Sasha Bakaric

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Title: Untitled

Year of Creation: 2013

Glaze: Terra sigillata, clear line glaze, red, black and orange

Clay Body: Cone 6 Little Loafers Glory

Dimensions: Height 11.5 inches, Width 6 inches

Artist's Statement: My inspiration comes from microscopic images of various cells and microorganisms as basis of all life. I am intrigued by the idea of creating beautiful and elegant, abstract surfaces based on microscopic images of cells and organism. I am intrigued by dichotomy between uncountable beauty of these images and fears or repulsiveness that people often have when faced with viruses or bacteria. I love the idea of questioning our relationship with the world inside of us. In the same way as microorganism are multiplying and spreading, so are my pieces. I find great excitement in making yet another similar but totally unique piece.

I mostly work with white stoneware coated with very fine, polished clay-based slip called terra sigillata. Terra sigillata (sealed earth in Latin) was widely used in ancient civilizations to seal surfaces and make them non porous. With discovery of glazes this technique was lost only to be rediscovered in the 19th century for sanitary pipes and in the 20th by ceramic artists. Unlike glassy glazes that cover clay completely, terra sigillata is just superfine clay which leaves surface open and preserves all tactile properties of clay.