Working with clay is a gratifying but rigorous pursuit. Turning an abstract idea and some raw sculpting material into a piece of art with your hands takes much time and effort. So, it feels good when your labor of love is appreciated. 

I'm happy to announce that one of my handmade ceramic vessels is among the winners of a highly acclaimed international competition. Throbbing Stillness just won the Bronze A' Design Award in the Arts, Crafts, and Ready-Made Design category, earning recognition from a Grand Jury of several established designers and artists, influential media professionals, and leading academics.

The awarded vessel, part of a series exploring abstract ideas and existential questions, was made in 2020 by hand-building. I follow this time-honored technique because it requires using my hands and fingers combined with simple tools instead of the typical pottery wheel. That way, the naturally imperfect outcome mirrors the honesty of my creative method, a slow process that molds a special relationship with my medium.

My sculpture's journey out of the studio began in 2021 by traveling to Milan Design Week. It was included in the 1000 Vases segment, an annual exhibition that brings hundreds of designers from different countries together to contribute their unique versions of the same object, the vase. 

My version, Throbbing Stillness, was inspired by Kenya Hara's book, White, but also the human body and Zen Buddhism. It's a vase but also an imperfectly white empty vessel created to contain abstract ideas, thoughts, and images, offering a space open to interpretation, human connection, and interaction; it's an object with a fluid narrative function.

After a wonderful experience in Milan, I knew Throbbing Stillness's journey was just starting. Next came the A' Design Awards. Throbbing Stillness eventually excelled in its category, letting people know more about my art; my approach, technique, and philosophy.

And the journey continues…