Clay and glazes are good, albeit strict, teachers, every ceramicist will tell you that. How they can change a person and their life, will be told by Julia Kłopotowska, a long-time participant of ceramic workshops at the Mimbres studio, who summed it up as follows on the eve of her first solo exhibition:
My ceramic adventure started when I was a secondary school student and my friend asked me to join her on the ceramics workshop in our local cultural centre. That’s how I met Dorota Łasisz, the founder of the Mimbres ceramics studio.
A little bit by accident, but I decided to try and… I fell in love! My parents have always supported my passions and artistic development, so they took me to Dorota’s studio every week. I dutifully modelled, chiselled and glazed under Dorota’s supervision until – who knows when – 13 years passed, or maybe more?
I grew up with ceramics, learning patience, waiting for the results of my work and humility when something didn’t work out. Dorota always tells new people in the studio that the kiln will verify whether we are doing things precisely and correctly. This lesson is still useful to me in many aspects of my life.
I love ceramics because it allows me to express myself creatively, because it does not set many boundaries, but also for its unpredictability. I enjoy glazing and waiting for the effect it will bring the most. I think it is visible in my works, which have many different glazes and colours – after all, the more of them, the more you can surprise yourself.
I think I am also a bit lucky with ceramics. I can count the cracked works on the fingers of one hand, and those who know me better know that I have got butterfingers, and I easily drop things. I also live in harmony with glazes and rarely need to fire anything twice. Of course, I have my own wall (closet actually) of shame, in which, among others, an angel has taken up residence, whose hair and hands have fallen off, but Dorota’s watchful eye has allowed me to refine and discover the techniques that work best for me.
For me, ceramics is also about people – the community that Dorota has built around the studio. Age differences don’t matter during classes and for an hour and a half a week you can get to know everyone, but also yourself from a different side than you would normally. All these factors have led to the fact that I return to ceramics every week and always find time for it, even when I’m busy. It allows me to stop for a moment and think, to rest. A side effect of this passion is my growing artistic output.
I had the opportunity to show some of my works at group studio openings, but this time I invite you to my first individual opening to see what my passion has led me to, a bit of coincidence, but above all, the right people.
Julia’s solo exhibition!
You can see closely ceramics Julia’s artworks 16th May 2025 5:00pm at Café Bujalska in Warsaw.
The exhibition will be opened 17th – 22nd May 9:00am – 21:00pm.
If you were inspired by Julia’s story and would like to join the ceramic workshops, write to Dorota Łasisz – Mimbres Ceramics Studio
About the author
Absolwentka Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Zafascynowana szkłem i ceramiką w każdym aspekcie ich powstawania i wykorzystania, w tym historycznymi technikami i technologiami wytwarzania, zdobienia i łączenia z innymi materiałami. Do 2020 r. sekretarz redakcji czasopisma „Szkło i Ceramika” (ICiMB, SITPMB). Obecnie prowadzi własny portal Szklo-Ceramika.ONLINE i angażuje się w projekty tematyczne.
ORCID: 0000-0001-9574-7470
- Olga Nachyłahttp://www.szklo-ceramika.online/en/author/olga/
- Olga Nachyłahttp://www.szklo-ceramika.online/en/author/olga/
- Olga Nachyłahttp://www.szklo-ceramika.online/en/author/olga/
- Olga Nachyłahttp://www.szklo-ceramika.online/en/author/olga/
