About — Anastassia Solovieva

About Anastassia Solovieva Keramiek

Enschede, The Netherlands

I am a functional potter currently living and working in Enschede, Netherlands, where I moved recently from Baltimore, MD (USA).

I strive to make pots that will make the everyday world of their users more beautiful. Function is important to me and each pot I make has a role to play in the house or garden. But I also believe that even humble functional pots should be embellished. And so I am constantly inspired by the colors, textures and plants around me to add surface decoration to my work. I’m often struck by the multitude of simple but significant details one observes on old buildings - from small changes in color stones, variation in brick pattern to more elaborate carving or sculptural gutters, it all adds up to a viewing experience that is never boring.

In the same way I hope that the carving, painting and printing that I do, will make pots that you will never tire of using and looking at.

After exclusively wood firing my work for many years, I have recently switched to a new process, after relocating to the Netherlands. I now work with red and black earthenware clay, which I fire to 1090 Celsius (cone 03) in an electric kiln. The earthenware becomes dense and durable at this slightly higher than usual temperature, but it still saves a lot of energy when firing my kiln, which is powered by our solar panels.

This has opened up a new world of colours and textures, and I look forward to exploring it further.

Currently, I have been experimenting with using terra sigillata in various colours to create a multi-layered and complex surface on my pots. I am also combining engines, oxide painted decoration and colourful underglazes under a transparent food-safe glaze. And of course, I’m continuing with the photo-transfer technique I already loved on my wood-fired pots. I have recently started a new series of vessels with photographs of old (post) industrial buildings around my new home of Enschede. And I am trying to find ways to incorporate old Twents textile designs in my work to connect it to the local history.