In the shadows of Santa Croce church in Florence, on a warm early spring day we first saw the work of Dalila. She was participating in a ceramists artisan market. The piazza was full of very talented ceramists, yet the lines at Dalila’s booth seemed longer than in front of almost any others. We along with the others at her booth were drawn in by the beautiful colors, the unique designs she uses in her Italian cermamics and her very bright smile. We fell in love with the unique ways that Dalila portrays women and how she merges nature and humanity.
A few months later we asked Dalila to join our group of artisans at Artful Italia. When Dalila said she would like to work with us at Artful Italia we were overjoyed. Her unique perspective and talent is definitely on par with the rest of our talented artisans at Artful Italia. She loves to play with color, design and mixing themes and we can’t get enough. We were curious about Dalila's inspiration for subject matter and design when she creates her Italian ceramics and thought you might be as well.
So, we talked with Dalila to learn more about her and to share what we discovered with you. Her creativity seems to know no bounds. She has worked in set design, interior decorating, an illustrator and as a ceramist. We hope you enjoy the interview and then discover her amazing creations.
Dalila was born and raised in the Maremma countryside in Tuscany. The area is stunning with lovely beach towns, and rolling green hills topped with small villages dotting the green landscape. She graduated high school with an art degree and then continued her education in Florence. She had been involved in ceramics in her family business so after college she went on to further study ceramics and has never looked back.
What inspires your drawings?
My artistic research moves mainly from observing the natural world and the unbreakable relationship that exists between Man and Nature, which is why my decorations often depict stylized animals and women's faces.
The relationship between man and animal is the oldest relationship in the world, beginning in prehistoric times when men drew hunting scenes on the caves where they lived. The wall paintings depicted animals and had a magical meaning and wished a good omen for hunting. That is why I am attracted to cave paintings and especially the function they had at that time.
In my work I draw inspiration from the ancient world, and gold because of its rarity uniqueness and brilliance has always been something that served to embellish any surface to which it was applied.
In the history of ceramics, gold has always fascinated people because of its glow and reflection. In the 1700s, gilding was the final stage in the decoration of Vincennes and Sèvres porcelain. Gilding was extremely expensive but also important in the age of candlelight, as it reflected additional light onto the tea or dining table.
What is your favorite part of the ceramic making process?
To tell the truth, there is no particular part of the creation process that I prefer because each step has its own important emotional charge.
It starts from an idea, an initial project, which can come in a moment of inspiration where thoughts flow smoothly, or from the pen wandering alone on a blank sheet of paper, the moment of the idea is the moment of lightness, there are no demands and I enjoy that sense of freedom that comes from the creative act.
Then we move to the moment of working, we always start from the earth/clay, this is a moment of great peace because of the manipulation of the clay which is a plastic material but also a moment when the expectations to be realized increase.
Then there is the final moment, that of opening the kiln where expectations soar as it can be a moment of great joy or great disappointment, depending on how the firing went, because even after so many years of working and knowing the techniques the unknown of fire can always be a game changer.
Pottery making could be considered a kind of lifestyle, you have to learn to enjoy the moment, to know how to wait since the working time is very long, and finally you have to know how to accept that things might not go well even after so much work and effort, example, working on a sculpture for a month and finding it exploded into a thousand pieces inside the kiln.
Are there things you would like to make or do in ceramics in the future?
I would like to work more and more on wide-ranging projects that go from Fine Arts to other artistic disciplines such as Music and Theater seamlessly.
What do you like to do when you are not working?
When I'm not working, I like to visit Museums and see shows in Theaters, which are the basis for always finding new sources of inspiration.
What is your favorite Italian dish?
If I have to find my favorite Italian dish I would say eggplant parmigiana, but in general I love to eat all the cuisines of the world as long as they are vegetarian recipes.
Where would you recommend someone to visit Italy if they were coming on vacation?
To someone coming to Italy for the first time I would recommend visiting the great cities of Art: Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice.
Create a mixed dinnerware set with Dalila's plates, or use them as serving pieces to enhance your table setting. Gift one of her sculptures to a woman in your life in honor of her female power.
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