Art Happens in the Doing - Documenting a Craft in Motion.

Behind the scenes with ceramist Iara Talledo Violani—on craft, process, and the value of making.

I spent a sunny morning with ceramist Iara Talledo Violani at The Kiln Rooms, in Peckham, London last month. This was a huge privilege for me—Iara’s work is incredible and involves a multi-faceted process that challenges traditional notions of perfection, where vessels are intentionally ‘smashed’ together to create a serendipitous final collage. Her process embraces the unknown. It’s an exploration, allowing the work to evolve rather than controlling it from start to finish, not knowing exactly how it will turn out, but choosing to trust the process anyway. That kind of letting go feels powerful. There’s a tension between fragility and strength, control and surrender, that makes her work so captivating to witness.

I have fallen in love with shoots like this—the importance of process, the art, the skill, hands at work, shifting light, raw materials, transformation.

Watching craft in motion is visceral—witnessing someone completely absorbed in their work. A quiet kind of focus that’s hard to look away from. Documenting those moments feels important, not just because the end result is beautiful, but because the process itself matters.

The act of making—shaping, adjusting, reworking—is often unseen, yet it holds so much of the story. I find myself drawn to capturing that part of it. Not just the finished piece on a shelf, but the mess, the movement, the rhythm of creating. It’s making sure this work is noticed, appreciated, and remembered. These skills, these ways of working—they’re worth holding on to, for keeping the practice alive and passing them forward.

A huge thank you to Iara for choosing me, trusting me and for holding the clay on the wheel for way longer than was probably natural. I loved every second of it!