Featured Artist: Miri Mara

Italian native, Miri Mara captures movement in his vessels through the use of simple silhouettes and textures. After devoting two decades to a fashion career in Rome and Milan, Miri Mara retired to California. There is where he discovered his new love for clay after viewing a documentary about Japanese pottery and taking art classes. His new hobby soon turned into a business. Today in his Carpinteria Studio, Miri creates unique, limited production, ceramic pieces that are both sculptural and functional.

After sketching designs on paper, Miri Mara prefers to create clay models using traditional hand building techniques instead of the pottery wheel. He depends solely on his sight for the balance and proportion of each piece he makes. Once the design is completed Miri creates a plaster mold to cast the collection. In addition to slip casting, Miri hand finishes each piece by carving, scratching or combing a textured design into the vessel’s surface. The patterns that develop are a result of layer upon layer of glaze and multiple firings.

Check back with us soon to see more of Miri's work.