Araceli Robledo Adams

Casa Adams Fine Wares

Ceramic decorator | Dulwich Hill, Australia

Painting the luxury that is wildlife

Araceli hand paints Australian native flora and fauna onto porcelain
She elevates the natural world to remind us of its value
Her studio practice is regenerative, putting more back into nature than she takes

When Araceli Robledo Adams was a child, her family moved from Spain to Australia, where her parents would point out the wildlife that surrounded them with awe. Later life took her back to Spain, as well as London and Toronto, where Araceli always painted watercolours of her surroundings, finding artist circles and studios wherever she went. A ceramics course in Greenwich Village sparked her love for porcelain, leading her back to Australia where she studied further, met her husband and settled in Sydney. "One Easter at Lake Macquarie, we caught blue swimmer crabs, and I painted one," she says. Soon, she began hand painting native wildlife onto porcelain. For Araceli, adorning tableware with these creatures is a reminder to us all that nature is the ultimate luxury.

Interview

©Romy River

©Samee Lapham

Why is porcelain your chosen medium?: I need the excitement and constant challenges that clay gives me. Painting onto bisque and having the kiln transform the pigment into colour means you never know how it will turn out. Blues are unbelievably difficult to master, and I do not think I ever will, but that is why I keep on doing this and loving it.
How did you come to painting the flora and fauna of Australia?: My husband, my muse, grew up on Lake Macquarie, which is the biggest saltwater lake in Australia. We would go there all the time to catch blue swimmer crabs at Easter, and we did a lot of fishing, too. I found these creatures a really inspiring and elegant subject matter.
Do your pieces seek to send out a message?: I am petrified for the future because of climate change. I channel this anxiety to wow people with the beauty of what we have. I very consciously try to paint nature in a way that makes it look like the beautiful thing it is. We should treat nature as a luxury.
How do you keep a low footprint in your studio?: Solar panels fuel the kiln, and there is no waste in the work, because everything goes back into the garden if I cannot reclaim it. The studio is designed to not require heating in winter or cooling in summer. I also plant a tree for every piece I sell which means I put more back into nature than I take out.

Araceli Robledo Adams is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2012 and she started teaching in 2020