Sri Lanka Handicrafts by Sylvan Heritage

I always found pottery captivating. During my childhood , the firewood kitchen at home was full of pots , some in unimaginable sizes that could easily cook rice and curry for over hundreds of people. These only came to use once or twice year during preparations of alms for the temple during full moon poya days . Sometimes the villagers would borrow these big pots  for special occasions such as weddings and carefully return often without any damage. Others in normal sizes were daily used to make rice curry by my grandmother. We still use  our  firewood kitchen and believe me, the curry is always much more tastier when its cooked in a clay pot. Small lamps to light coconut oil lamps in the temple and water jugs are very common pottery items used and are part of daily lives of the people.

My fascination over pottery grew over the years with various travels to overseas, I realised that there  is an enormous  pottery world than just the cooking  pots!!

One of the things I always wanted to do was to learn how to throw on the wheel. Traditional Sri Lankan Pottery involves the technique of ‘Sakaporuwa’ which is a manually operating wheel of fairly large size placed on the ground. I did eventually learn to use the wheel, but of course not the Sakaporuwa,  I don't  make  the cooking pots too. I have found it  very exciting to visit various traditional pottery villages in the Island and researching quite a bit about this age old craft.  Archeological excavations have revealed that pottery was in existence from the prehistoric stages in the Island .  Some unusual items I regularly make continue to pile up at home as I have exhausted the path of giving gifts to family and friends.My latest creation the Red Clay Pottery Necklace is a new twist to an age old tradition and it  is inspired by the Sri Lankan Avrudu Season ( New Year ) . It goes well with the traditional cloth and jacket in case you are planning to wear one during this New Year,  or any other modern day clothes.  The necklace has been admired by many when I have worn it with my black dress ( LBD) !

Each bead is individually handmade and hand painted by a small group of women in Sri Lanka and  these necklaces are currently being sold at Barefoot  in Colombo 4.