I usually work on solid blocks of plaster and found plaster moulds which I modify by sawing, smashing and breaking them into pieces. Then, after they are reassembled, I cast the void inside, sometimes adding bits and pieces cast from other moulds and manipulating the cast itself. The process of breaking up and reassembling the broken pieces allows me to define the object again, deprives it of its earlier designed character and gives it a new, different meaning.
More than half of every year I spend working in the places and workshops other than my own. I have been already casting in tableware factories where the slip runs from the tap 24 hours a day as well as places not suitable for casting at all. In each case the working pattern is similar, but in each of the places, the unique conditions and situation that are offered influence my works and leave a strong impact on them. The resultant works always incorporate in-house designs and are very closely linked to the places they are made in.
Bio
Monika was born in 1973 in Warsaw, and lives and works in Warsaw, Poland and in Cardiff, Wales. She received her M.A. at Wroclaw Academy of Fine Arts, Poland, in Ceramics Design. She was a Designer at Stoneware Tableware Factory, Pruszków, Poland, was President at the International Ceramics Symposium "Porcelain Another Way," and is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.
Monika's website
