“Almost a decade in pottery - For someone who gets bored easily, pottery thankfully stuck! Being a potter is the one thing I always enjoy as the possibilities to create something out of clay are limitless.”
Megha was always the little girl who enjoyed sketching, and doodling, be it behind textbooks or on any piece of paper. She knew art was her calling but could never dream of an artistic career. With time and confidence, she entered the world of pottery after trying many vocations from wanting to become a professional dancer to working for an advertising firm, from making lamps out of wood and acrylic to working as an interior designer. She says, “All thanks to my elder sister Monica, without her support I would be living a completely different life today!”
One day, her closest friend suggested an adventure, and both decided to leave for Auroville, Pondicherry to learn pottery. When her friend changed her mind, she realized she was on her own. After much hesitation, she took the plunge to see what lay ahead. One of the senior potters in Auroville introduced her to Andretta Pottery, a small postcard village in Himachal Pradesh. And amidst snow-covered peaks of the gorgeous Dhauladhar mountain range, her pottery journey started in 2011. This was just the beginning as many hurdles & difficulties came along as the craft did not come easy for Megha. Yet she pushed through and finally, had her own bright garage-turned-studio named The Mudslingers! “The name was my sister’s brainchild! She thought of us when we were kids playing in the rain and splashing mud all around.”
The Mudslingers focuses on functional pottery, mainly tableware. “I prefer being able to hold a piece of art I like and use it in my daily life as compared to looking at it from a distance.”
Apart from the utility, her wares stand apart from the rest due to the intriguing color play and the bold pop. “I knew I wanted to achieve solid bright colours on simple shapes with minimalistic designs. I had never come across any bright-colored handmade pottery and I’d been attracted to color all my life. Bright plain solids with no print or pattern were always hard to find! So before I decided to learn pottery, I researched to make sure that it’s something I can achieve with this medium.”
“The main driving force for me from the beginning of my pottery journey till date has been the sound of being called a “Potter”….there’s a nice ring to it that keeps me going” she cheerfully concludes!
