Ionela Bellato & Valentina Cojocaru
Lea Studios
Ceramicist
Zero Branco, Italy
Mother, daughter and digital printing
- Ionela and Valentina work together to make one-of-a-kind ceramic artworks
- They started their joint production during the Covid pandemic
- They learned that combining their skillsets was a winning approach
Lea Studios was born in the suspended days of the pandemic from the creative encounter between Ionela Bellato and her mother, Valentina Cojocaru. Valentina became Ionela’s partner in craft, sharing an interest in ceramics and the technical skill to boot. Until that time, ceramics had been only a small part of Ionela's academic training. She came across a 3D printing course which opened to her the world of design, and inspired her to experiment with the material. "That is when I became a maker," she says. Following a process of trial and error, Ionela and Valentina studied clay mixtures and textures together, as well as algorithms and techniques that helped push the boundaries of digitally-aided ceramic art.
INTERVIEW
It was a collection of two vases made using 3D printing and then meticulously hand-decorated in white porcelain, simulating the structure of corals bleached by rising ocean water temperatures. They are now part of the collection of the Contemporary PotGallery in Madrid.
They range from traditional hand modelling to 3D printing. What makes our work innovative is the combination of a traditional approach with digital tools, which creates pieces that are both a tribute to craftsmanship and a projection into the future.
We are motivated by the opportunity to improve and learn all the time, and by the joy that each piece we make is unique and unrepeatable. Every day we have to solve a design problem, adapt to the material or resolve a technical solution.
Ionela: When we started, I was attracted to digital design and 3D printing of ceramics, while my mother loved making pottery by hand on the wheel. Through experimentation we moved away from each other’s comfort zone and started combining techniques, achieving shapes and results we never imagined.
