For city-based ceramist Manpreet Singh Nisther, nature has its own silent language — we cannot decipher it but can translate it through art. This is exactly what one sees not only in his work, but also the way he has built his home and studio.
After studying MBA and working as a marketer for 12 years, he decided to quit his job two years ago to build an eco-friendly home and ceramic studio for himself. He specialises in designing custom ceramic wall murals, fine art decor and exotic tableware from eco-friendly zero-waste materials. “I decided to stop using of single-use plastic 28 years ago. Since then, I have been living an eco-friendly life. My work, too, is mostly from upcycled waste,” he says.
His studio and house at a gated community in Kokapet was built using re-purposed industrial waste. The house has many patches that open up to the sky, making the best of natural lighting and fresh air. One of the walls in his studio is imbibed with recycled painted wine bottles. “There is always a patch of sky above my head. Even the seven washrooms in my house do not have electric ventilators. It is designed in such a way that it captures the air that flows,” he says.
Where does Manpreet get inspiration to think on these lines? Every six months or so, he tours the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. “I seek inspiration from nature and imitate its ways through my work,” he says. The ceramist’s most noticeable crafts are leaves, butterflies, flowers, birds, fish, turtles, and seashells. Sometimes a mix of two or more crafts in a single piece. He also uses upcycled wine bottles to create abstract and crystalline fine art ceramic pieces. “I wake up at 4 am every day to get my hands dirty. Pottery and sculpting to me is like meditation. My work involves water, earth, air and fire,” he says.
“Manpreet is against the idea of deforestation. His entire studio house is furnished with reclaimed wood. “I don’t even use a traditional kiln for drying ceramics, I have a power-efficient electric kiln that helps to keep the carbon footprint low,” he says. None of his creations are designed using a potter’s wheel, they are all handcrafted with traditional tools.