I knew Teresa Branco's work before knowing her in person. The word "work" is not correct when you feel all the passion that animates an object just looking at it. Behind each creation, there is the essence of this woman whose story may seem trivial to some but a cry of truth to others. I am one of the latter. Because you see, Teresa has done what more and more people are doing lately, reinvent her life!
And since then, she has done it with passion every day.
It's therefore as much the person that I adore as her work that led me to this new collaboration, the theme of which you can read here.
In the meantime, take inspiration from Teresa's words...
And since then, she has done it with passion every day.
It's therefore as much the person that I adore as her work that led me to this new collaboration, the theme of which you can read here.
In the meantime, take inspiration from Teresa's words...
- Hi Teresa, can you introduce yourself?
I am a migrant woman. Portuguese. Traveling between Africa and Asia. I keep in me shapes, textures, colors from many places. But it is here, in Portuguese lands, that I find the simple life. I like the mountain, the wind, the texture of the stones and the touch of water on my skin. I like the green leaves and I love the smell of wet earth. I like the animals on the planet.
- Why did you choose to become a ceramicist?
My relationship with clay started in my childhood. I remember having joy playing with clay in my hands. There was almost an urgency to give shape. Ceramics bring together various plastic expressions. Modelage allows us to work in 3D, the texture, the diversity of ceramic pastes, the different weights, the infinity of glazes and their properties. It's a kind of permanent alchemy. There are so many variables that everything is an experiment and everything can be a different result. It's a bit like life. We are all alive, but we all live life differently.
- What was your journey to become one?
I worked for 22 years in the social area where ceramics has always been present, but it was my dream. Something present, but only for the "good" moments. However, as I walked through life, I came to realize that life cannot be postponed and that it should be made what most identifies us and we like the most. So, about six years ago I decided to change my life. I created a ceramics workshop in the city of Porto - Oficina BRÂMICA where I have been developing ceramic projects. This workshop also enhances access to ceramics for people who wish to develop this plastic expression.
- What is the most satisfying aspect of your work?
Ceramics have so many possibilities that every day is almost as if it were continually the first. It's always a creative and unique process. When I finish one of my ceramic pieces, I always feel that I'm at the right time to start creating another one, because the learning process in each process is surprising. But one of the most satisfying aspects of my work is being fully aware that ceramics are the most ancient expression of humanity. that today, in our days, we return to earth, with a new look, where we appreciate its raw beauty, despite being transformed by fire. It is these infinite possibilities that attract me.
- What attracted you to this collaboration?
Of course, empathy with Paula Franco was essential for us to start our collaboration. However, it was also the memory of me and my childhood. The memory of an innocence in black and white. The memory of a time that stretched into infinity and that I can now review in LUZ EDITIONS's photographic memory. And that time and that space give me back emotions. It's these emotions that inspire me.
- What was your main inspiration to create the "malga" (bowl)?
The bowl in Portugal has always been synonymous with warmth and comfort. Soup is one of the symbols of our gastronomy, in its healthiest aspect. The bowl, the ceramic form to give shape to these emotions. Inspired by black and white colors, I created the black and white bowls. The white bowl is coated in black and the black bowl is coated in white, taking advantage of its textures. It's a wabi sabi. Imperfections are the perfection of the unique and unrepeatable.
- If you have to pick one of them, which one will it be? Why?
This is a difficult question, because if I answer that I choose the WHITE bowl because I like the contrast of black and the slightly blue reflections that the high-fire glaze produces on black, I also love the BLACK bowl for the delicacy of the paste and the subtlety of the white that gets confused. thus, I believe that the best thing will be to choose the two and I will have the essence of opposites. Day and night, the white bowl and the black bowl.
View the Malga collection
Discover Teresa Branco's work in her instagram
