Hands. Clay. Warmth.
Hello there, my name is Kira, and I’m a potter behind the Kira Ni Ceramics. My clay journey began in a community ceramics class in London, UK. I remember my first encounter with stoneware clay – it was hand-building and wheel-throwing in tandem. I loved it so much that I would sprint to class after finishing the day job. Stoneware clay is an excellent material because it’s solid and malleable. Its unique characteristics allow you to transform your wildest imagination into any shape or size. In the beginning, most of my work consisted of tableware and houseware. Each hand-built plate, mug or bowl was irregular and distinct and represented a modern rustic look. My signature piece is Seagull Jug.
After relocating to Malta, a small Mediterranean island, I pursued hand-building. It was that time when pottery became my full-time career. Soon after I added porcelain to my clay range, it took me almost ten months to understand how it works and how it “holds” its shape. Even subtle temperature fluctuation affects porcelain behaviour. Porcelain has encouraged me to work more slowly. The first collection made out of porcelain was a series of vessels with spikes; it’s available on display at the Valletta Contemporary gallery in Malta.
Before my next move to the Baltic sea coast, I experimented with coloured porcelain. My latest porcelain work consists of hand-built vases in pastel colours, mainly inspired by the still-life paintings of the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi and slip-casted porcelain lidded jars.
Currently, I work on a series of stoneware tableware and homeware pieces; everything is hand-built and in earthy nude colours.
Thank you for visiting my page; please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Kira.