Decoding Rajvi Mehta's love for working with her hands and coping with the lifestyle that comes along with it. The textile designer and ceramicist, who studied at NID and illustrated 'Pottery Mania', talks about her art process and what made her fall in love with the art form.

'Pottery Mania'

Can you recall a specific moment or event that inspired you and sparked your decision to become an illustrator?

I don't recall any specific moment or event, but, I think I've always loved working with my hands. Once I did a project at my workplace, which made me realize how much I would like to know more about ceramics. And I guess that's that's where it all began.

What was the very first thing you remember drawing, and how does it compare to your latest masterpiece? 

The very first thing I remember making was at NID. We had a material course where we were playing with terracotta, and I made these inverted Lego blocks to work on as self-watering pots. It was a lot of fun and made me really think about what this art form could mean to me. Opposed to now, I think, that was definitely one of my best pieces as now, I think, i’m a lot more intentional with my work as well as academics. Sometimes, I think that some of the best bits of any artist's progress is the joy of, exploring a new material when you're just beginning to play with it or in this case mould with it.

How has your artistic style evolved since you first started illustrating? Are there particular influences that shaped this transformation? 

So, I always go back to my initial work because that's what I had the most fun doing. I think in the beginning, you try everything and slowly, slowly, you understand what your hands can do naturally, and that has, become more my style in the sense of what is it that, I end up doing when I'm not thinking too much, when my work flows with my mind. And that ease of work is what I think, defines a potter’s pot. 

What's your go-to remedy for overcoming creative blocks? Any bizarre rituals or techniques? 

I guess creative blocks do happen very, very often when it comes to working with pottery, especially when you're trying to do multiple pieces of the same type, you tend to get a little tired of the same forms you've been making for a while. And when that happens, often, to kind of break that, I try and move away from the wheel and try to a change of technique, that has helped me quite a bit. Also, it always helps to just take a pause, listen to a podcast and breathe. I have this spot in my house where I make a cup of coffee, sit and kind of stare out of my garden and just let my brain flow, a lot gets sorted this way.

If you could go back in time and give your beginner self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

If I go back in time, I think, one piece of advice I'd give myself is to take in as much information as possible, with all the opportunities presented, because while it does feel like an overdose of information, it will always come back and help you even if you don't find merit or use of it at the moment. Secondly, I try to document every single thing that I see. If I look back, I ask myself to see the documentation and photographs of every single thing that excites me, because oftentimes, when you look back at the work you've done in the past, you end up questioning yourself like hey, how did I manage that? And it's such a good thing to always have some documentation of how you went about it or what inspired you in that particular moment. Yes, that's an important one.

What's your go-to snack or drink while doing pottery?

That would hands down be either a coffee or a kombucha,  depending on what the weather's like.

Share a guilty pleasure when it comes to art supplies or tools.

I guess tools are always a guilty pleasure. I constantly keep looking for the best trimming tools or wire tools. I think, you just can’t ever have enough of them.

If you could collaborate with any ceramic artist, living or dead, who would it be?

I think if I could collaborate and learn from any ceramic artist it would be all those amazing artists who work with wild clay, just to understand how that works. And it'll be very cool if I am able to kind of imbibe some of that in my own practice soon. Hopefully.

 What's a common misconception about being a ceramic artist that you'd like to dispel?

I think the common misconception among most newcomers, is that wheel throwing is the best and only way to be an assertive artist or that's the most valued one. I don't think that's true. I think any technique that speaks to you is the way to go, and it's not necessary to learn how to wheel throw. In fact, I personally think that building with hands, is a lot more difficult and a lot more interesting.