Born in Nagpur and raised in Mumbai, Samiksha's love for pottery brought her to Bengaluru. Although she has a background in Engineering, her inclination toward the creative field led her to dabble in photography. After seven years of working behind the camera, she started craving a slow life.
When the Pandemic hit, she got the break she needed and started taking an interest in pottery. After the pandemic, the first thing she did was sign up for a course in Bangalore. Wanting to delve deeper, she gave it a try, loved it, and decided to stay back. After an internship in pottery, she bought a wheel and set up her home studio. Now a full-time potter and instructor, she still takes up photography projects but works on her own terms.
Four years into the art of pottery, she has self-taught herself and experimented with the art form to grow and evolve. Her brand, Atoki Studio roughly translates to A - TOKI - STUDIO where ‘toki’ means pottery in Japanese. The aesthetic is simple and minimal with a modern touch. She explores many Japanese pottery techniques, especially ‘kurinuki’ (a carving technique), and sticks to a muted color palette. “Mellow earthy tones attract me in my day-to-day life.”
“While creating, I think of how the piece fits into the hand for everyday life and dining!” Her ideation involves sketching and researching dimensions to get the perfect volume for functionality. Inspiration also comes to her when she is practicing on the wheel.
“Pottery gives me the joy of creating something new from scratch, giving me a sense of achievement. It teaches me to make peace with the unpredictable nature of this art form, learning something from every single piece I create. Pottery teaches me to give up control of the unknown and celebrate the little accomplishments, so it gives a lot of life lessons as well!” Living in the Garden City, Samiksha loves tending to her balcony garden. The little details of nature, like the journey of a leaf and its different colors, also inspire her. Her next goal is to match those beautiful shades in tableware!
