Process of building big

I built a big ceramic piece — it was hard. It weighed about 350 kilos and I had to take it slow, step by step. I worked intuitively, layer by layer, letting the form reveal itself as I went. I’ve always longed to build big — it was my dream. To make something bigger than myself, to fully feel the weight of the material, its capacity, and in turn my own. This is what I do. I am a ceramic artist. I take it seriously. The weight of building big, the care it demands, the patience it requires — that’s what matters. At the end, standing beside it, I could feel everything it had asked of me. Every layer, every choice, every moment of attention was part of it. Building big is not just about making something large — it’s about testing my limits, measuring my capacity, and fully feeling the work I put in. It’s deliberate, demanding, and essential. This is what I do, and this is who I am.

The work was on a very large scale, which brought both practical and creative challenges. Building it up took time, and for a long while, it didn’t look like much, which made the process feel uncertain. Halfway through, it became particularly difficult, but as the piece gradually took shape, the work began to flow more smoothly. I used support materials both inside and outside to stabilize the structure, and navigating such a large form intuitively proved more challenging than with smaller pieces. I also had to constantly consider the material itself—its weight and how it would hold upon itself. Practically, I incorporated fiberglass into the clay for added strength and combined two different types of clay, which allowed me to work more efficiently. This process was a major learning experience, deepening my understanding of material behavior, form, and the balance between intuitive experimentation and technical problem-solving.