Myrto Zirini

Ceramicist

©Black-Dog-Productions

©Lefteris primos

©Morten Damsleth

©Black-Dog-Productions

©Myrto Zirini

Sensuous clay

Myrto creates sculptural yet functional vessels
She previously worked as an architectural designer
Working with clay helped her find her creative spark again

Myrto Zirini has found in clay a therapeutic process: a practice that grounds her. After working in architectural design for several years, she felt an urge to create with her hands and become “a maker more than designer”. In her workshop located on the island of Corfu, Myrto explores the potential of clay through the creation of a series of vessels. She draws her inspiration from all three-dimensional forms, such as cocoons or pebbles, in which she studies the textures, the contrast of colours and how the light travels through them. Her organic shaped ceramics thus question the void and the inner space of the object. Their harmonious curves seem uninterrupted “as if the force of gravity was not present while I was working on it”, as she explains.

Interview

©Morten Damsleth

©Myrto Zirini

How would you define your process of shaping the clay?: I work in a way to capture – like a snapshot – the dynamic movement of the malleable clay body. I often like to think of my pieces deriving from the smoothing process of the rough stones that are endlessly being moved and chiselled by the force of the waves.
Have you developed any specific skill?: I have developed the ability to “read” clay with my senses. Touch allows me to read the humidity, rigidity and thickness of clay. I listen to the sound of a knock and know what the clay will allow me to do on that moment. With my eyes I can understand how compressed the clay is, depending on its shine.
Does your work rely on any traditional practices?: Currently I am trying to revive pre-industrial practices such as the use of local earth and minerals, firing objects only once, and generally researching design solutions to reduce my environmental impact. While also making objects that can potentially replace plastic products in the household.
Do your inspirations have a particular focus?: At the moment I am particularly interested in the way we relate to objects and the narratives these carry along with them. How artefacts have worked in human history as objects carrying supernatural properties and how this belief system can activate self-healing mechanisms.

Myrto Zirini is a master artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2017