Art in daily life

Clay crossed my path in 2013 and I fell in love.
It changed my life and made me see the beauty around me. I used to live in survival mode, at the point of a gun (figuratively), until I couldn't do it anymore. Art brings joy to my life. It made me slow down.
Every time I worked with clay, I got centered. Pottery gave me the mental space where I could hear my heart and my soul. When my hands were shaping clay, I was in fact shaping my new life as a ceramic artist.

Pottery is the perfect outlet for my overflowing creativity, and it has functionality, which to me, is really important.

I like the idea of using art in daily life, of the life of a pot. The pot is a servant, it brings food and beverages, it showcases flowers or fruits. The pot is a vessel – and I feel this way about my body too. Transient in time, bringing beauty, but bound to break and die. The error would be to not use the vessel. Using the vessel is the only way to make sense of its temporary existence.

Chosen objects don’t clutter your world. Unloved objects do. Chosen objects can bring joy and a sense of connection to the earth. The trick is to remain unattached to objects. To respect the transient aspect of all things material.

I believe deeply in art and creativity as tools to maintain a healthy brain. It changes brainwaves from beta (stress, vigilance) to alpha (calmness and access to your inner world and subconscious). We are all creative. Some think that they are unworthy of their creativity, and some decide to completely shut this aspect of their humanity because they judge their art negatively. Living creatively is freeing and highly spiritual.

People who buy my pottery are often makers themselves, dreamers, creative, nostalgic, empowered, poetry and nature lovers, and a little special (!)... They appreciate handmade functional objects. They see value in “perfect imperfection”, in the connection between the maker and the user, and they enjoy the life of the object. They feel that buying handmade creates a sense of community and humanity that would be subtly lost otherwise.

I now fully embrace the handmade process and its traces. It means that mugs are sometimes not perfectly round, that my pots have a rustic look, a handmade feel, and that I am not a robot.

Thanks for visiting and God bless!

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