This land of beauty and contradictions with its slow and respectful flow seems to have stopped back in time to preserve the Values of Vita Lenta (Slow Living).
In this warm welcoming atmosphere, I turn these "Emotions into "Objects".
In the bustle of modern life, these Objects have the purpose of bringing us into a suspended time where we can Slow Down and Appreciate the Small Things.
About Chiara
Welcome, my name is Chiara.
I was born in a charming town called Modica, in Sicily. I grew up with strong Values of Family, Kindness, and Respect for what surrounds us.
I grew up with a strong sense of responsibility. This led me to follow the standard life path: I graduated in Engineering in Turin and Berkeley (CA). Then I founded a tech-startup in NY city following the American entrepreneur dream.
But I was not happy.
I felt extremely far from my inner Values and I was not in peace with myself.
So, in 2019 I moved back to Sicily to start an amazing journey to re-discover the Beauty of the Simple Things, Tradition, and what we use to call Slow Living but in Sicily is just living like our grandparents used to live: slowly and with respect for what surrounds us.
I invite you to join my Slow Revolution & embrace the Vita Lenta.
The Ceramic Process
Hand-crafting ceramics is a very slow process. It takes several weeks to bring an object to life.
Research
Let me step back. Before diving into the Ceramic process, I want to introduce you to a fundamental pillar of a Ceramist: study and research.
Ceramics is a vast object ranging from chemistry to geology. It requires years and years of study to master the knowledge.
The most challenging part concerns experimenting with glazes to create original recipes in order to get specific colors and finishes.
The Slow Transformation
In my studio, each piece is hand-shaped and slowly dried in the air. Once dry, I fire it the first time at a low temperature of 950°C (biscuit firing), so the piece remains porous, ready to absorb the glaze.
Then I dip it slowly and carefully into the glaze and wait for it to dry. At this point, I fix the small imperfections and I fire it a second and final time at High Temperature (1250°C), this will make it waterproof, resistant, and durable.