A discipline of endless exploration
- Beril specialises in glaze making and hand building
- Her connection with clay is rooted in her childhood
- She values discovery and unpredictability over perfection
Beril Nur Denli hand builds her ceramic pieces, which allows her works to be more intuitive. Before rediscovering her love for clay, she studied and worked in landscape architecture and interior design for several years. “I do not think there are solid explanations for why we choose our crafts, it is all about gut feeling and intuition,” she says. “My connection to materials goes back to my childhood, as I grew up in my grandmother’s garden playing with clay, leaves, stones and rocks. We tend to forget what we genuinely love doing as we grow up, but ceramics felt very natural to me.” Beril graduated from the ceramics and glass programme at the Royal College of Art. She opened her studio in 2020, and divides her work between Istanbul and London. Today, Beril specialises in glaze making, often developing glazes for other makers and artists.
INTERVIEW
Take care of your bodies. People often overlook the importance of strength and flexibility in this field, but ceramics requires a lot of physical effort. Additionally, knowledge is abundant and accessible online today. These resources can be used to your advantage.
In made-to-order pieces for restaurants, functionality and food safety come first. On the other hand, sculptural pieces must precisely fit the design and aesthetic of their space. In art, I value discovery over perfection, because unpredictability plays a big role in the making process. As technique improves, imperfection could read as intentional, and in its own way, well made.
Innovation is closely tied to uniqueness. By mixing my own glazes, I often discover unexpected and surprising results. I believe I preserve tradition, yet I shape it with my own techniques. This balance between tradition and exploration makes the process enjoyable.
I am most pensive during my 'thinking-through-making' moments, even when the process feels instinctual. The technical side of ceramics is a lifelong journey. It is a discipline of endless learning and exploration.
