After spending many years painting, Agata Iwaszkiewicz picked up a ball of clay for the first time at 41 and felt a change. “I knew I’d found what I had been looking for,” she tells Colossal. “Working with clay felt completely natural. Ideas came effortlessly, and I immediately had a clear vision for what I wanted to build with my new business.” Ceramika Matylda was born.
The Gdańsk, Poland-based artist is particularly drawn to animals, especially dogs. Their playful, quirky, cartoonish faces and spaghetti-like limbs are both relatable and slightly unfamiliar, tapping into a sense of sentimentality and curiosity. “My newest collection of poodles was inspired by my own dog, Rudolf, who passed away recently,” Iwaszkiewicz says. “These pieces are incredibly personal to me—they’re my way of saying goodbye to him and celebrating the joy he brought into my life.”
For Ceramika Matylda, the artist focuses predominantly on pieces that are both sculptural and functional, such as jars, candleholders, and salt and pepper shakers. Increasingly, she’s branching out into pure sculpture, like the playful vignette of a horse leaping over a wave as it gives an octopus a lift.
“I like my work to be open to interpretation,” Iwaszkiewicz says. “There’s a lot of humor in it, a sense of playfulness, and I never take the world too seriously. At the same time, every piece reflects my own aesthetic and my personal idea of what beauty can be.”
See more on Instagram, and find originals in her Etsy shop.
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