When I tell people that I have been working with ceramics for only 3 and a half years, they are mostly in disbelief. But there is an explanation, my work doesn’t come from nowhere, it doesn’t create itself, it is the result of all the things I have lived, the books I have read, the places I have visited, the exhibitions, the studies, the sensibility, the food, the people that had touched me, the music, the landscapes, the smells… When I first touched clay, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and it became natural to me only because I had developed a language from all those experiences, and that language was translated from my hands to the clay. What came after that was only learning about the material and its ways of behaving.

There is no typical day of work for me. Although I work every single day, it can be just watching hours of documentaries about the African or Japanese way of living, collecting images of objects of “things” that are not even related to ceramics or art. Or it can be just opening a bag of clay and putting it on my working table without knowing what it will come out of it. It could also be the opposite, making a 3-D rendering of an object I want to develop. It could be hours of photography and documenting the work…

I came to Germany with the idea that I could go back to graphic design. I talked to a layer who helped me to move to this country after he measured the possibilities by looking at my portfolio. We were seeking a work permit based on my history and talents. The permit was denied, and I got a Free Lancer VISA instead.

Fortunately, I had enough savings to live without working for a couple of years. I rented an apartment that needed renovation, so I spent time renovating and preparing the apartment before a container with all my belongings arrived from the U.S.

It was a time in which I was not doing any creative work, so I was itching to start doing something with my hands, and for some reason ceramic came to my mind over and over. So I decided to look for a place where I could learn how to work with clay while I take my time to think about what to do with my life, without knowing that my life would completely turn into the ceramic world. I was not lucky about that place, so I started on my own. I began making small objects, and one day, my best friend put together an idea and collected enough money from all our common friends to buy me a kiln. Long story short, and maybe because I have been very fortunate to have friends and know people all over the world, I got a show offer in Paris along with very well-renowned artists. That took me by huge surprise, and I honestly didn’t know how to take it, but I took it. That was just the beginning of a series of events that only encouraged me to continue to grow, study, create, and innovate with my work. It has been a combination of “right time on the right place”, perseverance, and believing in myself.