Sasha Bakaric
My relationship with clay started in 2002 when I took a ceramic class with my 2 year old daughter. I fell in love immediately. I am still very much in love, and it's a passionate relationship. Clay is a very seductive and demanding material. I love how pliable and obedient it is when wet. I love hypnotic, quiet moments on the wheel, and exciting surprising times of opening the kiln.
I mostly work with white stoneware coated with very fine, polished clay-based slip called terra sigillata. Terra sigillata (sealed earth in Latin) was widely used in ancient civilizations to seal surfaces and make them non porous. With discovery of glazes this technique was lost only to be rediscovered in the 19th century for sanitary pipes and in the 20th by ceramic artists. Unlike glassy glazes that cover clay completely, terra sigillata is just superfine clay which leaves surface open and preserves all tactile properties of clay.
My inspiration comes from microscopic images of various cells and microorganisms as basis of all life. In the same way as microorganism are multiplying and spreading, so are my pieces. I find great excitement in making yet another similar but totally unique piece.
Through pieces that I make with my favorite tools, my hands, I try to communicate with the world in a very deep and satisfying way: using the same ancient materials that people used for thousands of years, creating unique pieces, and, above all, making almost physically intimate connection with people who hold and see my pieces. I hope to continue to grow and to reach more people with my pieces. I want them to smile and feel good when they see and touch my pieces. I want them to feel the connection.
