Perfection from the potter's wheel

The extraordinary things that artisans can do with clay are on view in an exhibition from the Bangsai Arts and Crafts Centre at Siam Paragon. It’s a tribute to the centre’s founder, Her Majesty the Queen, in celebration of her 81st birthday next month.
“Bangsai is the centre for traditional handicrafts from all over Thailand,” Privy Councillor Thanin Kraivichien said at the show’s opening yesterday. He is vice president of the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques – the Queen’s Support Foundation.
“It is also an occupational training centre for farmers, citizens and disabled people. They are not only trained in practical skills but are also taught to be moral and are encouraged to help promote their acquired knowledge.
“Those who have undergone training can use the knowledge to develop their own locality and create jobs for their children and other underprivileged people, so that these people will be able to support themselves and further develop and create handicrafts that are unique.”
The exhibition has works by 18 ceramic masters and novices specially crafted for this event.
A marvellous Bone China Lamp by Vivek Arunrat, a director of the centre, is made of soft-paste porcelain and moulded to create a translucent effect. The delicate bas-reliefs fish design reflects the unique style developed at the centre.
“The Last Flock” by Panom Sematong, head of the centre’s ceramics department and winner at the National Ceramics Exhibition in 2006, is a series of sculptures of various animal species that champions peaceful co-existence.
Hathairat Muangmai, an instructor at the centre, was inspired by childhood memories of colourful candies to make the Colourful Beads Ceramic Pot using more than 3,000 little spheres.
The Phi Ta Khon Ceramic Vases bear designs illustrating the Phi Ta Khon festival taking place a week from today in the Northeast, complete with fanciful ghosts and khon masks.
The Fish-Design Perforated Ceramic Sculptures are brilliantly creative in the moulding and carving to render an ornate likeness of fish swimming in a stream.
Among the other items on display and for sale are spray-painted jars, carved vases, ceramic coral reefs and illustrated serving trays. There are daily demonstrations by the artisans, as well – you can learn how to mould and paint pottery.
  PRETTY | POTTERY
- The exhibition runs through Tuesday in the Lifestyle Hall at Siam Paragon.
- Part of the proceeds will be presented to Her Majesty to help maintain the Bangsai Arts and Crafts Centre.