Ambarka

In 1999, we started our Ambarka classes. We had a mixed group of children, very young and teenaged. In these workshops, we combined clay modeling-pottery with storey telling, fun games, nature walks, magic tricks, music, poetry and site visits. It was a memorable experience for us all and some of them participated again in subsequent workshops to be trained and informed in arts, design and clay craft. All these workshops culminated in a showcase of children’s artworks.

These summer programme continued till 2008.When some parents demanded for a yearlong clay classes for their children, we started weekend classes at Ambarka.In theses classes we concentrated only on clay modeling and pottery skills. Now they started exploring and practicing clay modeling and pottery techniques deeply along with painting them.

In 2012, we shifted our activities to a dedicated space in Sarvodaya enclave community center to reach out to more students who wanted to learn this art form. We had regular classes 3 days a week and small duration workshops all the year round. When Monica and I started Ambarka classes, we were one of the handful potters in Delhi and we wanted to spread the message of pottery-arts, crafts and design. Through these programmes, students of varied age groups learnt to create and express themselves in clay and also develop cognitively . From 2008 to 2019 we have done numerous workshops. We also organized children’s art works exhibition to make them understand and learn to display and appreciate their own work. Some of our students have become practicing art-design professionals and have participated in A.I.F.A.C.s ceramic exhibition.

“For us, it is always an evolving process of learning by doing and then again experimenting and experiencing and evaluating the outcome. ” – Ambar Agnihotri