Photo by Jay Paul
Name: Ruchi Gupta
Business: Birds at Noon
Fun fact: When Gupta started learning ceramics and was deciding to do it full time, she started noticing and enjoying birds that would hop in and out of her studio. “That also used to be the time around noon when my son would be either at Montessori or napping,” she says. “So the name came to me: Birds at Noon.”
What she makes: Ceramics made of clay that feature a variety of images, often layered — drawings, carvings, screen printing and text. “I try to combine all the things I like,” she says. Gupta’s ceramics, from lanterns to plates, are all functional and are food- and dishwasher-safe.
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Ruchi Gupta’s colorful pottery combines text, drawing, carvings and screenprinting on a variety of functional forms.
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How she started: A native of Ajmer, India, Gupta grew up on a math-science track of study and worked in technology for 10 years before recognizing that she loved the idea of giving emotions and ideas a tangible shape. “I read an article in the Sunday newspaper about a famous studio potter named Rachna Parashar. After much inquiring and deliberation, I found her contact number and called her to see if she would teach me. She did not teach beginners, but referred me to a student of hers who did. I began taking lessons from her student and, at the end of the classes, was told that I did not have talent, that I should not pursue it further, so there was no point thinking about advanced classes.” Undaunted, she took up ceramics again when she moved to Dallas in 2005. Her family moved to Richmond in 2011, and she now works in her home studio with two kilns and two assistant artists.
Sources of inspiration: “For me, inspiration is everywhere. I love architecture, colors, textiles, seasons. I read a lot. … I like words.” She says that her color palette and patterns reflect her childhood in India, and her works tell stories from her life’s experiences.
Where you can find her work: At galleries across the United States including Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom Clay, which is open by appointment, and at select shows such as the American Craft Show in Baltimore and the Visual Arts Center’s Craft + Design Show.
Side benefit: New friends. A customer from upstate New York, who purchased several of Gupta’s pieces at a show in Norfolk, saved a piece of paper with Gupta’s information on it. “She contacted me offering to help me with my booth at the American Craft Show in Baltimore in February, and came and helped as a booth sitter.” She also purchased more of Gupta’s pottery.
