I started my knowledge of ceramics in 2001 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. I didn’t stay there very long, though. The styl of teaching was too traditional for my taste and soon I started losing motivation to even go to class. A year later I decided to quit and started my own studio at home. At the beginning my studio was located in the laundry. The washer and dryer were an excellent company – taciturn and discreet. After another year, I moved to the garage. I already had my own kiln, potter’s wheel, glazes and everything I need to make pottery. This is how my real studio was created.
Today, I am doing well, I’m getting better every day and I have never regretted the decision to leave school. With a cup of good coffee and good music, I realize all my ideas. Although the results never are what I’ve initally imagined it to be, I still keep on trying to do my best. The clay I use the most is a stoneware. I also like porcelain for its noble properties. I create my figurines by hand. Occasionally I use plaster molds for bowls. After natural drying I always preheat objects in the kiln. It ensures no crack in biscuit firing ( at 900 ° C – 1000 ° C). I glaze biscuit after wiping my works of dust and various types of tarnish from the kiln. I use non-toxic glazes and apply them with a brush. It would be difficult to use an airbrush or compressor to glaze figurines, but these are in use when I have to paint larger forms. The painted ceramics are fired a second time at 1060 ° C – 1250 ° C (depending on the glaze ) and . . . It’s ready!
Creating pottery is something that allows me to stay in my own world, working with love and passion to be able to offer a quality unique items that makes happy who buys it, because each piece is complete only when it goes out into the world and gives someone else joy to look at and touch…
Iza
