In memoriam Eugenia PopEugenia Pop lived and worked in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where she graduated from the Ceramics Department of “Ion Andreescu” Arts Institute in 1971. Over the course of 40 years, she had exhibited in many countries and has been awarded for her career by the Romanian Government (Order of Cultural Merit) and the Fine Arts Union.Two days after our...
Read moreDo you remember your first encounter with ceramics? What made you choose this particular way of expressing yourself?My first encounter with ceramics was when I was a child. During my family’s summer holiday, my parents would take my sister and I on a very long drive from Texas to Ohio, to visit my father’s family. I remember being so excited...
Read moreYou have been working at the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum for over ten years. What are the main responsibilities and attributes of being the Chief Curator of Collections & Research?As Chief Curator of Collections and Research, my responsibilities include overseeing the research and care for the permanent collections. The permanent collections include natural science collections (rocks, minerals, fossils,...
Read moreYou have been working with ceramic jewelry and knobs for over ten years. How did you discover the passion for beautifully crafted objects? THJane: I suppose it comes from our childhood. We grew up surrounded by photographs, books, stamps and original objects. Some had been brought up from the place where we’re born, Angola, in Africa. Our dad was an...
Read moreGrowing up near the ocean around natural diversity and continuous change, you have developed a finite line of work. Do you visualize your work from the very beginning? I spend a lot of time sketching and planning. My sketches can be very specific and architectural, or very loose and gestural. But ultimately, I am an intuitive thinker. I rely on...
Read moreYou are studying Industrial Design at the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel, and recently you underwent a research project on clay extrusion. What are its concepts? Tell us about the technical process.The extruding clay project started in the third year of my studies, for B.design in industrial design, when I first met the manual extruder in ceramics course. After learning...
Read moreYou are strengthening your career as a ceramic artist year by year. What was your first contact with ceramics and when did you realize you have a passion for it? I took a ceramics class in my junior year in college, and that changed my world instantly. I was constantly in the studio. I had worked with wood and metal...
Read moreYou are a very young ceramic artist. When did you discover the potential of this medium? Did school have an important role in directing you on this path? Like most artists. makers or craftspeople, I have been interested in art and working with my hands from a very young age. I had a fairly basic art education in secondary school...
Read moreYou are presenting yourself as a sculptor even though you have a BFA in Ceramics. What are you currently working on? Although I’ve been educated in all aspects of ceramics; pottery, functional hand-building or sculpture, I’ve chosen to focus on abstract sculptural ceramics. I feel that if I say I’m a ceramicist, people either don’t know what I’m talking about...
Read moreThe versatility of your work is very inspiring and makes the viewer ask himself whether he should play with your works or just to admire their universe. When did you begin to create such intricate pieces? Thank you for your kind words. I began to create interactive sculptural pieces about 7-8 years ago after I had been working in clay...
Read moreYou are both a painter and a ceramic artist; is one medium closer to you than another? Both mediums have equal places in my heart. It mainly depends on the subject or idea I have; clay is sometimes better at conveying my passion or idea then paint is. There is nothing like the feel of clay in hand. I can...
Read moreThere is visible consistency in your creation. What was the starting point for your investigation with ceramic art? The starting for my works comes from the traditional vessel and understanding the primary elements in the design. I have taken the elements of the foot, body, and lip of a pot and applied them to more structural elements within my sculptural...
Read moreBefore starting a career in ceramics, you studied Biology. In relation to your line of work, how would you characterize the relationship between Biology and Ceramics? I believe my study of biology helped create the artist I am today: one that works by questioning what surrounds me, and by creating objects based on observation in a very systematic manner. Artists,...
Read moreYou are in this field for more than ten years now. Tell us how you discovered the passion for ceramics. My passion for ceramics came rather late. Having been born and raised on a farm in Northwest Missouri, far away from big city influences, exposure to the arts was minimal. Art classes in my small-town school were non-existent past grade...
Read moreWhen and how did you discover the passion for ceramics? Growing up, I was always the artsy-craftsy one, making things out of all different kinds of materials, using lots of different techniques. I loved going to my Dad’s office in New York City where they produced display products/props used in retail store windows and interior displays. To me, it was...
Read moreText and pattern are seen everywhere in your works; they make a fantastic rhythm and enhance the forms. When did you start to use text on your works? My current style using text started years ago when I was making mixed media sculptures that were mostly clay integrating text. I gave myself the challenge to make something esthetically pleasing. What...
Read moreYou’ve been working with ceramics for over twenty years now. Do you remember your first works? How did you evolve in time? It has been just over 20 years since I started in the field of ceramics. I remember my first works very well I know at every point in my career I strived to produce the best possible work...
Read moreYou are one of the most assiduous ceramic artists in the world, with hundreds of exhibitions over more than thirty years. Why did you choose this career path? If by career path you mean, “why did I choose to be an artist?” I was one of those guys who always knew that they wanted to be an artist. I honestly...
Read moreYou’re a very prolific artist, with lots of exhibitions, lectures and workshops being held in the last years. How do you find the time needed for all of this? Do you also teach? Thank you for the considering me prolific, that is an adjective that has been used before to describe not only the breadth and quantity of what I...
Read moreYou are a very creative artist, working with large scale installations, ceramic objects, sculptures, vessels and various drawings. When do you have time to transpose all your emotions and ideas into them? Thank you. I obsess about ideas. My methodology for making, for creating, has me developing many works at the same time, not just in the beginning phases, the...
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