The culture of consumerism inevitably leads us to reevaluate the criteria for the things we use: they should preferably be compact, light, neutral, and often disposable.

My slow wares are the way to restore groundiness and stillness, taken from us by mass production. Their monumentality encourages us to appreciate the presence, become aware of the environment and our deep values.

Bernard Leach encourages the thoughtful use of natural materials to achieve high quality and noble simplicity of products. He appeals to the Japanese concept of «shibui», which provides an enriched appearance with economy of form, line and effort, producing a timeless tranquility. Shibui wares walk a fine line between contrasting aesthetic concepts such as elegant and rough or spontaneous and restrained.

From the Western side, Leach mentioned Francis of Assisi, who believed, that modesty has a touch of sanctity. Saint Francis presents the richness of a hermitage, full of dialog with nature. The Earth, the sky, animals, all the elements were his brothers and sisters.

St. Francis. Sacro Speco at Subiaco. Fresco. 1224 or 1228

I made a drawing of simple ellipse curves and created tools out of them. It helped me to do plaster positive molds for all sizes of plates. I worked with three types of clay: porcelain, white and red clay in a very thick layer. Before rolling, it was mixed with sand and dried to tighten and cause natural cracks on the surface. I tried different configurations of the edge: naturally torn, cracked and rounded.

The ash was used as a formant for the glaze. Researching its covering properties, I tried it in its pure form and mixed with various components of normal glazes. I also tried fake ash glazes and compared how they look on different types of clay at different firing temperatures. Colorants and specific effects of ash glaze make wares look earthy.

Camera: Kristína Opálková

Thants for the Academy of Arts, Architecture and design in Prague