Olivia Rosa Morelli

My work with clay is more of a relationship.

I have always kneaded things, let them squeeze through my fingers and shaped them into new creations. When I touch clay my body and my mind communicate with the material. The mental state I am in reflects in my pieces and my pieces heavily reflect in my mental state. This manifests in the clay body I choose, the expression of my piece and the technical aspects.

On the other hand, I love to think through my designs. I can spend weeks figuring out how to make a piece as complex and functional as possible, it’s as if I am solving a riddle. This part of the process caters to my brain and gives me confidence in my pieces.

These two aspects of my work create a contrast between the precision and control expected from my designs and the intuition and bodily joy in the material. In my work I try to bridge the two by creating designs that call for a process that allows me to work with the clay, not against it.