I am Abhinav, b. 2002 and brought up in a traditional potters’ village in Kangra. While I was growing up I saw how children of other potters were slowly leaving the family profession driven towards city lives and corporate or government jobs including the Army. I felt the need to revive the art form and decided to learn throwing skills and traditional pottery from my father who still practises in the village. I joined Dharamkot Studio in 2022 to be able to learn the modern ways of presenting the craft to a young crowd and making it accessible to our generation whoever wishes to try it.

Artist Statement: Throughout my time teaching at Dharamkot Studio, my practice has mainly been dedicated to the act of throwing. I find joy in the physicality of the work and relish in the ability to teach this skill to others. I feel the craft demands a lot of hard work and persistence, something I have been witness to through watching my father work. My constant and dedicated approach is focused towards simple designs that speak for the artist’s process and the hard work behind the finished outcome. Furthermore, I pursue the boundaries of my physical and technical abilities by experimenting with extreme scales.

I find great joy in creating miniatures of which I then take a few designs to scale up into 3 or 4 feet large, wheel-thrown planters.