CHINNAGAMA PROJECT

The Chinnagama Project

2007-2023 | Stoneware

Anagama is a Japanese term referring to a ‘cave kiln’, in which pots are fired for days allowing wood ash to accumulate on the surface producing a very distinct and rich surface. The Chinnagama Project is an ongoing, seventeen-year-exploration of anagama firing in India which began in 2007 when Peter Thompson from Australia was invited by Ray Meeker to the Golden Bridge Pottery in Pondicherry. Peter and Ray built the first anagama in India.

The Chinnagama (‘Chinna’ in Tamil is small) was built in 2012 from the same bricks as the original anagama. As the kiln developed, so did the firing process. Jeff Shaprio, Jack Troy, Tim Rowan, Bruce Dehnert, Nick Schwartz and John Dix have contributed different approaches to its firing. Firing the Chinnagama is a cooperative effort between fifteen to twenty artists building on the knowledge from preceding groups.

The CHINNAGAMA PROJECT is an ongoing, seventeen-year-exploration of anagama firing in India which began in 2007 when Peter Thompson from Australia was invited to the Golden Bridge Pottery in Pondicherry. Peter and Ray Meeker of Golden Bridge Pottery built an anagama, the first in India.

The Chinnagama was rebuilt from the same brick when the larger anagama was dismantled in 2012. As the kiln developed, so did the firing process. Different approaches. Jeff Shapprio, Jack Troy, Tim Rowan, Bruce Dhenert, Nick Schwartz of the USA and John Dix of Japan. Each anagama firing experience is a cooperative effort between fifteen to twenty artists building on the knowledge gleaned from preceding groups.