Sunday, 17 July 2011

I-SHO exhibition


Having Flowers was selected to be part of I-SHO an exhibition curated by the group 73Women.
The exhibition took place at The Gallery, Edwards Lane, off Stoke Newington Church Street N16, during 3 weeks in July. It was a very strong and diverse group exhibition very well curated by Caroline Halliday, Banu Cansever, Zoe and
+73women team * Seana, Jessica, Marion, Iliya*

The sculpture's aim was to homage women and the discovery of our creative powers, but it really refers to any living creature. It illustrates the surprise and wonder of a female when having her first period.
The menstrual cycle of women has been/ is charged with negative tones in most societies, from punishment from God to women, to women been considered dangerous or dirty during the period. I wanted to show a positive side of it as it makes females special and its a mark of our super powers.

Sunday, 12 June 2011

Catching up


I have not yet written anything summarizing Local exhibition at Karim Janseen project space. Even though I was very pleased with it. It was a well curated group show at a nice venue. The opening evening everyone seemed to enjoy, including me. I do not like to stand waiting by my work all full of smiles and small talk... But this time I dedicated my time to the noble art of making cocktails and provided visitors with nice beverages. I enjoyed myself and even managed to talk with some people interested on the work exhibited.
The set of pieces which I produced for this show were done from locally resourced materials. The whole project was miles away from nowadays industrial design and design of materials. It felt like producing archetypes to be displayed in an archaeological museum. I liked it, and liked too the color and felling of the resulting pots
The comment I most liked was from a gentleman who was pleased by the unpretentiousness of the final display

Sunday, 3 April 2011

Local clay





I am exhibiting new work at the exhibition "LOCAL"
An exhibition curated by SNAG at Karim Janssen Project Space
213 Well Street, Hackney London E9 6QU
Private view: Thursday 7th April 2011, 6-9pm
Friday8th -Sunday10th April 2011, open daily 12am-6pm



The ceramics are made from Hackney clay skipped at a building site in Manor road Hackney, London N16. I will also display a sort of story board explaining the process and the path the clay travels.

Sunday, 2 January 2011

the merche traveller






Packing the suitcase
I do not remember how did I get there, to the situation itself...
I was in a room, choosing what to pack in my luggage . My cousin Diana and my brother Alvaro were waiting for me. We were leaving.
They were hurrying me,
I was having problems finishing the packing of my luggage. There were somethings I could not find, others I could not choose from. It seemed like a huge enterprise to pack the suitcase. It would not close, and there was not everything in it yet. There were not yet representatives of every species, like in Noe's Arch . Nickers, socks, swimming wear, jumpers, tooth brush, passport........I could not find them, the room was full of stuff, a complete mess with mountains of items.
I was sweating and crying
My brother and cousin kept hurrying me, there was not time to pity myself
Shaking, I could not complete the task.
Was the world going to end and we were trying to catch a spacecraft to jump to another galaxy?

No time to make a list from where to tick off.
Just move on with whatever you have.
Late for considering future regrets
System crash, not ready, too much to select from, to compress,
I woke up when I was breaking down in the middle of a scream... It is true...

I found it comic but the dream reflects my stress after 6 weekends of markets and open studio show

The suitcase in my dream was the one I use to carry my ceramics whenever I go to markets or fairs. A big box of 70 cm large 47cm wide and 30 cm deep, with wheels.
When loaded with pots it weights maybe more than me. I do not drive a car.

So why do I do markets?
Why not rely on shops or the Internet to sell my artwork?
The answer: I have not yet found the appropriate shop, and I would not buy a ceramic work without having touch it before or seen it live. I know for experience that something can look really good in a photo while been crap in reality, it is the case many times.

Markets and fairs give me the chance to meet the costumers. To observe the public out there. I love sketching while at the market.
Sometimes it involves going to new places, like last year's Scotland Potfest in Stirling. It was my first time in Scotland!. I carried a huge suitcase full with pots, camping tent, 2 sleeping bags (it gets cold) and other staff, all by myself and by train. I did not have enough pots for the 3 days of fair, nor props or embellishments. It did not matter. I sold what I had and enjoyed myself meeting new people.
I had such a good time, such a good experience. But I suffered too, when carrying all that weight. And before when choosing what to take with me. And after, feeling insecure about my stand display.

It is not only the artwork that makes an impression. It is the display, and how the display looks in the venue environment. The colors, distribution of pots, props , fabric and other embellishing supportive items including myself.

For last year's Potfest I collected wild flowers to decorate , they did the trick.

This year I want to go to another ceramic fair, to a new place if possible. I decided to get my driving license. Ideally in the future I would rent a car to transport the pots and whatever I need. I like the idea. The traveler, the nomad in me loves the idea.

Friday, 3 December 2010

Glebe road open studios 2010




This is my third year at Glebe road Studios and the third time I showcase my work at its Open Studio days.
Looking at my work I may say I keep in the same paths ( both sculpture and functional work) but the results are much better. It may sound pretentious, but looking at my work inspires and urges me to create more.
I have to praise the work and talent of my fellows at Glebe road too. All together we offer a good insight on what can be done in Ceramics nowadays.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Exhibiting at The Dig


This Thursday 4th of November I will exhibit one of my sculptures, at The Dig.
The Dig takes places at The Nest which is the new name of one of my favorite venues, Barden's Boudoir. 36-44 Stoke Newington road N16

THE DIG - LATE NIGHT UNDERGROUND ARTY PARTY
http://the-dig.co.uk/wp/?page_id=166

As part of East London’s famous First Thursdays, The Dig will be running debauched late-night lock-ins on the first Thursday of every month, bringing mind- blowing bundle of creativity from artists, writers, musicians, film-makers, designers, thinkers and dreamers.
 
The night will also be the official launch party of The Dig’s Creative Journal.

Saturday, 4 September 2010

opening the cocoons



Today is the big day.
The ceramic sculptures have been fired and their shell will be open at early evening. The hollowed tree like structures were covered with wire mesh and 9 layers of paper coated with clay slip. This was done to help them to keep the heat and to protect them from brusque temperature changes. The wood to fire them was stoked inside the sculpture which was its own kiln. The wood consisted mainly of ash tree and some oak.
Just one of them collapsed. This could have been due to cracks in the tree like sculpture which made it to break apart when it was still firing. The fragil cocoon shell was not able to contain the collapsing body and broke open to our dismay. The crack may have been caused because the clay was not properly prepared. The clay in Church Farm has plenty of big chunks of flint and chalk in it, they were not removed.
In any case the last 5 sculptures seem to be alright and have finished their firing being now in the cooling down process.
They are waiting for the people to come to witness their birth.
Food, music and fire will be part of the spectacle/ celebration.