" I am looking for a kind of harmony in contrast and the unexpected. "
CAROLE TOUATI
CAROLE TOUATI
Ceramicist, Chissey-en-Morvan (71)
Carole tells us about her turning point, or how practicing ceramics allowed her to connect with her true temperament
Tell us your story, how did you find your calling?
I have been working in fashion for over fifteen years as a consultant and art director. Caught up in the digitalization, social media, constant connectivity, and the surrounding acceleration, I felt the need to do something with my hands to take a breather and—a difficult task—step away from the screen. I tried my hand at drawing, painting, sewing, and clothing design, finding a certain satisfaction in them; however, it was the day I took my first pottery class with a Japanese ceramicist in Barcelona—where I have lived for 25 years—that I felt a real spark. It was as if I were reconnecting with who I was as a child, with my true temperament. The calm, the sheer slowness, the focus, and the freedom to create a piece from A to Z, without any intermediaries, won me over. I have now been practicing ceramics for over 6 years. Last year, I set up my studio in the countryside, in Chissey-en-Morvan, Burgundy, where we live for half the year.
How would you describe your style and your artistic approach in a few words?
Vases, bowls, plates, sculptures: my pieces are all one-of-a-kind. I use stoneware and porcelain. Wheel-throwing, coiling, and sculpting—these techniques allow me to work with both classic forms and more unexpected ones, which I connect to my quirky world by applying brightly colored glazes or adding handles made from recycled t-shirt yarn, or "ugly" handles, for example.
What themes or subjects inspire you the most in your work?
I seek a kind of harmony in contrast and the unexpected. I try to approach beauty from the angle of a possible "ugliness." In doing so, I adopt a concept of beauty that is free and flexible, all while trying to move beyond my own preconceptions.
How do you work?
Half of my life is spent in Spain, in Barcelona, where I share a studio with my fellow ceramicist friends, and the other part of the year I live in seclusion in the Morvan, where I set up my own studio a few months ago.
I work with stoneware and porcelain using various techniques learned in Barcelona, creating my pieces according to my whims. I am passionate about decorative objects and sculpture, but I also enjoy dedicating time to functional pieces, always trying to make them poetic; I am always looking for an emotion in them. I am not afraid of colors, and I like to take risks by combining them. Earths, techniques, shapes, colors, textures, and finishes are ultimately all words that allow us to create our own language.
Do you have a particular technique, a specific expertise? Without revealing all your secrets, have you developed your own methods and techniques?
I enjoy throwing pieces on the wheel and, without trimming them, finishing them by hand. They thus acquire the strength of the wheel and the regular shapes it confers, combined with the poetry of a piece shaped by hands, without tools.
My miniatures, sometimes barely a centimeter high, are made in this way.
Tell us about your daily life, your constraints, your joys, your successes…
Since I rarely work on commission, it is sometimes difficult, yet stimulating, to find the creative spark each day. That is why I enjoy working regularly on large coil-built pieces, so that I can dedicate myself to a single piece for several days in a row.
A message to convey, anything else you would like to share?
I would like to warmly thank Alexia for her support! It is a privilege to be able to take part in the Mirette adventure, which I hope will be long and wonderful.
(The photo is by Sandrine Rossit, who takes magnificent portraits of artists.)
