The magic of ceramic art is born out of uncertainty and this brief moment of chaos that comes with every beginning. It stems from the combination of elements and their transformation into something new, from a thrust to explore and experiment with new things.
The fundamentals in life lie in the inspiration intrigued out of every emotion when we don’t really know for sure but we rely on our hands to lead the way. Because our hands have the innate ability to create what we feel. At times this creation makes us stronger, happier, more settled down, and more content, fulfilled, or even outraged and disappointed. It’s the path to maturity – demanding yet beautiful and often very powerful!
My journey with clay began by accident, far away from my homeland, and is continued until the day, keeping me captured. It captured me instantly and indefinitely. Back then, I walked into completely new paths both physically and emotionally. Instinctively I choose to do ceramics, out of many other workshops offered at the Municipal Piriapolis Cultural Center of Uruguay, South America. I guess we have always co-existed to the core from the very beginning.
Trudging down new paths, making new bets and venturing into the unknown, taking risks, achieving, or failing; yet never letting go, has been my passion and a source of great joy in my life to the present day.
I was born in April 1978 in Athens. I studied interior design, architecture and graphic arts in ‘Vakalo’ school. Driven by the urge to further research and evolve those arts, I attended post- graduate studies at UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia). Those cherished hours of workshops, as well as the exchange and interaction with co-students and professors, matched with the urge to experiment were my main source of inspiration; I was literally skyrocketed! I, once again, strengthened my faith in teamwork, and ensured my incessant passion for workshops.
In 2011, I find myself in Uruguay, S. America. Struggling to fit into local society, I signed in for ceramics lessons at the surprisingly workshop-abundant cultural center of Piriapolis where I then resided. Absolutely magnetized, I felt this freedom and certainty needed to feel you can handle it all with hard work. My first teacher exhibited a conservative, hard personality with fundamental knowledge of ceramics. We were frugally provided just with the basics. We worked almost exclusively with our hands.
Clay enabled me to materialize three- dimensional objects and be sure for the result since I observed it assuming its form in front of my own very eyes. Its plasticity matched my idiosyncrasy. Its softness made me feel well. Its slow ‘maturing’ process, allowed me to work on my crafts, transfigure and perfect them with no frustration; yet with agony. I held a ‘solid entity’ in my own hands. Humble earth which, when united to water and with the aid of ubiquitous fire, gains strength – a viable future, utility and a hypostasis.
I realized that I could long concentrate on this craftsmanship, unimaginable to me back then. Ceramics and gardening are the only two things I can be so passionate about. I had – alas- discovered my element. That drive –surely pre-existing in me- made me feel endlessly zestful.
To this day, I have never given up on it! Ceramics has helped me out into my personal evolution as well as in the resolution of hardships and fears. It is undoubtedly my greatest challenge and a source of great thrill to me!
Still, I am not in a position to speak clearly about my work. It lies on a primordial level of testing and experimentation. Yet I can say that I am especially enchanted by curves; specific forms which softly reside into the palm on one’s hand and fill it from side to side. I am touched by their empty spaces, the sense of enfolding, enclosed forms withholding numerous secrets. I am mesmerized by surfaces on which you can slide and travel while abrupt, rough edges shake the stillness for a while and then smoothness returns. I am deeply into shock waves, raw handprint, and handmade or tool made incisions onto the skin of clay. I use everything. All clay fragments. And I love that. You don’t need much, do not throw away or waste but deploy.
My first creations are mainly practical objects, born out of simple forms, visions and shapes which surround us, inspired by traditional and ancient Greek pottery.
Since February 2019 I maintain my own workshop-exhibition hall in Rafina proudly exhibiting mine and colleagues’ creations. It was the dream of a lifetime to live and exist within the premises of a workshop. I feel ultimate joy and satisfaction. I opt for constant enrichment and the blessing to provide as much excitement to visitors as it does to the rest of us.
Walk new paths, make new bets and venture into the unknown. Having lived in different countries around the world, I take pride in doing what I’m most passionate about. It has become a source of great joy in life. I’m devoted to ceramic art, body, and soul.
My name is Sofia and this is my story.
Let go of perfection and trust our instincts, express ourselves and experiment with the sensitive nature of ceramics.
It’s part of who we are. We are part of a whole: nature, the process of maturing, the transformation, it’s an amazing universe that’s worth exploring. Lean your ear upon the earth and listen!
Ceramics made of our own two hands, from ourselves. Where functionality, beauty and pleasure converge.
Ceramic art can tell a story without words, it’s an integral part of mother EARTH, a lifeline between man and nature, a world we’re often disconnected from, heavily relying on its virtual representation in our everyday lives. This is what a piece of pottery is all about: the link between man and nature.
I hope we can all take the time to enjoy it, feel it in our bones, and redefine its heritage.
Ruseta Sá
Boustrophedon
