Interview with ACOS 2023 poster designer: Ayesha Aggarwal

Ayesha Aggarwal is an Indian-born, Australian artist living on Kaurna Yerta in Adelaide, South Australia.

Ayesha’s illustrative works use a combination of wheel-throwing and handbuilding before underglazing and carving the design. Her illustrations often depict botanical settings or rich, luscious domestic environments.

Born into a large family of creative women, conversations about colour, pattern and design have long been a part of her everyday life. Those conversations are evident in the pattern and colour that feature boldly in her pieces.

Ayesha’s colourful aesthetic has been chosen for this year's Australian Ceramics Open Studios. As the poster designer for ACOS 2023, we have a bonus question for Ayesha.

We asked Ayesha to take part in our regular FIVE QUESTIONS WITH segment in our Touch Clay Weekly newsletter delivered to members every Monday morning. This snappy series, asking five questions each week, provides an insight into the huge breath of makers in Australia, showcasing the diversity of practice, inspiration and output in our community.

Above: the work of Ayesha Aggarwal

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH: Ayesha Aggarwal

What are you working on at the moment?
Setting up my studio again! I’ve had some building work done to make my studio cosier and more functional. It's really exciting, but it means I haven’t had a proper work space for a while. So in the meantime, I’ve just been treating my house as a giant pot and am having a jolly good time painting everything.
 
What is the focus of your ceramics practice?
Home. A bit in the literal sense but also, the feeling of home. I enjoy creating joyful, colourful work that invites you in. To me, there is a deep comfort in making your space beautiful and I like to think that I make work that can add beauty to someone else’s home and bring them comfort.
 
Name an inspiration behind your work. 
More and more lately, it’s interior design. It’s a form of adult play. You get to mix and match to put together a giant puzzle of objects. Doing it in clay is like bringing my Pintrest dreams to life on a budget.
 
Everyone loves a sneak peek into a potters studio, tell us about yours!
My studio is in my backyard. It's a small converted carport. A plywood beauty with just enough room for a cafe table to handbuild and decorate at, and my wheel.
 
What excites you about ceramics in Australia?
I’m really enjoying how Australian potters are using colour lately. The isolation of the pandemic seems to have created a shift in our palettes and I’m really excited to see so many more potters using colour in big, bold ways.

Tell us about the process of translating your illustrative style from ceramics to the computer screen for 2023 Australian Ceramics Open Studios.
Funnily enough, my digital process is not dissimilar to my analogue one. I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do for this piece — the round window shelf was my springboard, so I started there. Then I kind of populated the room with a bunch of fun objects I found online and drew them in digitally. I kept it free and quick to mimic sgraffito and maintain a hand drawn feel.  Once I started playing around with colour and layout though, I got pretty carried away with the possibilities. There’s only so far you can push clay, but on a computer, everything is an option. It’s a good thing I had a deadline to reign me in!

See more of Ayesha's work on her website or Instagram.