Through The Window, 2026
Paper Clay, Majolica, Stain
By Chance I, 2026
Stoneware, Stain
Walk With Me, 2025
Stoneware, Majolica, Stain
A Wild Encounter, 2025
Stoneware, Stain
September 21st, 2025, 2025
Stoneware, Majolica, Stain
This series that I am currently working on is a visual illustration of contemporary daily life through my perspective. I am able to create these still lifes with a combination of two techniques, the first being relief carvings and the second is the surface treatment of majolica. Majolica is a traditional Italian technique that I researched due to my Italian heritage and felt that this surface treatment was the perfect match for some of the works of art created. Relief sculpture is a traditional technique that I wanted to explore creating these illustrations. Due to the illustration quality of the relief, the surface treatment was altered to a stain application to highlight the quality of the relief.
The use of these techniques allow me to connect to the historical context of ceramics. By recording daily life through this material, I am able to create these narratives to highlight ceramics permanence. I reflect these stories through the use of traditional illustrative design choices, however; my illustrations take on a more contemporary look through comic style storytelling with its visualisation and sequence of images.
One narrative in particular, visualizes a walk I took around my neighbourhood. The physical structure of the art piece mimics the path taken, whereas the visuals show what I saw and experienced from start to finish during that walk.
Throughout my degree, I have drawn most of my inspiration from daily life. Upon creating this body of work I decided that I would solely focus on visualizing these moments that I experience. By doing so, I am relating to the historical context of ceramics where day to day life was illustrated onto clay and used as a record of its time. Furthermore, I find it important to show the mundane to represent the joy and insight that could be found when we notice our surroundings.
Cassandra Gelbloom Studios 