Gigisha Pachkoria

... I remember my mother taking me to museums, where I got acquainted with ancient Georgian pottery. At 16, I decided to pursue a career as a professional ceramic artist. First, I finished professional art college and in 1987 I graduated from Tbilisi Fine Art Academy. 

My coil-building technique is one of a kind. By stretching the vessels from the inside, I hand-build a variety of shapes and textures. I am unusual in that I undertake the entire process all by myself: sourcing clay from open-pit quarries sifting and grinding the raw clay body, to modeling the various shapes, glazing, and firing. My primary subject of interest has always been teapots, as they have unlimited possibilities for improvisation. You can experiment with the shapes of handles, bodies, spouts, and lids. 

The traditions of pottery in Georgia go back to the ancient past. An unusual variety of winemaking equipment and wine vessels are kept at the museums. The most impressive among these is kvevri, giant clay vessels in which wine was fermented and stored. The pottery is mainly utensils of traditional shapes and purposes, whereas wine vessels traditionally dominate. I work mostly on tableware. I have also created many historic replicas, and draw inspiration from Museum collections of the Pre-Christian period. Transforming ancient shapes and textures into a new design is what interests me the most.