raku in Rome

As soon as I am back, we have done a raku firing with Evandro... here are my pieces: my precious Rome ceramics!

Berlin-Hamburg-Berlin-Rome

I have just returned from a trip to Germany.. 2 days in Berlin, 5 days in Hamburg, then again 2 days in Berlin and back to Rome..
Before this trip, even though I read a lot about Berlin, I was expecting to see a typical German city.. But it is not, Berlin is an impressive, old, yet new city..

...then Hamburg.. Hamburg is a modern city and obviously rich! now there are two projects in progress in the urban scale.. one of them is Hafen City; the other is IBA.. they are very different from each other but mainly urban transformation projects... I would love to go back there a couple of years later to see how these projects integrated to the city..


In Berlin, I have also visited Berlin ceramics museum.. I was hoping to see a larger collection to have an idea about German ceramics but it is a tiny museum with a very small collection..

latest work with cuerda seca

this is the latest -and the last- piece that I have done in the course with cuerda seca technique... fresh from the kiln...

cuerda seca, prints on porcelain, raku...

The fact that I'm not good at keeping this blog up-to-date lately doesn't mean that I'm not doing anything about ceramics.. on the contrary, last couple of weeks I worked a lot..
I am still struggling to learn more about surface design, hoping to find a way that I will like and will be good at...
I have learnt the tecnique "cuerda seca"..
it is a technique based on applying different glazes upon oxide covered piece and quite simple.. but obviously I am not very good at it! Maybe that's why last week Evandro told me that I can do something else instead of making tiles with this technique! I started to throw again.. and I am so happy..
As you may remember that I adore porcelain.. 10 days ago I have joined "prints on porcelain" workshop of Annalisa Guerri in l'albero di terracotta.. I loved it.. she demostrated a couple of ways to print on clay and it was very interesting.. I can't wait to try them in my studio.. Annalisa works with porcelain and paper clay... I find her pieces very exquisite.. you may see them here
and finaly, last weekend we have done raku firing.. we have tried Evandro's new raku kiln and I can say that it worked perfectly!

searching for a place..

I'm still searching for a place for making ceramics in Rome.
last week I have visited Elettra Cippriani's studio "L'albero di terracotta"..it is a very cosy place and I would love to go there, but it is very far from where I live..but for who would like to participate courses there, here is the link..
I have found another studio relatively closer.. I got in contact with them and Evandro Gabrieli, one of the owners of the studio "Keramos", invited me to their exhibition last sunday.
It is located in a beautiful building in Testaccio. One part of the studio is organized as a showroom where the works of Evandro Gabrielli and Rosana Antonelli can be seen.. the other part is used as a workshop where they are holding the courses. We have briefly talked and I decided to join the "corso di cuerda seca"..

ceramics exhibition: Elettra Cipriani, Contaminazioni di terra e fuoco

I am still in Rome and it seems that I will stay here for a couple of months more.. I think that I made a pause long enough and it is time to go back to making ceramics..
I made a quick search to find a studio that I could work while I am here and I got in contact with Elettra Cipriani. She has kindly invited me to her exhibition last week.. Here are some pictures from the exhibition, Contaminazioni di terra e fuoco..

...for who would like to know more about this exhibition or who would consider to visit, here is the link for details..
...and these are the ones that will come home with me..

By the way, have you ever met a blogger that you follow? I did!..
I met with Abacada in the exhibition by chance.. what a nice surprise it was!

trip to north Italy

I ended 2010 with an amazing trip to North Italy. I visited my friend Maria Grazia in Torbole Sul Garda.. [I mentioned about her in one of my last posts here ].. Even though most people told me that it is not the best time of the year for visiting that part of Italy, I simply adored... She showed me around her house, her town and towns nearby: Arco, Rovereto, Riva del Garda.. She has a beautiful studio within her newly renovated house by lake Garda.. It was a very nice trip, aside from freezing cold weather!!!
She has taken me to MART, a modern art museum in Rovereto designed by Mario Botta.. Rovereto, with around 40.000 inhabitants, not a big city and it was totally surprising to see this relatively big, modern museum surrounded by 18th century buildings.. There was 4 exhibitions at the same time and main exhibition "Modigliani Scultura" was very impressive.. even though it was not an extensive collection, all pieces were meticulously chosen.. Another exhibition was "Mario Botta. Architetture 1960-2010" where you may see all his projects with original sketches, models, photographs and drawings..

when it comes to ceramics... not only I have seen beautiful pieces in her studio, but also she has taken me other places where I could see different examples of ceramics.. when we were walking around Rovereto, we have visited a studio/shop of a local ceramist Antonio Asinari. He has a very distinctive style that you can see in his whistle here below... Yes, it is a whistle!
She also introduced me to her ceramist friend, Giuseppe Marcadent. It was such a great pleasure to meet him and to visit his studio.. He mainly makes stoves in ceramics -renovation works or new ones- but he also makes delicate, precise porcelain artworks.. I am so fortunate to have one of these beauties as a present. you may also see it here below.. Now they sit on my shelf together with my other ceramic treasures.