Ukrainian handmade ceramics: gonzo report from the scene

The summer sun intensely heats the belly of the old soviet plant. The chemical weapons development building. Third floor and to the right: in the center of the corridor there will be the office of the head of the shop and to the right of it another shop. These are our two KERRA workshops. I am Ilya, and this is Mr. Skvoznyak and we can hear him pulling the edges of the open boxes on the shelf: crack-crack, crack-crack… The walls are falling down slowly but surely and becoming even more beautiful. In my opinion, so accurate. All this looks like not just some loft, but like its father, a real old production of something, where something else is already being produced. The atmosphere of eternal crisis. Eternal impotence. Eternal Ukrainian handmade ceramics. The real underground sprouts from dust and dirt, like a flower. That’s how it is.

After Wednesday comes Thursday, just as surely as after a big casting comes a big sculpting, followed by a marathon of glazing products. And only then do we polish and pack everything up nicely to start dancing with a tambourine on Instagram and playing a trading game called “Google contextual advertising”. It’s not even a matter of whether you like to sculpt or not, a ceramic workshop, especially a family one, is a lot of different activities and lifestyles in one room. And sculpting to Vivaldi or to the lectures of ancient Rome takes up, although the sweetest part of this process, it still doesn’t take more than a third of the entire process. Everything else is everything else, and in any case, my universal advice is: you need to go into the dark forest right away, don’t wait for anything, you’ll just lose time. That’s basically why I ended up here, in the words of this text.

The atmosphere and vibe of a ceramic workshop

What am I doing here? – I throw into empty space.
-Yes, it’s different, – I answer myself.

That’s how we talked, now we can work.

The tools are scattered on the table, most of which you won’t have to regret. And I didn’t really want to, but if you want to, it’s just to throw yourself into the process like a beast, but like a man into clay. Knead clay to the fullest, oh yes! Ceramic loops are shabby and in dried clay as if in glaze, some (favorite ones) are rewound with tape, but continue to lubricate and work to the fullest. That’s how it all holds together, on a good word, tape and faith in the process. I catch myself thinking that the sound of sandpaper on ceramics gives the “Prodigy” album an additional drive. That’s perfect timing, you can always find it anywhere, if you don’t hang your nose.

Sometimes I still look at myself dressed in an F-16 pilot’s suit in the factory mirror and don’t understand what it’s like to do handmade ceramics, even considering that I’m a master myself. That’s probably why they used to call masters masters more often, narratively and directly, so that they wouldn’t forget what and who a master is. It’s not easy. Try it if you don’t believe me. But masters don’t count on modeling master classes, because I’m allergic to them. Just like bonus cards from grocery stores.

The rough aesthetics of handmade ceramics

Calluses are not a symptom, rather they are a path, almost a choice. Like handmade ceramics. Because this kind of work is truly painstaking in all these meanings. Well, in general, it is different with ceramics, you have to be in good shape both mentally and physically. Sometimes it is very hot in a suit, but it is nothing compared to those moments when it is cold, because when it is cold here in the workshop, it is usually 0 degrees or -5. And it is a thrill. At first I wanted to whine about it in the stories. And then I realized that putting on a cold suit and cold shoes, I continue to work with handmade clay with some kind of maniacal joy even at -5 and without light. Madness? Maybe if someone finds out how to find more powerful meanings, let them write or type.

Personal KERRA crash: handmade teaware

I was once asked how you can create handmade teaware without filling them with pu-erh? Well… How, how, you can just fill them with da hong pao. And I have other options, better than a blended vinaigrette of dark oolongs called da hong pao… By the way, I posted a lot of teas on our Instagram in the post “tips for beginners in the tea ceremony”, read it, I tried for you.

The smell of “da qin” from my close friend Artemy from tea chinatown rises from the open blue tetsubin teapot. This is real stuff. Chemical protection suits, glasses and thick masks do not protect against this aroma. How the workshop suits high-quality tribute to tsun and dark oolongs! Large windows and high ceilings… Rough, but real aesthetics of the craft of clay modeling and ceramic casting. And the clay itself. What a miracle… It is neither soft nor hard. Infinitely plastic. Flexible as much as it needs to be… It’s really hard to explain in words, this story is more about tactile sensations, it’s on your fingers, the clay speaks to the body. And since the brain is the body, it speaks to me through my fingers, it says that it wants to find its form, to become something. And I just do what it wants. You can often hear the thesis that no one comes up with ideas, they just come and that’s it. Well: it’s true, but the clay itself tells them to me.

By the way, with each order we give a home master class on modeling so that you can get acquainted with the material yourself.

Write, call, I will be happy to help or advise, if you want – come to us to sculpt, without an official master class program, just like that, everything is human, I respect and appreciate it. Hugs. We will be in touch.