Oh, my. This has to be the hardest topic for us artists. How to talk about yourself without it sounding boring or pretentious?

My name is Pamela, I live in Zagreb, Croatia. Since I’ve always liked drawing and somehow leaned on social more so than natural studies, my education followed in that direction. Spontaneously, with tiny steps back in elementary school I loved art classes and I had an amazing teacher. Even though I was still a kid, I can say I liked the support and recognition I was getting because now it seems to have marked me throughout my whole life.

At 14 I enrolled a linguistic gymnasium, but transferred to an art school after two years. I knew that’s where I wanted to go. Nobody from my family was very drawn to arts and crafts, except for my grandmother. She was the one who painted beautifully and encouraged me to pursue my passion for art. Later in life I would run into old friends and colleagues who would always comment on how easy it must’ve been to know what you want all your life. I graduated with flying colors, commended by the school on standing out in the masses. Around that time in Yugoslavia I was supposed to move to Beograd, but decided to stay in Zagreb and be as free and as self-sufficient as I could be. The next 8 years I spend working in the city, not really worrying about life’s challenges and existential crises. I’ve worked in the scenography department in HNK, decorated shop windows for Na-ma, Ro-ma, Varteks and other companies. I can’t really put one thing above all else. All I can say is I’ve learned that the people you work with are just as important as the teachers who give you the knowledge. It was truly a carefree and beautiful time in my life.

Yeah, I know… everything seems awesome. And well, I can say it was. I loved what I did.

1992 brings me to Italy. Between two riots of the Balkan war I moved into a country of endless beauty and countless opportunities for learning and progress. Slowly I’m making acquaintances, participating in workshops, traveling, learning and soaking it all in. at the same time I’m given the opportunity to buy a small house in Istria close to Italy and to me it seems like the perfect thing. I opened a small atelier and workshop in Italy, but spent every free weekend in Istria and that was pretty much my life for almost a decade. Wherever I went, clay was coming along. I just couldn’t picture my life without that small bundle of dirt and I would use all of my free time to run away in my own little world.

That same year I started an advanced ceramics course in a school then led by Mirjana Rajković and Jozsef Todjeras. I participated in various projects and art shows and I became an active member of the Grožnjan culture scene. Grožnjan is a small town in the northwest part of Croatia known as the only recognized city of artists. Enchanted with its culture, people and events I went ahead and opened my own ceramics gallery in 1994 which I’ve run successfully till 2020.

Even then, with some less carefree years, I’ve spent most of my time in Grožnjan. All my summers were used to meet new people, hang out with other artists, participate in art shows… it was my world, it was where I belonged. Until 2020 when everything just shut down. For me, just like everyone else. So, what now? What do I do? Where do I turn? I had many questions, with little to no answers…

What do I have?

Experience.

Knowledge.

Still the unquenchable thirst not to let this ancient craft be forgotten and that I, however little, end up responsible for it’s relevance.

In the first year of lockdown I started a YouTube channel by the name of Peti element. Videos just kept coming one after another and I found myself learning something new every day. How to record, how to edit, how to post a video and maybe fix it in post when I find a mistake too late. I’m enriching my knowledge of the English language and I’m entering a whole new, exciting and fresh world.

2020 finally passed with my social media presence slowly becoming more important than I thought it could be. Art really has the power to transform! As the channel grew, I got comments from all over the world, asking for content they’re interested in, asking the questions I have solid answers to… and the realization slowly set in that with this amount of commitment I’m not backing away from this channel any time soon. I also figured that just seeing the clay being molded on screen isn’t enough to teach someone the craft – they need to do it themselves. So I decided to start a ceramics course. Right now, as I’m writing this, I’ve finished my first beginner lesson with a promise to continue after summer.

I couldn’t be happier. It’s just like that saying I read once: nothing comes to mind accidentally. If it’s true – and it is – it means there’s a need for that knowledge to be absorbed my others. That’s why I decided to open a web page/ online gallery. That way I can still express myself through art, make sculptures, participate in art shows and at the same time teach people who are interested how to handle this beautiful medium that is clay.

Clay is a powerful tool of stimulation, transformation and transfer of energy. It is useful not only for the substances it has but simply for its presence. Live matter filled with nature’s intelligence.