Meeting with Myriam Pastor in her ceramic and raku workshop located in the town of Surgères.

If Myriam has been involved in ceramics and raku for several years, it is perhaps no coincidence. As a child, she liked to create her mixtures of flour and water, knead the dough and shape it. As an adult, she chose a career as a physiotherapist, another way of understanding touch, of expressing herself with her hands. No doubt, what she likes in ceramics is working with materials.

Internships and courses follow one another in Seine et Marne, in Bourges and in the region. Myriam learned how to make pottery from different potters, even if the learning continues every day, as she tries.

She works different types of earth – white, burnt or black bread – to shape her creations. After a first “biscuit” firing, the second firing differs according to the works.

For her ceramics, she enamels her creations with sometimes raw natural colors, sometimes more colorful. It is during the cooking that the enamel melts, thus creating this vaporous aspect of the colors.

Raku, on the other hand, is very special. The pieces are fired in a gas oven and heated up to 1000 degrees. Objects that are still incandescent are removed with pliers. By thermal shock, the enamel cracks. The piece is placed in a basin containing combustibles. The lid is then closed and the smoke produced penetrates the cracks in the enamel, producing clearly visible cracks.

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Raku is defined as “a happy firing.”

raku rabbits

The meaning of raku? it is that happiness is found in chance. It is indeed a cooking that always creates the “surprise”. From one firing to another, the colors change, the “cracks” differ. This creates more intense curiosity each time the oven is opened! And makes each creation a truly unique piece.

You can find Myriam's collections in her Creation Workshop (by appointment only) throughout the year. His articles will also be available at our local counters in Surgères and Marans from February 20 to March 20!

Discover the workshop

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The people here
Written on 03/02/2023
Aurore, budding artist