A Brush With Success: Neeta’s Journey To Meet Her True Self

For Neeta, a 65-year-old retired school teacher, art has always been a passion. With a lifelong love for painting and crafts, she ventured into porcelain painting nearly two decades ago, creating beautiful and intricate works of art. Her dedication and skill led her to establish her own business, showcasing her talent. As she expresses, “I’ve been interested in arts and crafts since childhood”. But this 65-year-old Mumbaiker did not stop there. She joined different programs to enhance her marketing and sales skills to grow her work.

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The Turning Point:

Although she started with canvas painting, her artistic journey took a transformative turn in 2005 when she joined porcelain painting classes with friends. At the time, Neeta was the department head of a local children’s playschool, a position she held for over a decade. However, a lack of growth opportunities led her to quit and focus entirely on art.

With more time to dedicate to painting, she turned her passion into a business. She quickly gained recognition for her customised porcelain pieces, ranging from plates and bowls to intricate dinner sets.

Neeta feels passionate about Chinese porcelain painting and wants to keep it alive. "It’s a dying art because porcelain paints are hard to find, and the process is complex," she explains and adds that from importing high-quality paints and porcelain to firing pieces at 8000 Celsius for depth and durability, every piece demands time and precision.

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Passion Leading To Growth And Satisfaction:

Over the past 17 years, Neeta has completed more than 400 porcelain pieces. She takes pride in creating custom works, including iconic landmarks like the Gateway of India, Victoria Memorial, and Howrah Bridge, which resonate with customers longing for reminders of home. Her art list does not just involve serious pieces for adults, but also simple and personalised items for children, starting from their favourite Peppa Pig-themed cups to Superman dinner sets.

Porcelain painting is a niche market, but Neeta’s dedication to learning new skills helped her grow her business.

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The Unquenchable Desire To Improve:

Even in her 60s, she does not want to settle with her skill set and wants to keep on improving herself. She likes attending courses to hone her social media, marketing, and photography skills and connecting with different sets of people to exchange ideas and explore new technologies.

Neeta’s prudent financial planning came to the fore when she used prize money from one of the programs she attended to participate in art exhibitions to showcase her art and raise awareness about porcelain painting.

She shares, "I’m still using the prize money carefully. Exhibitions are crucial for reaching new customers and sharing my art".

Up-Skilling Helps At Any Age, Don’t Hold Yourself Back:

Her message to those scared of trying something new is, "Age is just a number. You can always start. You need determination and passion to make it happen”. Age is never a barrier to pursuing your dreams; she believes in and acts, too.

The article is contributed by the GetSetUp team