A story in clay and cobalt
I have been part of Galerie Zlaté rybky since 2005 — and over the years an ordinary lump of stoneware has become the tale of my life.
It all begins in the hands. No moulds, no templates — just freely modelled stoneware, from which creatures gradually emerge, each with a character all its own. Animals are my greatest love — whether stylised with a feel for their natural expression and movement, or, quite the opposite, shaped with a generous dose of humour and exaggeration, where a little figure is given a mischievous glint in its eye and a rather different story from the one it carries in the real world. Both registers intermingle in my work, and every piece is an original: hand-modelled, one of a kind.
But the magic does not happen in the modelling alone. The moment comes when cobalt oxide enters the play — applied, rubbed into the texture of the bisque-fired body and then partly wiped away again, so that every groove, crack and trace left by my fingers stands out. Onto this a vivid palette of coloured glazes is then layered, and only in the kiln is it decided exactly how the colours will meet and flow into one another.
The result is pieces that do not stay behind the glass of a display case. They travel out into gardens, where they become quiet guardians among the shrubs, and into interiors, where a single glance from them can warm a whole room. I also love working to commission — tailored to a particular space and a particular wish.
You will find my work in the permanent display of our gallery, but it also sets off on journeys regularly — to joint exhibitions in other galleries, where it meets the work of fellow artists and tells visitors its own cobalt-blue story.
