Magali Ercolin

Before shaping my first large piece, I had already made more than 200 small ones. Cups, small plates, ornaments. Pieces made slowly, one by one, learning along the way.

I keep them all with care. They are part of my beginning.

It was in the studio of my teacher, Magali Ercolin, that something changed.

One day she showed me a book that was there among the materials, almost as if it had been waiting to be found.

The book is called:

「手びねりでつくる食の器」
(Tableware made with hand-building techniques)

Inspired by the Japanese coil-building technique, this vase was built by hand, layer by layer.

The idea came up in the studio of my teacher, Magali Ercolin. One day she showed me a book written entirely in Japanese. I could not understand a single word, but I was captivated by the images.

The book showed ceramics from the Jōmon period, an ancestral Japanese style that goes back more than 10,000 years. The pieces had free, intertwined forms, almost alive.

May handicrafts be increasingly valued in Brazil—for all that they represent: history, culture, and identity.

I spent Sunday at the 19th Handicraft Fair at Ibirapuera, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with my mother, Elizabeth, and my aunt Silvia. We visited stand by stand, talked to many exhibitors, and I left with my head full of ideas and my heart full.