For artists and creators of handmade objects, the moment one of their pieces leaves the studio to be introduced to the world is a significant milestone. At least, that's how I felt when one of my vessels, Throbbing Stillness, was selected to be part of the 2021 1000 Vases exhibition.

As the name reveals, 1000 Vases is a curated selection of a thousand variations on the same theme: the vase. An ordinary, everyday object becomes the sole inspiration for a thousand iterations by various artists from all over the world. 

The selection is exhibited yearly in Paris and other art and design-loving cities like Dubai and Milan. In the organizers' own words, the goal is to "demonstrate how fantasy can work endlessly on a single subject and how beauty can take the most varied forms through different techniques and materials."

The 2021 edition was part of the events complementing the Salone del Mobile, the massive furniture design fair taking place every year in Milan. Along with the equally intriguing parallel events (like 1000 Vases), they form what is widely known as the Milan Design Week.

So, in the course of seven exciting days, thousands of art and design enthusiasts and industry professionals from all over the globe saw Throbbing Stillness, my proposed version of a vase. 

And through my sculpture, they became more familiar with my work and personal approach to hand-building with clay.