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    Laura Pasquino

    Laura Pasquino

    1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

    I’m from Estonia. I was born in Tallinn.

    2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

    My parents were passionate art collectors and my first memory is listening to their conversation about an important painting that needed to be restored. I understood very little of it but I still remember their exitement and their discussions in detail about each painting. Time to time they involved me in those conversations and took me frequently to galleries and art auctions. I am very grateful for having had that experience from early age.

    3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

    Actually not. Before devoting myself to ceramics, I worked for a long time in hospitality and real estate. Totally different world. I really enjoyed it but the dream was always to establish myself in the field of arts.

    4. What led you to the design creation ?

    Curiosity, coincidence and perfect timing.

    5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

    Often my creativity kicks in only when I have already started making the design. It rarely involves taking notes or drawing plans in advance. Starting to make a prototype right away, before the end result is clear, just works for me. I need to feel the material and how it forms first. Then I make changes during the creation process until I achieve the imagined result.

    6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

    My day starts early, around 6 AM. Then I can get enought work done to make it on time for lunch with my husband and to walk our dog. Around 4 PM, I return to the studio and work for the rest of the evening. It is good to split the working day, so the piece that I started making in the morning has time to dry in between.

    7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

    I love the texture of stoneware and how it transforms in the fire.

    8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

    I try to be concious about the amount of material I use for my creations. I make my works as thin as possible. It makes the creation process often more challenging as the material can brake easily before it is fired. However the end result is lighter and more beautiful.

    9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

    Experiment as much as possible, without thinking or planning too much. A lot of good things happen also by coincidence.

    10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

    Modernism

    11. What designers have influenced you ?

    Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Young Sook Park, Lucie Rie

    12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

    Anish Kapoor, Jil Sander, Otto Bol

    13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

    Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yee Sookyung, Ai Weiwei, Lucio Fontana

    14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

    Subtle, minimalist and functional forms that resemble infinity.

    15. Is there anything you would like to add ?

    Thank you for this interview.

    Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
    (The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

    1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

    Time with family

    2. What is your greatest fear?

    Loss of a loved one

    3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

    Self-doubt

    4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

    Greed

    5. Which living person do you most admire?

    David Attenborough

    6. What is your greatest extravagance?

    Travelling

    7. What is your current state of mind?

    Focused

    8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

    Balance

    9. What is the quality you most like in a man person ?

    Kindness

    10. What is the quality you most like in a woman person?

    Intelligence

    11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

    So…

    12. Which talent would you most like to have?

    A singing voice

    13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

    Being less introvert

    14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

    Finding my purpose as an artist

    15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

    African Elephant

    16. Where would you most like to live?

    Japan

    17. What is your most treasured possession?

    My home

    18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

    Depression

    19. What is your favorite occupation?

    Afternoon nap

    20. What is your most marked characteristic?

    Quiet

    21. What do you most value in your friends?

    Open heart & honesty

    22. Who are your favorite writers?

    Hemingway, Irving

    23. Who is your hero of fiction?

    Dory (« Finding Nemo »)

    24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

    Amelia Earhart

    25. Who are your heroes in real life?

    My father & mother

    26. What are your favorite names?

    Noah, Savannah

    27. What is it that you most dislike?

    Ignorance

    28. What is your greatest regret?

    Saying yes too often

    29. How would you like to die?

    In my sleep

    30. What is your motto?

    It’s the will. Not the skill.

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