware clay and layered with foraged soil, mud and stones, fired to create surfaces that behave like time. These works are fully functional - bowls, tumblers, pour overs, ikebana vases, plates, candle stands and planters. Showing 5th-7th of December at the Bangalore Potters’ Market, happening at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, between 10:30am-7:00pm on each day. Come experience them in person!

A warm hello to all—whether you’ve been with me for sometime or just joined recently! . I’m Namrata Baruah, and my pottery journey began four years ago. Pottery is my third career; I spent 16 years as a banker and then as an entrepreneur in the social sector. A chance recommendation led me to the world of pottery, which was a creative leap I never saw coming. The spinning wheel and working with clay captivated me instantly, and the endless possibilities of this craft keep me energized every day. . As someone passionate about food and coffee, I initially focused on making functional ceramics for daily dining and drinking experiences. Today, my pursuit still remains to continue making beautiful functional ceramics. I make in bulk for cafes and restaurants, and for clients like yourself, I sell online in partnership with @lagavi_official . . Teaching has also become a big part of my work. With my background in training adults and my love for connecting with people, I started teaching pottery a year and a half into my journey. I offer long-form courses, including a 50-hour course every quarter and a 6-month program for those looking to take up pottery professionally. . I also run “A Ware Community Space”—a makers’ space where potters can practice and create without needing their own setup. . With an unquenchable thirst for learning, problem-solving, and growth, I’m constantly pushing myself to improve and deepen my knowledge in this field. Right now, I’m working with a new batch of students and diving deeper into several pottery techniques—which I’ll share more about in future posts! . Thanks for following along! Your love, support and encouragement hugely helps me sail though the toughest of days. . And if you’ve read until now, please don’t go before sharing a little about yourself too! I’d love to know what brought you here, what you do, and what you’d like to see more of. ♥️ . Have a fantastic day! . . . . . . . . {introduction, potter, studio pottery, welcome post, intro post, entrepreneur, awarestudio, bangalore}

First up a BIG thank you for all the love, support and encouragement that you’ve poured into my dream of A Ware Community Space. . Without any further delay, I am sharing here the membership packages for the space. Whether you are a potter or a non-pottery related creative, I have curated a set of memberships that I hope and trust you’ll find meaningful to engage through. . Peruse at ease, share with friends/ creators, come over to experience the space and become a member, a part of A Ware Community😊 . DM for any questions you may have! . . . . . . . . . . . . . #makerspace #communityspace #creators #doodlers #illustrators #digitalartist #graphicdesigners #potters #sculptors #poets #writers #sketchartist #painters #paperartist #handbuildingwithclay #workplace #awarecommunityspace #bangalore #openingsoon #memberships

The first in a series I’m excited to share — a stoneware vase fired in a firebrick saggar chamber, packed with charcoal and organic material, inside a gas kiln to induce localised reduction and surface marking. During a recent wood firing with @nickschwartzceramics and @jrthompson.artist , we ended up making more pots than could fit inside Gamanvi (the wood firing kiln at @anvipottery ) . Nick suggested we try firing the excess pieces in a charcoal saggar within a gas kiln. Naturally, everyone was curious — which potter doesn’t want to experiment? We built a small chamber on the bottom shelf using firebricks, filled it with charcoal, and placed the pots on wads, either on the charcoal bed or directly on the shelf. We layered in hay and more charcoal, then capped it with another shelf — creating a contained micro-atmosphere within the kiln. This vase is made with @claystationbangalore ‘s cone 10 stoneware, “White Canvas,” to which I added coarse grog. At the bone dry stage, I applied a thin porcelain slip and later scratched into it with a dry, rough brush. I then added Johnston’s flashing slip around the neck and shoulder in a restrained manner, followed by an iron oxide wash along the rim and shoulder. As expected, the flashing slip remained inactive in this environment, since it wasn’t wood-fired. The iron oxide, however, responded beautifully, bringing out warm red and orange tones. The carbon trapping is quite pronounced — a direct result of the enclosed, reduction-heavy saggar chamber. I didn’t expect much from this piece, but it’s ended up being one of my favourites from the charcoal firing. What are your thoughts? Have you tried something similar? How do you feel about this kind of surface? . . . . . . {charcoal saggar, reduction firing, gas firing, experimental, high fired cermics, pottery, awarestudioproducts, awarestudio, bangalore}

Ceramics is often described through material and process. At @nceca 2026 in Detroit, it was equally about position. I attended as a Multicultural Fellow, carrying a set of positions I have been working through—around making, teaching, and building community as interdependent parts of practice. The scale of the gathering was instructive—thousands of practitioners, dozens of exhibitions, a wide range of voices. The work was not neutral. It addressed conflict, identity, ecology, memory, and systems that shape how and why we make. What stayed with me most was not just the work, but the posture of the field. Artists were direct. They were generous with knowledge. They were unambiguous about what they stood for. Seeing practitioners from the South Asian diaspora (@southasianclay ) working with clarity and visibility expanded my own sense of what is possible, and what is necessary. There were moments that were difficult to sit through—performances that confronted war, displacement, and loss. @rahafilsoofi ‘s work, in particular, held the room in a way that was precise and unflinching. There was also a strong culture of research—material studies, firing experiments, and technical inquiry presented with rigour and openness. Knowledge here is not guarded; it is circulated. I have largely worked through utilitarian forms—objects that sit within daily life. That orientation remains, but it now feels insufficient on its own. There are questions I have not yet asked through my work. The fellowship offered access—to people, to ideas, to systems of learning that are not easily available in my immediate context. It also brought a sense of responsibility: to return, to translate, and to build with greater intent. The work continues at A Ware. With sharper questions.

There is a particular moment in teaching when you realise the work in front of you is no longer limited by what you once knew how to demonstrate. In the past two years, our studio conversations have expanded — from simply understanding clay to questioning surfaces, scale, intent and risk. Students arrive with curiosity, but also with ambition. The responsibility then is not just to show how, but to create conditions where they can attempt more than they thought possible. Much of what you see here comes from short but consistent engagement — returning to the wheel, rebuilding collapsed forms, testing unfamiliar glaze decisions, allowing ideas to become physical. As I spend this week immersed in learning again at NCECA, I’m reminded how cyclical this process is. What we absorb inevitably shapes what we share. The next 7-weekend course begins on April 11. Our afternoon batch is full but the last couple of seats are still available in the morning batch. If you’ve been considering beginning your journey with clay or even deepening your relationship with it, sign up through the link in bio or DM to know more! {weekend, pottery, wheel throwing class, new hobby, pottery studio, bangalore, indiranagar, clay, course, hobby, potters wheel, awarestudio}

Registrations are now open for our 7 weekends wheel-throwing courses. . Courses span over 40 hours and are conducted over Saturdays & Sundays (across two distinct time-slots), at our beautiful studio in Indiranagar. We also offer unlimited open studio hours to students, to be able to practice the craft, throughout the duration of the course. . Dates: 🟠 COHORT 1: 11th April - 24th May 🟠 COHORT 2: 11th July - 30th August 🟠 COHORT 3: 5th September - 25th October Timings: 🟠 Weekend mornings: Saturdays & Sundays | 10:00 am - 1:00 pm 🟠 Weekend afternoons: Saturdays & Sundays | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm . How to book: 🟠 Click the link in our bio to reserve your spot 🟠 OR comment “WORKSHOPS” below, and we’ll DM you the details Happy to answer any questions you may have about the course details or the experience of learning the craft. So don’t hesitate to drop me a DM 😊

Hello friends! As most of you know, the majority of my work is made using handbuilding techniques rather than the wheel. Ever since I got my wheel last year, I’ve been experimenting with it here and there, mostly making smaller, simple forms. While I absolutely love handbuilding, I also wanted to improve my wheel throwing skills. So, towards the end of last year, I attended an intermediate throwing course with Namrata at A Ware Studio [ @a.ware_studio ]. It was such a lovely experience, and I’ve definitely come away with stronger skills and much more confidence on the wheel! A huuuge thank you to Namrata for all her guidance, encouragement, and kindness throughout the course. She’s an incredible teacher and I'm grateful for everything I picked up from her in these sessions. I really hope to learn more from her in the future. 🫶🏼 Here are few of the pieces I made in class. 🤭 Many more were destroyed, dissected, and reclaimed in the process, but these are some of the survivors! [Handmade ceramics, pottery class, wheel thrown]

Wood firing doesn't end with the 120 hrs of stoking. There is a lot that comes after - unloading, cleaning and buffing the pieces is as laborious, if not more, as making them. Stuck sembes, sharp sintered ash depositions and fused pieces make it a dusty, tiring process often leaving us with cuts and bruises (so definitely not fun!) But despite that, these surfaces - the play of ash, fire and time - are what keep us returning to wood firings. Do you think it's all worth it? . . . #woodfiring2026

Wood firing is slow, physical work. A kiln can run for four to seven days — sometimes longer — and the way it begins often sets the tone for everything that follows. . We started by listening to a poem — a reminder that a firing like this only works when people commit to the process together! Other rituals followed: a coconut broken, to mark an auspicious beginning, and a toast raised, in the Japanese tradition of saluting the kiln gods, before the fire takes over. Because wood firing is collective by nature, the work runs in shifts. Stoking is only one part of the job; equally important are the quieter tasks — sorting wood, clearing ash, preparing food, and supporting the team through long hours. . This firing began with a slow preheat, holding around 120°C for nearly 48 hours to allow large greenware pieces to dry safely. Once the kiln stabilised, the rhythm changed. Wood was sorted by size and density, each shift picking up where the previous one left off. Under @nickschwartzceramics guidance, we reached peak temperature by day three and then focused on building embers — some stokes driving heat, others encouraging embers that will later melt onto the surfaces. After more than 120 hours of steady work, the kiln is now sealed, cooling slowly and finishing the process on its own time! . . . . . . . . . . #woodfired #potterycommunity #ashmelt #atmosphericfiring #pottery

It was a pleasure to work with Namrata of A Ware Studio (@a.ware_studio ) and watch this shared vision slowly take form. What began as conversations around food, material and mood now lives on every table at Nila.

We have been at @anvipottery for a little over a week now, for a wood firing workshop with @nickschwartzceramics & @jrthompson.artist The first few days were all about making, and what really struck us was the scale — big platters and larger vessels that suddenly felt achievable. Watching Nick and Jess work made us rethink what we could try in our own studios. Jess also shared why she returns to certain forms, like communal platters or dressing jugs and bowls (yes, it's a thing. Google it), and how some shapes are fading simply because fewer people make them. It felt like a reminder that reviving these forms is also part of our work as potters! Alongside these practical lessons, they tied everything back to ceramic history, showing how each form connects to past makers and traditions. It was a strong reminder that learning the origins of forms is as important as learning the skills to make them. Then it was our turn to work. With their guidance, the studio slowly filled with a wide range of pots — small to monumental — made by over 19 potters working side by side. The days felt fulfilling, tiring, messy and very generous. Once the making wrapped up, the focus shifted to loading the kiln. Nick spoke in detail about how fire, embers and ash would move through this specific kiln at Anvi , “Gamanvi” — how stacking decisions now, would shape surfaces over the next few days. Loading took us a little more than two days. A lot of thinking through flame paths, ash fall, airflow, weight, and orientation — deciding what faces the fire and what stays protected. Wadding, tumble stacking, adjusting placements by centimetres, stepping back and rethinking. It was constant movement and problem solving, but also incredibly exciting to watch the kiln slowly come alive. That was essentially our first week — making and loading. We’re now in the middle of the firing, moving into long shifts and steady heat. Stay with us as we share what the next five to six days of wood firing look like, and how the kiln begins to reveal its decisions!