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From India to Italy: my travels through clay
By Pauline Duffin, Travelwise India travel specialist
My travels through clay
I’ve been a home potter for years, with my own wheel and kiln back in the UK. But what started as a creative outlet at home has gradually found its way into my travels, too. Over the years, I’ve sought out local potters, traditional workshops and handmade ceramics in places all around the world – often by design, sometimes by happy accident.
Pauline Duffin
Pauline specialises in designing highly-personalised adventures, guided by her decades of travel expertise. With a focus on India, South East Asia and South America and a deep love of African safaris, she's renowned for her finely-tuned ability to create experiences that reflect your unique interests.
Where pottery meets place.
Since then, I’ve tried to carve out space for ceramics wherever I go (though, naturally, the potters are usually tucked away in the hottest, most humid corners of the globe).
In Vietnam, I visited workshops in Hanoi and Hoi An, where the wheel is no more than a thick stone slab balanced on a spinner. In Siem Reap, I spent time in a training centre for young local artisans who were creating incredibly intricate temple gods from clay – their skill, even at a young age, was humbling.
But one of my favourite experiences was in Kolkata.
I visited a riverside community of potters creating clay idols for Durga Puja. Their makeshift ovens, unfired shrines and deft hands told a powerful story of heritage and creativity – art made not to last forever, but to serve a sacred purpose.
From museum cases to market stalls.
Of course, it’s not always hands-on. Sometimes it’s about admiring the craftsmanship, whether in a dusty market or a world-class museum. I love the archaeological sections that house ancient ceramics: coil pots from Peru, Namibia or India, still marked with the imprints of the hands that made them hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Those handprints always stop me in my tracks. They feel like time capsules, connecting us to someone who lived, worked and created long before us.
Even when I’m not looking, I find myself drawn to pottery – spotting beautiful jugs in lodges in Namibia, terracotta dishes stacked high in Moroccan souks or the swirl of brushstrokes on a handmade plate in a Tuscan villa.
A suitcase full of stories.
I try not to bring too many souvenirs home these days… but I make an exception for ceramics. On a recent trip, I came back with a hand-thrown bowl from Rovinj, a delicate piece from Kotor, and a glass egg from Murano (yes, I saw the glass-blowing, yes, it was hot, and yes, the heat may have gone to my head when I saw the credit card bill!). Still – every piece has a story, and I love being surrounded by reminders of the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met.
Travelling through your passions.
One of the things I always encourage my clients to do is to weave their personal interests into their travels. Whether that’s food, art, photography, wildlife or (in my case!) pottery. It’s these connections that turn a trip into something more lasting. You come home not just with photos or souvenirs, but with inspiration, new techniques and a deeper understanding of the world.
So wherever I go, I keep my eyes open. For the glint of a hand-glazed bowl on a market stall, for the quiet courtyard where a potter shapes gods from clay, or for a little museum that hides ancient ceramic treasures behind glass.
Because really – where would we be without pots?
