Staying true to her roots
- Pavla fell in love with ceramics as a teenager
- A man once composed a poem inspired by her work
- She regularly teaches high school and university students
The works of Pavla Vachunová evoke fertile soil and fresh air. One can easily imagine her clay and porcelain pieces growing right from the ground: a vase with thorns, flowers cast in porcelain, a surface resembling needles, a bowl shaped by apples. This rich harvest derives from Pavla's birthplace, the Horňácko region, a world unto itself with unique folklore, where rural architecture sits among vast meadows, orchards and mountains. "I spent my joyful childhood there. And this strong feeling of homely happiness still accompanies me," Pavla says. "I may travel all around the world, but these mighty roots nourish me with inspiration and power." Her objects resemble the first blooms after winter – seemingly fragile, but strong enough to make their way through the snow.
Interview
- You live in Prague, but do you ever go back to Horňácko?
- My heart lies in that region, so I try to spend as much time as possible there. My studio is in Prague, but I travel home in the summer to work and to document local crafts. But I'm an artist, not a documentary maker, so it's rather about being kept busy by my muse.
- Do you keep traditions alive in your work, too?
- I have a very humble approach to traditions, so preserving age-old crafts is crucial to me. Yet artistic creation inspires me to move forward and try new things. Even after two decades, working with ceramics doesn't stop surprising me; there are always new layers to be discovered.
- What do you love about it?
- When you work with clay or porcelain, you use natural elements: fire, water, air and earth. You need all of them to obtain a good result; you can't cheat them. It's an alchemy full of surprises and accidents. One must be patient and attentive.
- Are you concerned for the future of your craft?
- I think my biggest threat is loss of creativity. I'm not only an artisan, I'm also a technologist, designer, retailer and PR manager, and that, all together, can be destructive for the creative spirit. So I'm wary of betraying myself.
Pavla Vachunová is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2001
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Pavla Vachunová
