Ceramic sculptures: when my abstract universe becomes volume
For many years, my work has unfolded mainly on canvas: abstract paintings, stitched cotton, pigments, fragments of memory.
Little by little, a quiet question kept coming back:
What if these forms could step out of the frame?
This is how my ceramic sculptures were born – not as a new “product line”, but as a natural extension of my pictorial universe, a way to give volume, weight and presence to what previously lived only on the surface.
From painting to sculpture: a continuation, not a rupture
I don’t see myself as a traditional “ceramicist”, but as a contemporary abstract artist whose practice has expanded into three dimensions.
In my ceramic sculptures, you’ll find the same language as in my paintings:
organic, abstract forms
a sense of fragments and edges
a strong relationship to material and gesture
The big change is the way you meet the work.
You no longer look only in front of you, as you would with a painting on the wall.
You can walk around the sculpture, get closer, see it from different angles.
Each piece becomes a kind of inner landscape in three dimensions –
a quiet presence that can sit on a shelf, a table, a console or a pedestal.
Working with clay: a slow, intuitive practice
I mainly work with chamotte (grogged) clay, a raw, textured material that records every touch.
Nothing about it is smooth or fully controllable:
the clay dries, shrinks, sometimes cracks
it demands waiting, adjusting, repairing
the firing process always keeps a part of mystery
This slowness is not a constraint for me – it’s part of the work.
It also mirrors my life as an artist and mother, where creative time is fragmented:
between school runs, daily life, moments in the studio, evenings that are too short.
Instead of fighting that fragmented time, I chose to let it shape the work.
My abstract ceramic sculptures carry the traces of this rhythm:
pauses and returns,
interruptions and restarts,
small accidents that push me to find new solutions.
They’re not “perfect” objects.
They embrace rough edges, visible joins, slightly uneven surfaces.
For me, that’s exactly what gives them their sensitivity and character.
Unique pieces to inhabit space differently
Each ceramic sculpture I create is a one-of-a-kind piece, hand-built from start to finish.
They naturally find their place:
in contemporary interiors – living rooms, bedrooms, bookshelves, entrances
in workspaces that want to integrate art beyond the walls
in wellness or care spaces, where a quiet presence can make a difference
Where a painting occupies the wall, a sculpture occupies the space.
It becomes a more intimate focal point – something you encounter at eye level, or as you pass by, almost like a small totem.
For collectors who already live with my paintings, these sculptures offer another way to bring my work into their environment:
not only as an image, but as a physical presence.
How to explore or acquire my ceramic sculptures
I’m developing this contemporary ceramic sculpture practice gradually, alongside my abstract paintings.
Some pieces are presented during exhibitions, private events or directly on my website.
If:
you’d like to welcome a ceramic sculpture into your home or workspace
you are a collector of contemporary art
or you’re interested in a more specific project (exhibition, commission, a dialogue between painting and sculpture in a space)
you’re very welcome to contact me by email:
📩 julia@juliaetedi.com
We can explore together which piece resonates most with your universe –
or imagine a bespoke artwork created especially for your space.