More than two hundred students of ceramics and printmaking arrive each week at the Joint Art Center in Givat Haviva in order to explore, experiment, practice, and shape forms and ideas with their own hands.

The creative processes that take shape slowly expand within the studio spaces and eventually mature into a metaphorical baking or a physical firing. These processes form the basis for the wide range of works created in our workshops over the past year.

Like the flame in ancient wood-fired kilns, the creative process also begins on a low fire, intensifies, and fades intermittently. Those who persist in tending the flame will ultimately connect with a primordial fire that brings a person into contact with their place, their nature, and their most essential being. The kiln is sometimes mistakenly perceived as merely a technical tool, an uncredited partner, yet in reality its role is fundamental and its value immeasurable.

The annual exhibition echoes the warmth of the kilns, the layers of ink and emulsion, the touch of the hand against the ceramic material, the human encounters, and the successes, failures, and surprises along the way.

The works presented in this exhibition express a wide range of creative expression. They would not have reached the same level of maturation without the qualities they absorbed in the “oven.”

Michal Niv

Virtual tour here