Master kiln maker of the town, building a traditional
wood Riln for TPM’ Ceramics School

INSIDE

Gallery Managet’s Report

Presidents Message 3
Clay Symposium 4
Presenter Profile: M.Odundo 5
Guild Library Update 7
Mug Shot 8
Techno Tip: Glazing 9
Branding You 10
New on the Guild Site 11
Call for Entries 13
Studio Sale Listings 14
Clay Lines 15

OTTERS

December 2006/January 2007 Volume 42 No. 11

REBUILDING AFGHANISTAN:
TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN
SCHOOL FOR CERAMICS

Istalif, Afghanistan

Istalif has been the traditional centre of Afghanistan’s ceramics industry for
five hundred years. Its famous glazed pottery, particularly the large bowls with
a deep turquoise glaze, are renowned world wide for their beauty and form.
However, Istalif was razed to the ground by the Taliban in 1999, following
twenty-five years of war and now cheap mass-produced ceramics are being
imported from neighboring China and Pakistan. Many traditional potter
families have fled to Kabul. Despite all this, the remaining potters continue
to produce pottery for a local market, passing the secrets of their glazes and
firing techniques from father to son. There is an urgent need to help these
craftsmen and to support one of Afghanistan’s most respected craft traditions
by helping them improve materials, reach a wider market and revive lost tile
making traditions.

Turquoise Mountain Foundation

The Turquoise Mountain Foundation (IMF) invests in Afghanistan’s

y

traditional crafts, historic buildings and landscapes in order
to preserve cultural heritage, improve living conditions and
create economic opportunities. TMF was founded in March
2006 as a non-profit, non-governmental organization, with
the support and patronage of Hamid Karzai, The President
of Afghanistan, and HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of
Wales.

POTTERS

GUILD
ot BRITISH
COLUMBIA

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