An endless obsession with clay
- Ranjit loves working with bold, vibrant colours
- He adds cellulose to porcelain to mould the vessels into expressive forms
- His first piece serves as a personal reminder to him
Ranjit Dhaliwal moves through his ceramic practice in cycles he calls 'Renewals', deliberate reinventions that reshape his approach and open new chapters in his creative journey. "Clay entered my life during my earlier career in journalism. It became the medium through which I could finally follow the artistic path I had envisioned as a child,” he says. Raised in a family of Indian migrants, Ranjit cultivated an instinctive love for bold, vibrant colours. In his first years as an independent ceramicist, he created pink tableware, dedicating long hours at the wheel and sharing his passion in workshops. Ranjit later focused on his Jazzware collection, which helped guide him towards new design approaches and his current practice. Today, he creates abstractions of vessels in Limoges porcelain and cellulose using only his hands, trusting touch and intuition to lead him into the chapter that lies ahead.
INTERVIEW
I made a tiny pyramid. It is one of the few early pieces that survived a major studio clean-out. I kept it because I carved a personal reminder to myself on its base that reads, 'Remember how important this is to you.'
I have been told that I have a butterfly mind, meaning I take an interest in most things. I am not inspired by any single source, but rather by almost everything: objects, organisms, art, sounds, words and thoughts. My challenge is to channel these ideas into my practical creative process.
Colours motivate me. It connects me to my roots and inspires the patterns and combinations I explore. Bold and vivid shades speak to me, shape my mood and guide my choices. Colour carries the happiness I want to feel and share. Perfecting the shade I seek to present in a ceramic piece can be challenging, so I only present a work when the hue meets my expectations.
I fell into a clay obsession decades ago, and it still captivates me today. Clay nurtures so many of my passions, from the joy of family and community gathered around handmade tableware, to the thrill of learning and exploring. Upon viewing ceramic pieces at museums such as the V&A, I feel a spiritual connection to all the ceramicists who came before me.
