thoughts on mud
April’s seminar introduce us to the magical world of naked raku. A 3 day session includes, Raku historical presentation, kiln construction, terra sigillata peparation, and decorating methods within the limits of naked raku.
Our meetings will take place in our studio, outside the city of Thessaloniki, from 19-21/04/2024. For a full time schedule, please contact 6exiceramics@gmail.com
For many of us, whose work is based on the act of creation, the time to realise what we actually do, is now. I find it extremelly difficult, to focus on thoughts about the importance of doing pottery, at times like this, when death numbers and fear of existance, dominates our lifes. I use to say to my students, that creating is not only a personal matter, but mostly an issue of resistance. To resist on fear, to declare your presence, to give birth on light, to create beauty. And beauty is what our souls need, to keep us humans. Enclosed in my personal city cell, I notice what I’m surrounded of. So many little objects made by fellow ceramists, painters sculptors, (books, films, music of course but I’m wondering on my art now), are there to make moments unique. And the more you focus on their part in our personal universe, the more you realise their affection on us. It’s a network of ideas, and life.
I’m not sure whether I see things right or not. I can only say that thoughts like these, are giving me reason to keep working on, what – more and more often nowdays – I see as pointless.
One month before the show in Chris Boicos Gallery in Paris, I’m looking on these dark shots of mineral effect series, created last summer. Bowls containing elements of the earth, which react to the firing process and becoming immortal marks of the land, of the places which once were visited. A mark of a life’s existance, of memories. An almost spiritual way of recreating the landscape.
I feel exited, having some new pieces of minerals, just arrived in my studio. Testing random pieces of the earth, within the bodies of my pottery, couldn’t be anything else rather than fascinating!
All the pictures at this little post, are of earlier efforts of mine,to understand minerals. But it doesn’t really matters. The reason of this writing, is to express my pleasure, on having the opportunity, to give a try on mixing my clay with minerals, collected from the Himalayas and parts of India. Lapis lazuli, turquoise fragments full of copper, and more tiny examples which will affect or not the clay body of my pots.
There is a lot of technical information and knowledge within the process of collecting our own minerals, from nature. A heavy-duty, I could say. But most of all, there is the unexpected. We fill our kilns in, with surprises, that are taking us back to the enthusiasm of the early learning years. It’s like facing the missing ingredient, which was lost in a period of time. It’s also about a piece of land, with which we are connected in some way. We are collecting parts of our land- of our history, and melt them together, within our clay body, transforming this new mixture of ours, into a new natural element that will last, almost forever, in time.
The action of collecting minerals, mixing them with clay, and firing them, on the highest possible temperatures, becomes a bridge in time, between the million years of clay formation and the raw mineral parts, which are taken off the ground, at present time, in order to fuse into one, again. Eternity and a moment fluxes together, to create a time print.
Ξεκινάει μια περίοδος ιδιαίτερα γεμάτη με εκθέσεις, παρουσιάσεις, σεμινάρια και διάφορα άλλα δρώμενα σχετικά με την κεραμική. Από αυτή την εβδομάδα με πρώτη την έκθεση ”ΤΩΡΑ”, στην γκαλερί ALMA, στην πόλη των Τρικάλων, επανέρχομαι στην ενότητα Florals. Τα γλυπτά γίνονται πλέον με χρωματιστούς stoneware πηλούς, και τονίζονται με πορσελάνινα inlays. Η συνέχεια αναμένεται εξαιρετικά ενδειαφέρουσα!
I’m getting in a period full of presentations, shows , seminars and many other interesting ceramics projects. Starting with this week’s group exhibition, called ‘TORA’ (NOW), in ALMA Gallery in the city of Trikala, Greece, I’m working on my Florars sculptures once again. They did change into stoneware coloured clay forms, with porcelain inlays completing the motives. The process seems to be rather exciting.
On the 21st of March I’ll be in Skoufa Gallery in Athens, presenting a part of my new ceramics work, based mostly on my favourite form of bowl. These are some photos of the upcoming event. I’ll be pleased to read your comments, and of course to see you there!
Στις 21 Μαρτίου θα παρουσιάσω στην γκαλερί Σκουφά, στην Αθήνα ένα δείγμα της νέας μου δουλειάς που βασίζεται σε μία αγαπημένη μου φόρμα, το μπολ. Παρακάτω μπορείτε να δείτε κάποια από αυτά. Όλα τα σχόλια είναι ευχαρίστως ευπρόσδεκτα, και ελπίζω να σας δω και από κοντά στην παρουσίαση.
‘The Wave’, ‘Contact’ and ‘Concentrics’ are the three of my ceramics installations, which will be on show until the 28th of February, at the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization building, in Thessaloniki centre (Karolou Ntil 33str.). All three are works that were exhibited in Lola Nikolaou Gallery in Thessaloniki, from 2007 since 2013.
vavatsis giorgos 