Slam chinks of clay to beat stress

Yellow Spider's Pottery Club takes this basic art form and uses it as a stress-busting mechanism. "Clay therapy is increasingly used to supplement treatment for depression and bipolar disorder. Its therapeutic benefits can last a lifetime," explains Neha Ramaiya, director of Yellow Spider's Pottery Club.

Moulding the pinch pot is relaxing and soothing.

At the pottery class, kneading was the first step. "Using your palms, knead top, down and bring back the clay," the teacher instructed. Easier said than done.
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I ended up kneading with my fingers and rolling the entire chunk of clay. And for something that is supposedly malleable, it was surprisingly hard to knead. "Use all your strength while kneading.
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The process gets the air bubbles out of the clay. As you use your upper body strength to knead the mass of clay, it helps release the knots of tension that build up between your shoulder blades," explains Ramaiya.

Once kneading is done, it's time for wedging. I had to cut wedges out of the kneaded clay with a piece of thick string. A real stress-buster of an activity since you have to take each wedge and slam it on a surface with maximum force."I ask people to channel their frustrations while wedging.

If you're angry or upset with your boss or boyfriend, or just need to release negative energy, better to vent it out by slamming the clay against the surface," smiles Ramaiya. While Ramaiya's chunk of clay hit the table with a loud thunder, I managed a whimpering thump. Clearly, I wasn't frustrated enough.

After the initial two steps, the clay is set to be moulded. One of the most basic creations in clay is a pinch pot. We were asked to roll the wedged clay into a sphere and then stick a thumb in it.
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While supporting it with the other hand, we had to pinch it into any shape of our choice. While the first two steps concentrated on releasing energy, this one instills calmness.

"As you spend hours slowly moulding the pot to give it a shape, you actually feel a sense of calm returning to you," says Ramaiya.

After spending 40 minutes, my time was up. There were more steps to follow, of course. I could have glazed my pot and even added intricate designs to complete it.

But an hour spent at Yellow Spider's display of bright pottery apart from getting my hands "dirty" in clay was enough to recharge my beaten senses.

At: RA /3-4 Punita Building, opposite Majithia Nagar, SV Road, Kandivali (W). Call: 9833104000. Cost: Rs 3,500 for 12 classes. Class timings are flexible.

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