Hi Hanna!
Congratulations on being shortlisted
for the Cluster Crafts Residency 2021.

How would you introduce yourself
to the Cluster readers?

I am a ceramic artist from Minsk, in Belarus.
It just so happens that I was born into a family
of 2 ceramicists, which in itself is already a singular coincidence. I was lucky enough to see the whole ceramic kitchen from the inside while I was growing up and unknowingly gained a unique ceramic experience.
I later understood that sharing this could be very important, so when I was invited to stay on to teach
after completing my master's degree at the academy,
I accepted with great joy. The study of ceramics
is not very popular in my country, but I am truly passionate about it and intend to rectify this situation!

What drew you to ceramics?

Although I was born into a family of ceramicists,
my way into ceramics was not entirely clear-cut.
I went to art college in the painting department
and I loved oil painting. I even wanted to go
to an academy to study mural painting.
But by coincidence I was accepted into the Ceramics Department and I have no regrets because I understood that ceramics are fantastically versatile materials
with a wide range of expressive means.

How would you describe your creative style
and way of working?

I don't think I'm a trendy contemporary artist who raises current issues
in her work, but rather an old-fashioned artist who creates an imaginary world of harmony and beauty. In this world, I explore the complexity
of the concept of beauty and its deterministic nature by our perception,
a serious matter for me. My working principles are somewhat similar
to those of an architect - I try to work with space, although not on such
a large scale. What really matters to me is how the air-light interacts
with the object - whether it flows around the smooth, chunky surface
of the object, pierces the openwork structure, or is embedded in a loose texture. That's why I always start with graphic sketches and scale models, where I clarify shape and detail. Once the mould has been removed from the model, a long and very meditative process of inscribing the walls of the objects begins. The whole cycle of creating an individual object can take from several weeks to several months.

Social media and you: the good,
the bad and the ugly. Tell us all…

Social networks as well as the Internet in general
is a positive phenomenon, which opens a lot of great opportunities to meet new people, to find out about interesting events, and to maintain relations with people at a distance. You just need to know how to use them
in moderation, limit the time of interaction, and filter out the negative and rubbish information that spreads.
It is easy to lose your head in the flow of information
and forget what is important, you need to be a nimble angler to catch only the essentials. And with friends,
it is best to get out for a walk in real life.

What’s on your creative calendar for the near future?

I’ve quite a few plans for the near future and I really hope that at least some
of them will come true. I’ve several important exhibitions planned for this year,
including the Martinson Award in Latvia and the Talavera Biennale in Spain,
for which I was selected. I’m the ambassador of Future Light in Ceramics 2021,
but because of the pandemic our events have so far been cancelled.
I’ve also been invited to give a workshop at the High Temperatures Festival
in Wroclaw, at The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design.
I’ve a residency scheduled in Shigaraki in Japan. Keeping my fingers crossed.
What I can say with more certainty is that I will enthusiastically continue working
on new pieces, of which I have quite a few in the pipeline.
Because my works usually take so long to produce, it’s difficult to assemble a body
of work for a solo exhibition, but I’ve been approached by several galleries,
so I am going to keep working in that direction.