Welcome to our Member Spotlight series at Tao of Clay where each month, we celebrate the unique voices, creative journeys, and artistic styles that make up our community.
For founder Josh Herman, ceramics has long been more than a medium, it's a way to explore ideas, express ourselves, grow through making and connecting both through and connection. In this series, we introduce you to one member’s personal story, process, and inspirations so we can all learn from each other and deepen our understanding of not only our clay practice but to others at The Tao of Clay and beyond. Because when we share our craft, we build more than beautiful forms, we build community.
Member: Bibi Belo
Profession: Artist and Restaurant Worker
Years working with Clay: 5 Years
How did you discover ceramics and what is it about clay that draws you?
Before ceramics I was a baker and cake decorator in New York, making abstract expressionist cakes for my business: Cakes for No Occasion. The cakes I was making were very over the top and I needed cake stands and tableware that were equally weird to showcase what I was making. So, I started handbuilding ceramic cake stands and plates to serve my cakes. As a cake baker the work you make is experienced for just a moment, because you look at the cake, then you eat it and then it's gone. I liked the temporary nature of baking and that what's left is a memory and not a permanent object, like we have in other crafts. But, at the same time I wanted the things I made to last beyond the experience, and ceramics was a way to keep a part of those moments. For me the transition for cake making into ceramics was very seamless, like they are meant for each other. In both crafts you prepare and sculpt a form on a turning wheel (the same Ateco wheel we use in ceramics is also used in cake decorating) and you bake it in an oven and then you decorate it.
Where do you find inspiration from?
I take a lot of inspiration from places where nature and the city are jutting up against each other, like when weeds and moss are growing in the cracks of buildings and sidewalks. I like city walls and places where lots of people have put up posters and scratched and written things into the concrete and little weeds and things are growing and everything is adding a little touch of destruction. Overtime you have many layers of texture that were put there by people and rain, sunshine, animals, wind and trash piles- its a collaborative process. I take a lot of inspiration from patience and chaos.
What do you do when you're in a creative block?
Big production projects and going into production mode help me a lot when I'm in a creative block because production forces you to hone in on your technique. When you have to sped up your process and make make a lot of the same thing you have to get creative about finding new tricks and more efficient ways of reproducing your craft. I learned this in cake decorating especially- when you have to make many cakes at a time you are focusing on efficiency and problem solving, discovering better ways of doing something can make big changes in your aesthetic and help lead you out of a creative block.
Why did you start making wine goblets?
I started making wine goblets to get out of a creative block! I'm not out of it yet but I'm close.
Thank you for joining us this month as we explored Bibi's journey with clay, the roots of her inspiration, creative pursuits, and what fuels their passion both inside and outside the studio.
In learning from peers, we stretch our perceptions, expand our skills, and deepen our appreciation for the infinite ways clay can inspire us. Stay tuned for more stories, inspiration, and opportunities to meet the community that makes Tao of Clay so special.
