Miró
Stoneware, glaze
Palma de Mallorca 2019



My ceramics journey started with summer workshops at the Joan Miró Foundation in Mallorca. Here I learned slipcasting, firing in a gas kiln, working with porcelain and mixing glazes using recipes from Josep Artigas, a ceramicist who collaborated with Joan Miró in their ceramic works. Years later the circle was closed when I was invited to make a pottery collection for the newly open café at the Foundation. As a base I used the glaze number 640 from the Artigas glaze book and developed a color palette inspired by the typical Mallorquin colors such as a marés sandstone, pine green and the Mediterranean sea blue.




In the first two weeks of my residency I was wheel-throwing all the pieces of the collection. After well drying and sanding we did the first bisque firing in the Miró Foundation gas kiln at a temperature of 950°C.




Glazing was absolutely fun. I was inspired by Joan Miró's drawing technique by splashing or pouring the paint straight on the canvas using a bucket. I was lucky to glaze my work outside in the patio of the Son Boter workshop building, enjoying the same view Miró once had.


The second firing was up to 1280°C, it took around 12 hours to achieve the temperature and 12 hours more of cooling before opening the kiln and finally checking the result.



It was a big challenge for me to make this project happen in just 4 weeks during my residency time, but at the same time it was a big joy to breathe in the atmosphere of creation in the studios where Joan Miró lived and worked in his last years.


Arina Antonova Studio
visits by appointment only
07001 Palma de Mallorca
arina.antonova@gmail.com