Stefania Vara

LaFANGdanga

Ceramicist

©LaFANGdanga

Ceramics as an imprint of memory

Stefania opened her atelier and ceramics school in Badalona in 2016
She studied nursing and photography before choosing artisanship
Her tableware is sought by top-tier restaurants from Barcelona and abroad

Stefania Vara’s ceramic works are reminders of her heritage, travels, territory, and rituals. Her close work with patients with cognitive disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease during 14 years of nursing practice in Barcelona revealed to her the fragility of memory. Breaking away from her family's tradition in healthcare, she discovered a new path in photography at Escola Grisart in 2012, and later studied art and design at Escola Massana. In 2016, she took up ceramics at Escola Industrial in Barcelona. “What I like most about ceramics is the investigation and exploration it demands, and the process of working with one’s need to control outcomes,” explains Stefania, who rejects serial production, embracing imperfection and uniqueness. She receives commissions from top-tier restaurants, and several of her sets have travelled with Michelin-star chefs around the world. Stefania also operates a ceramics school from her workshop, LaFANGdanga.

Interview

©LaFANGdanga

©LaFANGdanga

In what ways have you experienced ceramics as a healing tool?: Through my 2020 project called The Walls Have Memory. It won the La Caixa Foundation Art for Change Award. The project was a combination of narrative, drawing and audio led by a group of elderly people from the city of Badalona. Their memories were captured and linked to urban spaces through tile work.
What do you value in your tableware creations?: Working with clay connects me to my maternal grand-parents with whom I shared much of my childhood. They have a way of living, appreciating, and cherishing their everyday objects, that become special because they have been with them for years. Turning everyday moments into a ritual reconnects us with emotional and physical memories. That is what I want to achieve with my work.
Can you recall a major challenge in your career as an artisan?: The biggest challenge is producing plates using the Korean mishima technique. It involves creating a design by branding the clay with seals. The creases are then filled with a different clay or coloured slip. It is a very delicate and costly technique that requires patient dexterity. I learned it through private courses, in some of my trips to Korea and self-study.
In what other ways does your ceramic work recall memories?: Through imprints. I use stamps collected on my travels to exotic lands to make my mishima plates, and smoke to give the rustic finish to the vases I fire at my grand-parents' home. The clay captures my memories and emotional experiences and my work will eventually be a medium for others to recall theirs.

Stefania Vara is a rising star: she began her career in 2016 and she started teaching in 2016