As we enter the second half of September and inch closer to fall, so do we mark the halfway point of Jasper’s Tiny Gallery show with Bohumila Augustinova. The show, Layers, presents 20 pottery pieces that highlight, mainly, the Scraffito technique.
Augustinova spent her childhood in Czechoslovakia, now known as the Czech Republic. She recalls that her younger years were spent always making something and that she could “never keep [her] hands still.”
“My mom and dad were very supportive, so even as a small child they taught me how to knit, crochet, sew, cook, and use power tools,” Augustinova remembers. “My mom and I used to make all the costumes for me and my brothers, and I was making my own clothes by the time I was 9.”
Augustinova used this experience and passion to pursue fashion design, which she received a degree in, but soon after, she desired a fresh artistic venture and has since worked with primarily wire art and pottery, being self-taught in both.
Currently, clay is her preferred medium, but she insists that her and wire are simply on a “break” and that she hopes to integrate them in the future. When it comes to her current technique, Augustinova has been utilizing Scraffito, a “surface decoration technique where color (underglaze) is applied on leather-hard (raw) clay and designs are carved though the color, exposing the clay underneath.”
“When my work closed last year, I figured I needed to stay busy. I could throw a full bag of clay in one day, but then what?” Augustinova pondered, “I took a Scraffito workshop but never had time to explore the technique, so I figured I would just play, and I immediately fell in love with it.”
Augustinova’s first experiments with Scraffito were doodles from her childhood, and soon, new designs began blossoming before her eyes. Sometimes she already has in mind how she desires a piece to look and pulls it into existence, while sometimes the clay takes shape and flows together into its own identity.
“Last year I made a mug for my partner inspired by mid-century design, and it was a big hit, so I started messing around with different mid-century designs, which I still love,” Augustinova shares. “I was also working on piece where I was just free handing lines and patterns and then I realized it looks like water, so clearly sitting by the pond inspires me too.”
Augustinova notes that beyond being inspired to make art, the process of making is inspiring and therapeutic all on its own. She insists that the mutable clay sliding under her hands and the constant hum of the wheel moving is meditative, and she often throws with her eyes closed.
“After throwing, you apply the underglaze, which I like doing before the actual carving…the carving is where I get lost in my own world,” she says. “I can sit there for hours, listening to whatever I am listening to and work. There have been times when I worked till 2 am or just until I ran out of things to carve.”
Scraffito is an extremely detailed and precise process that balances this space of being outside and fully within oneself. Even the coloring and glazing process is multilayered—literally—and requires great attention, focus, and a bit of luck with the kiln.
“I am always looking for good balance of the color I applied and the exposed clay. With pottery and Scraffito, how the piece looks when you finish carving is very different from how it will look after both firings,” Augustinova explains. “After the first firing, the colors will be more vibrant but still a matte finish, and after glazing the colors will come out even deeper and shiny.”
For this show, specifically, Augustinova has gathered a combination of new and old work, with the goal of offering a large range of sizes and prices for various audiences, but a few pieces were made specifically with this show’s goal in mind.
“What I hope is that people will see my pottery as usable art. Almost all of my pottery is fully glazed and food safe. I love seeing flower arrangements in my vases, and I love people drinking out of my cups,” Augustinova effuses. “One of my favorite pottery moments was when a friend told me that he was visiting a friend and his tea was served in one of my mugs.”
If you enter the virtual gallery space, you will see small vases with vibrant designs in pinks and greens, large bowls with detailed carvings in deep jeweled tones, and smooth geometric vases looped with wires that reach to the sky.
While new to showing pottery, Augustinova is far from new to the Columbia art scene, having managed Anastasia and Friends gallery for several years, worked at the Columbia Art Center (her current occupation), helped lead the Yarnbombers, and won Runaway Runway twice. Her favorite memories as an artist surround this process of making and sharing art.
“As I am sitting here and answering these questions, I am waiting for the kiln to cool down. I value the moment something comes out of the kiln, and you love it so much you may tear up,” she says. “But it’s also hearing from people how much they love my work. There are few of my friends that have serious collections of my stuff and I just feel so honored by it.”
In the near future, Augustinova hopes to do new fall and winter shows, and though specific plans are not in place, she will post updates to her Instagram @art_by_bohumila
To explore Bohumila Augustinova’s pottery, which is only available until the end of September, head over to Jasper’s virtual Tiny Gallery: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery