22 to Watch in Rhode Island in 2022: Hilal Minda

22 to Watch in Rhode Island in 2022: Hilal Minda

Handmade bowls, plates, and other useful domestic objects once populated the tables of every household. While most now stock their homes with mass-produced items, the appeal of the handcrafted is enhanced in a contemporary world saturated with technology. Select artists are leading the charge to bring beautiful hand-formed pieces into households. One such individual is the talented Hilal Minda, who operates New Moon Ceramics at her studio in Pawtucket’s Hope Artiste Village. Minda’s ceramic works bring organic forms, lustrous surfaces, and vivid colors to the homes of her collectors, enlivening everyday lives in the process.

“When someone asks me ‘what do you do for a living’ I say “I am an artist”. However, it’s not that simple. I also take care of marketing, shipping, customer service, cleaning, accounting, photography, and probably a few more that I am missing. I love everything about it (except shipping),” posts Minda.

Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Minda showed an interest in art at an early age. Her mother encouraged her creative sensibilities and supported her pursuit of a degree in art. In Istanbul, Minda attended Marmara University of Fine Arts, where she was juried into a ceramics program within a rigorous studio art curriculum. Emigrating to the United States, Minda made her home in the Providence area and continued her education by studying Architecture and Engineering Technology at New England Tech.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Since 2001, she has operated her successful ceramics practice, making items as various as mugs, platters, and yarn bowls, all imbued with a beautiful sense of form and color that is all her own. In her studio, one can find an array of artful ceramics that were thrown by hand on a wheel in the center of the space and fired in Minda’s electric kiln in the back.

When asked about her work and process, Minda says, “I am fortunate to pursue my passion as a professional studio artist and to be able to call it a ‘job’. I am a detailed oriented creator and I care greatly about each piece that I design in my studio. I have to be completely satisfied with my own work before sharing with others. My primary focus has been to create both sculptural and functional ceramics collections inspired by natural elements and organic forms as well as the use of contrasting combinations of bold colors, textures, and patterns.”

Minda’s business moniker, New Moon Ceramics, takes its inspiration from her first name, which translates to “crescent moon”. Themes of nature wind their way through her work. Leveraging this vision and her unique set of skills, she creates objects that make fine ceramics available to a large audience.

See her online store HERE.