Ceramic artist and founder of Claykind, Medha Agarwal, specialises in sculptural ceramic décor inspired by nature and narrative forms
CHRISTINE MACHADO | NT BUZZ
When Medha Agarwal first enrolled in a pottery course, she had no idea she was shaping a new path for herself. With a background in marketing, she was, at that time, running a dog products brand in Gurgaon but realised that what truly excited her wasn’t selling — it was creating. “I wanted to be closer to the making process, to shape things with my own hands. I took the course mainly because it fit my schedule,” she shares.
She initially learned relief work. “My early inspiration came from sketching historic monuments in Lucknow, where I was born and raised. Through that interest, I found an artist who specialised in sculptural reliefs — that’s where my journey with clay began,” she says.
Agarwal spent four years apprenticing — first in Mumbai and then in Goa — before starting her own practice. In 2024, she found a studio space in Campal and launched Claykind in November.
“I wanted to be in the heart of Goa’s creative scene — close to the activity but with enough peace to work deeply. I was lucky to find a space that gave me both — central, yet removed from the noise. A place where I could fully focus on my craft,” she says.
At Claykind, she creates sculptural décor — more decorative than functional — designed to bring an organic, handmade feel to contemporary spaces. “My work often draws from nature — forests, plant forms, and animals — and sometimes weaves in subtle human elements to tell a story,” she says. She also makes functional pieces like mirror frames, planters, and botanical forms, and conducts ceramic art workshops.
But running a pottery studio, she says, feels a lot like running a lab. “There’s constant trial and error — moisture, temperatures, kiln behaviour — and small mistakes can undo weeks of work. It can be disheartening, but that’s what keeps me coming back. The chance to do it better next time is incredibly motivating,” she says, adding that pottery has taught her a lot about understanding and testing materials. “If you get impatient, things can easily go wrong. But every failure brings a better understanding of the material and a new approach for the next attempt.”
Agarwal is now exploring ceramic furniture. “It’s challenging — working at that scale needs technical experimentation — but that’s what excites me. I’ve started on a few pieces and want to keep pushing the limits of what ceramics can do,” she says. She also dreams of having a separate, dedicated space for more ambitious projects in the future.
