YAROSLAV SABAVSKIY & MONIKA DABROWSKA
AN ODE TO RIVER STONES AND WINTER SCENES
In this article we explore two of the Cluster artists who take inspiration from the textures and tones of nature.
Russian ceramic artist Yaroslav Zabavskiy aims to create moments of pause with his rough-surfaced vessels. The passing of a piece from his hands and workbench into the hands of a viewer or owner is a tactile connection that he finds satisfying and poetic.
The ceramic finishes Zabavskiy uses aim to capture the landscapes of the artist’s current home country, Armenia. He is also highly inspired by Japanese ceramics and the emphasis on the beauty of accidents and flaws.
The pieces featured in this year’s Cluster Crafts digital showcase and on the Cluster shop are from Zabavskiy’s collection FroZen.
Born in Moscow, Zabavskiy currently lives in Dilijan, in the north of Armenia. The country’s winter landscape inspires the texture and tones of this work.
A country that has infiltrated his work and whose landscape inspires the texture and tone of the ceramic pieces.
“I am fascinated with how snow covers the mountains, but it is still possible to see certain things showing from underneath – sometimes rocks, soil, tree branches, bushes.
“Sometimes you can’t quite tell what you are looking at, but it is very intriguing and pleasing for the eye to travel through a wintery scenery and guess what is covered by the snow,” explains Zabavskiy. “That is what I have tried to mimic in this series of vessels.”
The artist’s interest in what lies under the surface partly drives his decision to create vessels that can contain within themselves something hidden.
The appeal of clay, Zabavskiy also explains, is the material’s ability to transform during the making process.
“I like to observe how something so soft and plastic turns first to something dry and fragile and then after glazing and firing to something very hard and rather durable. That transformation is very physical. I understand what goes on scientifically, but it still seems like magic.”
Zabavskiy exaggerates the ability of clay to metamorphose by allowing the space in his process for accidents. He hopes that this captures the imagination of any viewer – asking for a curious exploration with eyes and hands, as one might explore a tree, mountain or stone.
The work included in the Cluster collections are part of a series called Rounded Objects, all inspired by river stones.
YOU CAN BUY MONIKA DABROWSKA’S PIECES IN OUR ONLINE SHOP
It was nature’s peaceful indifference to the troubles of man, admits Zabavskiy, that kept him going throughout the challenges and uncertainties of 2020. Perhaps some of that peace is captured in his work
YOU CAN BUY YAROSLAV ZABAVSKIY’S WORK THROUGH OUR ONLINE SHOP
Monika Dabrowska, a ceramist from Poland, is also inspired by the forms she sees in the natural world. Her elliptical ceramic forms take their cues from her personal collection of stones, gathered on walks in the area surrounding her studio.
Dabrowska lives in a small town called Kęty on the banks of the Sola River, and walks into the forests around her studio are a constant source of inspiration.
“Contact with nature engages the senses,” says Dabrowska. “I touch wet stones, grass and moss. I listen to the sound of the wind, observe the light; I feel connected in nature.”
The strange, highly textured surfaces of the pieces are created in the raw clay stage with the addition of other ingredients, such as paper, pumice, metal filings and glass granules. These create surprising effects, somewhat like the bark of a tree or barnacles against a rock.
“I love to play with glaze and clay samples during the preparation stage - put them together, match them and draw inspiration from this process,” says Dabrowska. “In fact, this is when the most important decisions are made.”
Dabrowska’s pieces use only monochromatic shades, drawing the attention to the contrast between black and white. The decision, she says, emphasises the emotional impact of the work.
After a year in and out of lockdowns, 2020 has shifted Dabrowska’s interests from the landscape to the internal worlds of man as an inspiration for sculpture.
“This year I would like to move away from abstraction for a moment and explore the nature of man,” she explains. “It was a year of reflection and searching for meaning. This interest in the human is also an interest in myself and all the processes that take place inside me.”
Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.