I have always been a maker of things, someone who finds meaning in the creating process. Clay has ways been my favourite medium, it’s complex, interactive and holds many wonderous polarities. It can be soft or hard, liquid or solid, both generous and unforgiving, malleable and fragile, porous or impermeable.
It is earth, it is grounding, it is alive and I love it.
I’m Sofia and I’m a Ceramicist and Arts Psychotherapist working and living in East London.
I graduated from Ceramics form Central Saint Martians with BA and MA in Ceramics design in 2001. These courses gave me a good grounding in the many different ceramic techniques and processes and how at apply them to conceptual lead designing and making of functional homewares.
After graduation I unsure how I wanted to proceed. I spent time managing a thriving Italian bakery, gardening and supporting young adults. Then in 2011 I began my training and as an arts psychotherapist. This felt like a good fit as it combined my fascination with people and the creative process. During these years I continued creating and explore different processes making jewellery, mosaic, stain glass, wood work, drawing and painting. Looking back this time was a kind of incubation period where I had unknowingly been was exploring the process of creating.
My beginning
I came back to ceramics in 2018 with a maturity and a freedom to be present and open to the flow of my creative expression. I was able to play and lean into the process of making. I focused on hand building functional pieces such as bowls and platters.
In 2024 I started making cremation urns and this has become an important part of what I do. The first urn I made was for my dad when he unexpectedly died. I knew immediately I needed to make his urn. Whilst making it came the knowing that I wanted to make these for other people.
It was so healing to have his body placed in a beautiful urn that expressed his uniqueness. A tactile holding vessel, an urn that invites being touched and held. One you have in your home and you can engage with, speak to, place your hand on or give a hug. From my own experience of loss and my work as an arts psychotherapist I have an understanding of the importance of the space these vessels offer. They hold the ashes of our pression loved ones and in turn we can hold them. These individual tactile urns bring comfort and support the process and grief. They are a bridge between what was and what is now, between life, loss and love. Creating valuable moments of connection and remembrance between yourself and the departed.
Return to clay
My what, how and why
I create hand built one off pieces. I decorate my forms with coloured slips. Often layering and overlapping different colours and shapes, using techniques such as sgraffito, inlay, slip trailing to archive the desired effect. My work is a celebration of function, form and decoration. I’m interested in the live process of making and allowing the piece to emerge in the moment. What i produces is a record of the dance, the dialog between me and the clay. These moments of connection take form and hold the energy and expression of our reciprocal relationship.
I am inspired by the natural world and the life around me, my inner world and my connections with others. To me making in clay is a non-verbal exploration and expression. I just want to continue to be in the flow, be open to the moment and the excitement of what emerges.
