April 9 2017 - A Chai Afternoon with Crosshatched and Mr Kitly

A CHAI AFTERNOON with CROSSHATCHED and MR KITLY
Sunday April 9 2pm-4pm - no RSVP required all welcome!
Mr Kitly
381 Sydney Road (upstairs)
Brunswick

Enjoy an afternoon of all things Chai hosted by Mr Kitly. Chai is the delicious spiced tea ubiquitous on the streets of India served by chaiwalas in small terracotta clay cups called kulhad. Spiced chai is a long time favourite beverage of mine and I am very excited to host Sandra Bowkett, and highly skilled traditional Indian potters Manohar Lal and Aasha Ram for an afternoon of Chai –watch chai cups being thrown on the wheel, sample fresh brewed chai with thanks to Original Chai Co, and learn about the history of this remarkable beverage.

2pm-4pm Chai tent by Gouri and Apoorv of Melbourne’s own Original Chai Co  free sampling of fresh brewed chai!
2.30pm About Chai – history and culture of Chai by Sandra Bowkett
3pm A display of wheel throwing traditional kulhad chai cups ‘off the hump’
 
Participants
Sandra Bowkett
Sandra Bowkett is a ceramicist living in Tallarook, Victoria. Working in ceramics for over 30 years, Sandra has won multiple awards and exhibited extensively.
Sandra's woodfired vessels are all woodfired in her self built woodfire kiln at her studio in rural Victoria. This is where she bases Crosshatched activities and works with the Indian potters below.
 
Crosshatched and Indian potters
Crosshatched is a project initiated by Sandra Bowkett whereby Indian artists came to Australia to work with Australian artists to explore creative collaborations and engage in activities that promoted greater cross cultural understanding. Rajasthani families such as those of Manohar Lal and Aasha Ram have lineage that is millennia old. Fundamentally making and firing techniques used in their home workshops have changed little. Over the years Bowkett has spent a lot of time watching these potters working, still she is captivated by the grace of their skillful practice, honed from years of repetition.
Manohar Lal
Sandra Bowkett met Manohar Lal in 2002 when she was working in his village Kumhaargram ( Potters Village). He first came to Australia in 2003, since then they have worked on various projects both here and in India with the language of clay their lingua franca.  In more recent years these projects have the identity Crosshatched
Aasha Ram
New to the Crosshatched team is Aasha Ram. Bowkett first met Aasha Ram when she was shooting footage for the film Kumhaargram,  he and his wife Sombati Devi feature making waterpots (matka). Kumhaargram is a village said to be the home of 700 traditional potting families.
 
Original Chai Co
Gouri and Apoorv both grew up in India, in a small city in central India and up in the northern mountains respectively.  Waking up each morning with a fresh cup of their Mum's chai is how mornings began for them all our lives. Since moving to Melbourne the idea of Original Chai Co. was born. Original Chai Co. specializes in brewing masala chai tea that gives you the taste of Indian homemade tea.They follow their mother's recipe to the brink, as old school as it gets. Original Chai Co are committed to donating a portion of their yearly profits to Indian charity Asha helping impoverished communities.

Aasha Ram stacking chai cups in to the kiln

Aasha Ram throwing chai cups at Sandra Bowkett's studio

Manohar Lal throwing chai cups