Ceramic artist Vinod Daroz’s most memorable anecdote from college is when he spent two years trying to perfect a single glaze — much to the dismay of his faculty at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Glazes are infamous in the ceramic industry for being unpredictable, changing hues with the tiniest temperature fluctuation. “I told my teacher that there’s only one glaze. If I apply it thickly, it will turn blue. If I apply it thinly, it will turn green. I want that glaze,” recalls Vinod. And as luck would have it, the last round of firing before the deadline yielded the result he’d been waiting for.
Decades later, the pursuit of that elusive glaze continues to shape Vinod’s dogged approach to his practice, as well as the two-storey workspace that he has built around it. Created in collaboration with Mitul Shah of Studio Yamini Architects, the lower floor here, too, is peppered with glaze samples. This is where you’ll find the globe-trotting ceramicist, painstakingly working away to bring his creations to life. A red staircase leads to an archival gallery upstairs, filled with pieces from the many collections he’s made across his illustrious, 30-year-long career.
Glazing techniques are very similar to cooking. That’s the reason why many people say ceramic artists are very good cooks!
