“When an author owes a product to his genius, he does not himself know how the ideas for it have entered into his head.” - I. Kant
Arroz do Céu. [Rice from heaven] Thus is called the new collection from Val do Sol, taken from the tale by José Rodrigues Miguéis, which tells the story of an east european emigrant who works as a rail cleaner in the New York subway. All types of matter fall from the air vents above him. Garbage, raindrops, sunshine... and rice. By the church of S. John the Baptist, where many New York high society weddings take place, “ hamper loads of rice fall onto the wedding couples... in a burst of ruinous celebration”. In the end, the rice is swept into the subway air vents, where the rail cleaner below, not knowing the origins of this divine rice, reaps it to feed his large family.For him, rice pours in with the sun light. From Heaven. Rice from Heaven.
Val do Sol invited me to renew their terracotta collection for Frankfurt-Ambiente 2010. Elegance, irreverence without arrogance, some humility and much happiness. Reutilize and remodel. Rice whites, creams, grey and black. Paris, always Paris, natural oysters. Blues, mediterranean, Bandol, Île de Bendor. Welsh greens, Cardiff, the exuberance of the city’s parks. Reds, oranges, yellows and browns - India, the spice markets. Pink and purple, yellow and moss greens - Lisboa, cosmopolitan, the pink city. And also... Butterfly, the new line in terracotta, organic, light and functional.
Fátima, Paulo, Rita, Celina, Sandra, João, Dulce and of course… Zé Eduardo, made this Rice from Heaven possible.
In 2008, I designed and created a ceramic collection called Alice inspired in the fabulous novel «Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland» by Lewis Carroll. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, el fotógrafo pionero, catedrático de Oxford y matemático que, bajo el seudónimo de Lewis Carroll, dio al mundo Jabberwocky, Tweedledum y Tweedledee, la Reina Roja, el Sombrerero, la Liebre de Marzo y la inolvidable fiesta del té?... hombre reservado y tartamudo que liberó de moralismos los libros infantiles y cuya imaginación produjo algunos de los más divertidos disparates, de los personajes más insensatos y de los iconos culturales más extraordinarios de nuestra época.
Alice’s around me…
A long time ago, in 1978, I ran a decoration store in Coimbra called Alice Behind the Mirror. It had a rag doll called Alice which looked like a 10 year old girl and was hand made by my partner and sister in law Isabel… who must be right now having a cup of tea with March’s rabbit..
What can I do? Discover tendencies, combine colours, textures, decorations, create collections adequate to my clients and suggest them new creative paths.
Life has already taught me a lot. From the world and from different lives. Today, I know that the average American dish should have 28 centimetres of diameter while the European should be only 26 cm. That Swedish butter packages aren’t the same size as the French ones. That in Israel they enjoy American tendencies and that Americans love the charm as well as the French refinement. From Italy the history, Armani and Amalfi, «pastas »and « pestos », the famous pasta and cheese sets -guaranteed selling items… That in Sweden the most appreciated colours are the white, the blue and the yellow of their national flag. In Norway besides Santa Claus they also have Mother Christmas and the whole family. They usually buy lots of lamps and lights because they lack natural light and as far as I was told they don’t pay for their electricity. Germans enjoy pastel colours, roses, greens. They can’t stand delays and we don’t get invited easily. The French, the famous and many «taupes», Paris – the city of romantics, of fashion and of the croissant- from Piaf to Ferré, from the «kir» to the aperitif taken in a restaurant, outside, during winter time. Spain lives the strong colours, the monarchy, the Civil war, Prado Museum, Sevillian dresses, bullfights and Almodovar.100% nationalists. The Italians of the red Ferrari and olive greens (have you ever noticed that wherever you are, there’s always an Italian travelling around?). They enjoy everything which is elegant and neat.Yellows, a lot, in Latin America, from Frida to Tango, from the Mayas to the Land of Fire.
What about us? White and blue,from the ocean, the tiles, the Alentejo houses. We only use white or decorated china at home. Our flag has got green, from our mountains, Gerês, Bussaco; yellow from our traditional sweets, from our jewelry, from the sun and the light. Sagres, Zambujeira do Mar,the Jerónimos, the tower of Coimbra’s University and Aveiro’s ria, the Douro river and its Foz, Moledo and Caminha. We enjoy browns, honey and sand. Imported woods from Brasil and Africa. The shades of our cultivated soils. India’s spices.The vastness of the sand in our coast. We like black. It is elegant, international, it is fado with a shawl, it’s capa e batina , from Amália to Marisa. Brasil has given us the colour of the culture’s multiplication, its music. April’s carnation has left us the red of passion.
Everyone enjoys colour. The difference lies only in the way we choose to mix colours and it’s fascinating how they can all be mingled together. I’ve recently changed my kitchen. I chose to put on the walls square coloured tiles of 8*8 cms of my ancient factory «Cerarpa». When handling them to the man responsible for the work, I told him to put them at random, without really worry about the colour combination. Each morning, while waiting for my coffee to be done, I’m surprised to discover one more successful colour combination!
As one client once told me:«everything which is made with passion, has got a future ahead» and passion is still around...
My first coat from Jackie collection. My sister Jacqueline brought me the fabrics, 100% Pyrenees lambswool. The inside lining is made of natural silk and Catarina Veloso atelier in Coimbra made the first piece. My first coat of 2010/11 winter collection.
One of these days, talking with a friend, he told me: show the why of your know-how, the why when creating concepts and collections…people want to know the why, what you do, they get to know easily… Later, another friend made me discover one video: Simon Sinek.
So, it’s true... but…how do you put in words a brainstorming of ideas and associations, of little facts of everyday turned into creation? I’ve been thinking about this for weeks… but nothing comes up! Today, something had to happen. Read these two stories and then tell me if I was able to explain the WHY.
I. Su’s ring
Since I’ve moved to Coimbra, my cousin Susana has been my «light».She calls me every day just to check if I’m ok, if I want to go out, have lunch. How could I pay her back for all her care? With tenderness, with a gift… a ring! It must be a special ring. It must convey beauty, intelligence, sweetness and a sense of humour which I adore. That’s it. Four chakras. Discreet. To use daily. From our numerous cousin talking while walking home for lunch at Ma’s…Coming back and coffee at Almedina. More talking. Fears and women’s doubts. Let’s go work! See you later… That afternoon, I turned, I thought, I searched. At the end of the day, I summed up my work with this sentence and this film that give me the inspiration I need- because of Babette’s beauty and determination…
Working on the Why, I went out to buy me some dinner and I remembered that delicious film (story) from Karen Blixen: «un artist is never broke ».. All of this because of those famous «cailles en sarcophage» and Su’s ring. But how can I explain all that in a text?? More, how important is a SMS in this torrential creation?
Cinema at night, Sex and the City .When I got out, walking home, high heels, eyes on the floor, ears on the moon… carefully choosing the rocks where to set my feet on, and the ring… of course. Parallelepipeds. Four faces. The ring, you can see it on Su’s hand…
Last night, I received two canvas, already begun, but still unfinished. These will be an inheritance for my two loved sons. Whether I will finish them or not, I cannot say. It is not my purpose today.
The previous night, Né has invited me for dinner at her place. With Bock as well .Fondue which I didn’t even appreciated because my mind was elsewhere… the jewels… WHY
Yesterday, we were supposed to go dinner out, but it rained a lot in Coimbra and I stayed home. And from nothing, from the wax and from my hands rings came out…rings, rings, and even more rings… the music, keith Jarret-The Koln Concert- whenever I need him he’s always there for me…
II. WHY
Jewels’ collection for exhibition.
Micha, a close friend, is a psychologist. Each time we meet, she insists: Paula, the jewels! Right now it is raining heavily. It looks like winter, but it’s not cold. I have my window open. I like the sound of the rain, falling down, the music playing …. U2- With or without you…. In life there’s always something missing when creating, and this lack is energy from the atom, the famous butterfly effect of Quantic physics.
A lit candle to soften the wax, a glass of red wine, and some cigarettes more. I fell asleep…far away…in the desert? No. In life’s immensity.
For those who know me, it is easier. For those who don’t know me so well, I ask them: was I able to explain the WHY ?
Freelancer, consultora e directora criativa na área da cerâmica e desenvolvimento de produto. Colecções pessoais em cerâmica, joalharia e têxtil.
Freelancer, Creative director and consultant in ceramics, product design and development. Currently working on ceramics, jewellery and textile personal colections.
