If you would like to purchase any of the photographed ceramics, please email shaily.kirstain@gmail.com or call +972-523-400-553
Shaily Kirstain is an Israeli-based ceramicist whose career in the arts spans a number of disciplines. Trained in movement and education, her early years were spent teaching dance and art to children.
While living in London during the 1980s, Shaily studied jewelry design and goldsmithing at the prestigious John Cass School of Art. There, she developed an individual style combining metal and special stones. A decade later she returned to Israel where, seeking a new medium to explore, she began training in sculpture. She fell in love with art form and the malleability of clay. She completed several noteworthy collections. In addition to clay, her sculptures also utilized wood, concrete, plaster, metal and mesh.
Shaily has now focused her dedication on ceramics. While ceramic work involves a variety of techniques and skills, the process begins with clay- the material she adores. Shaily designs tableware for restaurants, dish sets for everyday use, vases, and other objects of functional beauty. She mixes her own glazes to create distinctive colors, which she utilizes consciously and with great care. Her work showcases the elegance and drama of black and white, as well as the blue, turquoise and green of the Mediterranean.
Currently, she is studying Japanese calligraphy. The deliberate, meditative brush strokes and concepts of Japanese minimalism are inspiring her current designs.
Creating ceramics requires both serious craftsmanship and joyful creativity. Shaily’s passion and dedication to craft is evidenced in all of her pieces. Her ceramics are distinct, reflective of her evolved and diverse practice.