b. 1976
Born: Israel
Active ceramist: from childhood…professionally 24 years
Mentor/s: The first person, who taught me the love and passion for clay without the need for words, was my mother, the ceramist Drora Amos. Later on as a student in Bezalel I was fortunate to get to know the outstanding lady who was my inspiration and life teacher: Professor Lydia Zavatzky. We had a special bond beyond the usual student-teacher relationship. I can explain it today as a brotherhood of creators who share the vision that for them the work in clay is an existential need. Both these women died before their time from a similar illness, less than a year apart when I was 22 years old, a recent graduate from the Bezalel ceramics department. I became an orphan but secure in my place and my love for clay.
Why clay?
For its properties, the direct touch with clay, its plasticity and its ability to take on and revert from any shape. One of my preferred actions is wedging clay. That’s the stage where clay and the body connect, where I feel the clay, where I disconnect from the outside noises and enter a mood of thinking of creation through the continuing rotating movement.
What do I want to convey?
My working with clay is my way of communicating with my surroundings. I speak through clay; communicate ideas and my world view. The potter’s wheel is the main tool through which I express myself freely, and the objects I create are an immediate extension of my experience in my space.
What characterizes my work process?
The process in the studio is continuous and multifaceted. I work on the wheel in small series and then treat each one of the objects in a unique way which then makes each piece distinctive. In addition to this I work with printing and create samples and images for vessels which make up a personal language, the subject of which is tradition, history and culture. I collect readymade second hand objects from flea markets which then get joined with the object I made and thus bestow them with a new usage, different from the original one. My work process consists of concentrated and introverted work in the studio in parallel with wandering, exploring, and collecting ideas and inspiration from the outside.
My tool of choice… Can’t create without it:
The tool closest to my heart is a black buffalo horn in the shape of a finger. I use it for burnishing, transferring prints from paper to clay and many other uses. The use of it is natural to me, like an immediate extension of my hand; it allows me an organic treatment of the surface.
Absolutely necessary in my working environment:
Not much, basic things: A clean and organized work environment; clay, a water bowl, a sponge, a metal kidney, cutting wire and a pin.
