To Eglė Einikytė-Narkevičienė, ceramics is more important than any other art form. After trying out different media, she couldn’t find anything that came close. Working with ceramics allows her to be a painter, sculptor and graphic artist all at once, since clay can encompass it all. She decorates ceramic tiles, and creates interior details, sculptures, jewellery, pictures on wood, elegant boxes, plates and vases. In her works you can often see the influence of nature and man, images of which are subtly painted on the surfaces of plates and other objects. She combines transparent surfaces with massive shapes, elegant graphics with heavy sculptures, and matt surfaces with glossy glazes.

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Passionate ceramicist Eglė Einikytė-Narkevičienė encourages you to discover the world of handmade ceramics. Every participant will be able to decorate a unique small dish of their choice with underglaze, or create a mug or bowl from grog (chamotte) clay and decorate it with ornamental stamps. A unique experience, the class allows you to discover the plasticity of the clay and its endless possibilities, learn how to cut it to form a better shape and see how it changes through decorating. The class is suitable for anyone, even inexperienced ceramicists. Later, the works are fired and shipped to the home of the participant (delivery charges are not included in the fee). The day and time should be arranged in advance.

Make a mug or bowl from grog clay in Vilnius

Individual or group visit to the studio, and creation of a small ceramic object.

The world of ceramics

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With this installation of stoneware sculptures, Eglé seeks to draw people's attention to their relationship with the environment. People with seemingly similar body sizes become different though the acquisition of different experiences and the effects of the external environment, which could be industrial or technological. The shapes are synthetically clean-cut, like factory parts or modelling clay strips, capable of taking on any form.

One Size

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These teacups and saucers were handmade from faience and fired with a cream-white underglaze. The surface of each cup was then decorated with drawings of angels overlooking a colourful landscape. Eglé really enjoys graphic drawing, finding it helps her relax after making big sculptures.

Teacups with angels

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These teacups and saucers were handmade from faience and fired with a cream-white underglaze. The surface of each cup was then decorated with drawings of sheep wandering in a prairie. Eglé really enjoys graphic drawing, finding it helps her relax after making big sculptures.

Teacups with lambs

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These two distorted jugs are handmade from faience. The fired forms were finished with a milk-white underglaze and finally with detailed pencil-like drawings of birds and birdcages. Eglé really enjoys graphic drawing, finding it helps her relax after making big sculptures.

Vessels with birds

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The intention behind this stoneware and porcelain composition was to awaken people's feelings. Through this sculptural dynamic form, and by using colour and various ceramic techniques, Eglé wanted to evoke people's imagination and make them think about finding answers to various existential questions.

Pink sculpture

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At first, Agnė Šemberaitė wanted to study graphics but decided to devote herself to ceramics because of its versatility. After her studies at Vilnius Art Academy, she started to participate in exhibitions and symposiums, following the professional path of a ceramic artist. She has been walking this path for more than 20 years and is still fascinated by the possibilities of ceramics. Her work is three-dimensional, playing with shapes, but she also makes graphic traces on her dishes using her painting skills. Her works are thoughtful and with a touch of humour. Sometimes they resemble small sculptures, where fantastic creatures tell mysterious stories. Those stories can be found on her dishes, plates, vases or teapots, which are decorative, original, and full of joy. Her world is full of characters - sometimes humans, sometimes animals, and even more often – hybrids of humans and animals.

Šemberaitė, Agnė

All creatures great and small

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The ceramic works of Rūta Indriūnaitė (aka Rutrut) balance art and design. Each of her vases is unique, moulded and carved by hand. In a fast-paced world where many choose low quality mass production, she challenges herself to create objects without an expiry date. She studies nature and analyses the structures within it, stylising them to create designs for her works. Rūta doesn't like working fast; she likes to emphasise the time she invests in her works. Her creation process is a balance between creativity and technical artistry; she is very critical of herself and doesn't tolerate technical mistakes, yet she loves to experiment.

Indriūnaitė, Rūta

Deconstructing nature

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The interest in ceramics was sparked by Agnė Kondrataitė's mother. The artist grew up in a family of architects and while following her studies, she visited a studio of a famous Lithuanian ceramicist with her mother and her fascination with pottery has not faded since. She works with white and red clay, with various glazes, boldly experimenting, coating works with gold, using plaster or wire. Agnė does not only create dishes, but panels, tiles, lamps, pots, furniture handles, and sculptures. Since the ceramicist doesn’t use a ring wheel, all of her creations have clearly visible handprints. It gives them human warmth and uniqueness. Her works are modern and elegantly designed. Her designs play with different themes, shapes and original forms, making them perfect for contemporary interiors.

Kondrataite, Agne

Creative challenges

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In her teenage years, Rasa Justaitė-Gecevičienė turned her back on chemistry and mathematics, choosing ceramics instead. However, her studies did not only provide the basics of composition and art, but also immersed her in the subtleties of ceramic technology. An alchemic process, pottery requires both formulas and calculations – all of which she once ran away from, but now finds great pleasure in. Creating exhibition works and artistic sculptural objects for interior design, Rasa's works always have an unexpected and unique perspective: recognisable household objects or natural forms turn into fantastic ceramic works. By skilfully combining different materials, Rasa invites us to observe, to touch, or sometimes to take a walk within a landscape of emotions.

Justaie-Geceviciene, Rasa

The alchemy of ceramics

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Your authorizations

Developed in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and made possible by the support of Cartier, Homo Faber in Città gives you a rare chance to visit over 70 artisan workshops. The project is developed in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Confartigianato Imprese Venezia, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, The Venice Glass Week and Venezia da Vivere.

Our Partners

Step inside the workshops and ateliers to learn the secrets of local master artisans and manufacturers

Try your hand at different crafts with an authentic experience

Marvel at examples of fine craftsmanship by doing our itineraries

This september, the second edition of Homo Faber in Città invites visitors to step off the beaten track and discover the artisanal addresses where Venetian craftspeople create objects of exquisite beauty. A rare opportunity to witness Venice’s master artisans and young talents demonstrating their crafts and presenting the tools, materials and skills involved in contemporary Venetian craftsmanship.

Enrich your experience beyond Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life

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Homo Faber Guide is an online portal dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship, showcasing artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries, shops and experiences. Create your user account for access to exclusive features on Homo Faber Guide: save your preferred pages, hear about hot topics first, leave recommendations for your favourite artisans and much more.

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Although the Michelangelo Foundation researches the talents for its projects autonomously, collaboration with our ambassadors is fundamental. Over 120 associations, schools and institutions allow us to map the continents for craftsmanship and to have partners in each country who share our vision and goals. In addition, we have asked well-known personalities in the craft, design and art world to be our ambassadors in the cities where they live, so that their recommendations can offer a unique insight into craftsmanship in the major cities of Europe and beyond.

Who are our ambassadors?

Download our free Homo Faber Guide app (iOS and Android) to discover artisans, museums, galleries, shops, and experiences by location. Search Homo Faber on the App store on your mobile device.

Find craftsmanship destinations on the go

Discover the addresses of esteemed manufacturers, well known for producing high quality objects across a wide variety of crafts. Read their stories and find out where you can shop their contemporary pieces, see their archive collections and even in some cases visit their workshops. Find exceptional ateliers where artisans collaborate creatively to create fine pieces of craftsmanship. Reach out to them to commission something special.

Ateliers & Manufacturers

All the artisans and small workshops featured in Homo Faber Guide have been carefully researched and selected. They are presented and narrated through a selection of images and an interview, which allows readers to immerse themselves in the universe of these makers who exemplify excellence in their individual fields or are promising talents of the future. Find masters and rising stars who share the same passion and determination, and whose workshops are ready to share their secrets with visitors.

A selection of the best artisans

Are you eager to discover a city through craftsmanship? Do you wish to spend a few hours visiting an applied arts museum or attending a course on a craft with one of the masters featured in Homo Faber Guide? Browse the section dedicated to experiences and find your next adventure.

Experiences

An expert artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years. He or she may also be engaged in passing on their knowledge to the next generations, but they have been doing so for less than seven years. Beyond this, they will become a Master artisan.

Who is an Expert artisan?

Homo Faber Guide provides you with a selection of the best addresses across Europe and further afield, where you will be able to discover and purchase exceptional objects, some of which are created by artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide.

Galleries

Homo Faber Guide is an online platform dedicated to craftsmanship that allows you to discover artisans and their masterpieces; explore museums, visit galleries and shops selling unique objects; enjoy experiences in cities across Europe and beyond.

Homo Faber Guide is a signature project developed by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was set up in 2016 thanks to the intuition of Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert. The Michelangelo Foundation’s mission is to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship, and for this reason it has created a map of the most significant representatives in this field, with the aim of connecting all its protagonists: artisans, designers, gallery owners, art curators, collectors and enthusiasts of high-quality handmade pieces.

About the Guide

Are you an artisan, atelier or manufacturer? Would you like to be featured in Homo Faber Guide? The Michelangelo Foundation encourages self-assessment initiatives and is pleased to evaluate new members to appear on the Guide or in other projects. Thanks to the Master’s Touch Evaluation Tool, every artisan can send their application: register and access a questionnaire to see if you fulfill the 11 criteria for excellence that stand behind all the activities of the Michelangelo Foundation. If your answers reach the minimum requirement, your application will be brought to our attention; if, on the contrary, you should score below the minimum requirement, we will give you some points for improvement, in the hope that you may participate in future initiatives of the Michelangelo Foundation.

Join the Homo Faber Guide!

Our artisan labels

A master artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years, and who has also been engaged in passing on his or her expertise to the younger generations for more than seven years. This is in keeping with one of the key values of the Michelangelo Foundation: the transmission of knowledge in craftsmanship.

Who is a Master artisan?

Find museums handpicked for their links to contemporary craftsmanship and the exquisite collections they have on display. In each city, discover a museum of interest and organise your visit. From Italian museums displaying coral collections, glass pieces and ceramics to decorative art museums in Russia and Greece, marvel at the variety of museums exhibiting masterpieces, showcasing techniques and recounting histories.

Museums

A rising star is an artisan who has been active for less than ten years, and who is capable of expressing his or her craft with competence, creativity and originality. Whether self-taught or trained, the rising star represents the future of craftsmanship, in creativity, concerns and approaches.

Who is a Rising star?

The artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide have been selected through a meticulous assessment process based on the 11 criteria for excellence, identified by Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in the volume The Master’s Touch, written with researchers Giuditta Comerci and Giovanna Marchello. The members of the Michelangelo Foundation’s network who have been invited to participate in sourcing artisans for the Guide use an evaluation tool based on these criteria. In this way, they can identify the most suitable artisans to include in the project.

Simple rules for a transparent selection

In which city does the artisan work?

In which country does the artisan practise?

What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

What is the name of the artisan you are recommending?

Does the artisan have a website?

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