I am Pragya, b.1990, from Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. I am a multidisciplinary artist and art facilitator working in ceramics with Dharamkot Studio for 3 years. I have been brought up surrounded by a family of poets, musicians, readers and meditators as my mentors, my greatest love, however, is Fine Art which I found a fascination in from a young age. My first curiosity concerned painting, a skill I have been developing for three decades now. Alongside painting, my attention was gripped by music. I learnt flute under the lineage of Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasiya, this also led me towards other instruments as well as vocals. I spent a decade of my working life travelling the globe, during this time I was constantly exposed to a plethora of vastly different cultures, art practices, food and people. This time was an inspiring and fruitful education and now, I am settled in my birthplace with full satisfaction of what I now love doing. Ceramic as a medium continually challenges and inspires me as an acting art facilitator as well as a maker of things. As a self-taught painter, it allows me to paint and draw in a 3-dimensional capacity with enormous levels of tangible satisfaction which I believe was lacking in my painting practice. My work mostly revolves around functional pieces embellished and decorated over a generous amount of time. I truly believe that a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Artist Statement: As a multidisciplinary artist, I work across the mediums of ceramic, painting, drawing and music. I take inspiration directly from my surroundings and the floral heritage of the mountains I’ve grown up with in Dharamshala. This influence is translated into a surface design that negotiates an amalgamation of colours, shapes and functionality through my practised style of sgraffito and glaze painting.

I use a variety of underglazes on terracotta and stoneware bases which are then finished with a glossy clear coat which glistens and highlights the intricacy of the applied surface design. In the ever-changing journey as an art maker, I am still on my path of discovering and developing more new styles of working.