I’ve been a rebel for as long as I can remember

Neha_profile

Neha Ramaiya, founder of ‘YellowSpiders Pottery Club’ is no shy artist. A lady with a purpose, Neha has struggled her way up through several riff-raffs and experiments to finally settle down to the pride of having started what is today, Mumbai’s fastest growing pottery club.

What image does the word spider conjure up in your mind? To most people, the mere mention would throw up visuals of scary creepy crawlies that make one jump. But not to Neha Ramaiya, the 32 year old Mumbai based artist who chose to dedicate the name of the pottery club she founded to these eight legged creatures – YellowSpider. Then again, Neha isn’t exactly your usual girl next door.

Her rebellious streak is evident from the first time you introduce yourself as is her refusal to not mince words. One realizes that Neha is not even one for political correctness when she shares her belief that the real reason she was failed by her teacher in her first year as student at the JJ School of Art was because she wanted to take up ceramics and not painting as the fear of this particular teacher who asked female students to pose for paintings, which she didn’t want to pose ever.

“I’ve been a rebel for as long as I can remember. I never took kindly to people trying to establish any sort of dominance or supremacy over me – be it my family, my teachers or my employers” shares Neha.

It is perhaps this need to be the master of her own destiny that also ruled Neha’s decision to start her own venture instead of joining the corporate rut. A Post-graduate in Ceramic and Glass Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Neha admits that she dabbled in several jobs before finally realizing that she wasn’t truly satisfied by any of it. Extrapolating, she says “While helping a friend with her jewelry exhibition, there was a sudden spark of inspiration that made me wonder why I couldn’t do my own thing too. Uncannily, during the same period I met a potter-artist who proposed that we hold a joint exhibition.” While the exhibition eventually fell through because of lack of funds, the two got together to come up with the idea of pottery classes. Thus was born YellowSpider.

Now nine months and 43 students old, ‘YellowSpiders Pottery Club’ is veering towards the tag of one of the fastest growing pottery clubs in Mumbai. A growth that the founder attributes to their philosophy of “promoting a stress-free environment where students should be able to have fun and enjoy learning without the fear or frustration.”

Going back to our original thought about including the word Spider in the name, Neha shares that the story goes way back to when she was in class nine, “I like spiders as their cells are in golden proportion, defined by the number Phi. Few know it, but spider cells are of equal ratio. Red being my favorite color, the idea was to call my club ‘Red Spider’, however, the song ‘Yellow Submarine’ by the Beatles playing in the background inspired me enough to seal the decision that whenever I have a studio, it’ll be called ‘YellowSpiders’.

Creative indeed! So did she always know that she wanted to have her own studio?
“Way back in 1997, two of my classmates started their own studio. As much as I wanted to join them, they did not allow anybody to be a part of it. It was then that I knew that I will do something of my own” reminisces Neha adding that she does not look back upon these incidents in a negative way, “If anything, they made me discover that I am not a loner, rather I am content in myself. I used to have a very few selected friends in Mumbai, sometimes wondering if I was anti-social. It was in New York at the age of 21, while roaming the streets one day that I realized that I am just happy being the way I am.”

Ramiaya claims that it was at NID that her world changed. “For the first time, I managed to connect with so many people on the same wavelength. NID in a way opened up many opportunities in my life and was a turning point of sorts for me.”

When did she realize her inclination towards the arts?
“I think it was in class seven when my drawing teacher appreciated my work. Of course, I was so taken in by that small bit of praise, that I failed class nine because I was bad at maths and more inclined towards art” laughs the artist.

Not being deterred by failure seems to be a trait she imbibed a long time ago, as she adds nonchalantly that she also did not clear the first year of college. “It took a while for me to realize that it wasn’t ‘Arts’ that I was interested in but “Fine Arts’ that was my calling.” Not that it was all smooth from thereon. Far from it, Neha’s father prevented her from taking admission to the JJ School of Art as he felt it was too far from home and did not think it right for a girl to travel so much.

It is no surprise then that Neha received little or no inspirational support from the family for her creative pursuits. Yet, the youngest of four siblings, she has worked her way around to get exactly what she wants in life. “After high school, I took up admission at the JJ School of Arts, submitting a leaving certificate from the previous institute.” All without informing her family! “I told them only after I actually joined the course” adds the rebel.

If the above incidences give rise to any doubts about Neha’s sincerity, it is only her passion for YellowSpider that one needs to revisit to give rest to all such uncertainties. For not only is she currently working to see her club grow but is also pursuing a PhD in Design Thinking to further hone her aptitude. Her zeal for pottery is evident in her belief that she can reach out to all types of people, even those with no background in the arts, in support of which she says, “My desire to teach comes from my experience as a communicator, I have learned to find and stimulate the artist in us all, regardless of our experience of art.”

Her words instill confidence. What has been her inspiration, given that every artist usually has one?

“A novel I read in 1993 called Illusions by Richard Bach had a quote which has stayed on with me till today. It said, ‘You are never given a wish without been given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it however.’

We wish for Neha and ‘YellowSpiders Pottery Club’ the power to grow in leaps and bounds!

JAM (just a minute…)

What is the best moment of the day?
5 o’clock in the evening. This is the time when I get my unlimited dose of “Chai” which helps me keeping energizing for the rest of my work hours.

If there were one person for whom you would like to design a thing. Who is the person and what would you design?
Kareem Rashid. I really like his work style and find it similar to mine. I would like to design a chair for him, as I believe; a chair can be transformed and morphed in many products.

One word that would define your designs/style?
Rhythm

As a designer, one thing that you would like to change in the present system?
More respect for a designer.

If you were an animated character, which one would it be?
King Julian.

What is your favorite color?
Red. I can associate myself very well with this color. And I really like the passion, compassion and energy this color displays. I always have something or the other of color red as I feel really good when I carry this color.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
Converted Vagabond. This will be the title for my biography as I am a traveler.

What are you afraid of regarding the future?
Nothing, I am content with whatever I have.

How do you differentiate yourself with other designer?
Quirky, eccentric and intuitive are the words for me, which stands me out form the other designers.

What are the challenges you face in the present context?
We don’t have many potter studios as compared to the other countries. Also we need to have more respect for designers.

One aspect of design you give the highest priority to?
Intuition

One design-related book you highly recommend to read?
Design Strategies

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