Casa Adams Fine Wares creates handmade ceramics adorned with glorious illustrations inspired by nature. Think lobsters, sea horses, bugs, fish and a whole array of wonderful, colourful creatures.
We chat to the exceptionally talented Araceli Adams from Casa Adams Fine Wares. We chat about everything that goes into creating her tableware ceramics that are so beautiful, they’re more like works of art than practical pieces.
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Growing up in a family of artists, Araceli was destined for a life surrounded by beautiful art.
“I’m a Spanish-born, Australian-based ceramic artist,” Araceli smiles. “I moved to Australia at the age of 4 with my family and spent all my childhood here.
“I grew up in a family of artists where we all had interests and pursuits which were encouraged. My late father was a painter.
“My career didn’t start out in art — first I had a 15-year career in legal marketing. But while this was my job, my passion for creating was always there. Painting, crochet, embroidery… you name it!”
After studying ceramics in New York City, Araceli moved back to Australia to pursue the career she was always meant to have.
“My legal marketing career allowed me to work all over the world. When I took up a ceramics course, I just fell in love from day one. I wanted to give my illustrations a functionality and this was it,” Araceli recalls.
“Juggling new-Mum life when my 2 children were born in quick succession, I used their nap times to establish my practice. I called it my golden time!
“At first I only had one full day a week in the studio. The rest was spent looking after my children and working part time in legal marketing. But with time, it increased to 2 and then 3 days.
“And finally, I now work out of my brand new studio which we just built in our garden 5 days a week.”
A love of nature and the natural wonders is evident in the pieces from Casa Adams Fine Wares.
“The natural world is incredible, wouldn’t you agree? My husband Dominic grew up on Lake Macquarie. We spend a lot of our time there fishing, catching crabs, exploring the shoreline and cruising on a small boat,” Araceli says.
“This closeness to the sea just made its way into my ceramics and I feel it gives my work so much purpose.
The overall aim of my work is to spark curiosity about nature. Because we will be more inclined to protect what we know.
“I also take great inspiration from old natural history books with their hand-coloured etchings. My love for and curiosity of our natural world is the driver behind all my work.”
The process to create just one ceramic piece is quite something!
“I tend to make work in collections, highlighting a particular ecosystem or a group of species. I do a lot of research, and when I have decided which ones to paint, the creative process begins,” Araceli explains.
“First I illustrate all the new species, paying particular attention to their overall shape so they fit nicely when painted on to the various platters we make in the studio. I work together with my studio hand Talia, studio apprentice Nazdana and intern, Liane.
“We roll slabs of clay and cut them for the different shapes and sizes of platters and plates. Once moulded into shape, they dry a bit, we remove them, smooth the edges and leave to dry slowly.
“Our pieces are fired twice. The first is a bisque. This is when you fire a piece to 1000 degrees, thus changing the chemical composition of the material from clay to ceramic. And the second is a glaze. This is when you fire the clay at the highest temperature so it’s the strongest it can be.
“When our platters are bone dry, we monoprint my line illustrations with a special underglaze transfer technique. After their bisque firing, platters are individually hand painted with colourful underglazes.
Even though I may paint the same design or species again and again, no two are ever quite the same.
Casa Adams Fine Wares offers ceramic workshops with a bit of a twist.
“I love the workshops that I run out of the studio. I get to teach participants how to paint ceramics using underglazes.
“One of the workshops I run includes a marine biologist / ecologist who decides what species the class paints. Participants not only get to learn to paint with underglazes, but as a bonus, they get to hear the most remarkable facts from an expert in the field.”
Thank you to Araceli for sharing her beautiful craft with us. You can explore the full range of Casa Adams Fine Wares on her website, or check out her Instagram page. Prepare to fall in love!
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