ivana petan

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z g o d b a   o   g l i n i
ustvarjanje v glini je zame najprej učna o dotiku. dotik sproži odnos gline-mene-gline. spreminja obliko gline v novo utelešenje, ki sledi načinu mojega dotikanja. spoštljivost, pozornost in prisotnost dotika rastejo v spoznavanje gline kot materiala, ki zrcali (moje) življenje. namesto da bi bila zgolj trivialen neživ material, mi je glina začela govoriti o svetosti sveta kot o prostoru rojstva vsega, kar sprožim in sem pripravljena videti. brez besed a glasno; v oblikah, velikostih, številnosti, barvah, teksturah uteleša moj način doživljanja življenja in sveta.

in še več. nikjer mi ni postalo tako jasno kot pri delu z glino, da – ko razširim svoje dotikanje gline na percepcijo prostora in bitij okoli mene – vsak moj dotik vedno že je odnos, in pušča vtis vame in v celoto, v kateri bivam in so-bivam. dotikam se fizično, miselno, duhovno; z rokami, željami, emocijami, mislimi in vsemi ostalimi obnašanji. vsak dotik pusti sled, ki ga glina nikoli ne skrije. s svojo neposrednostjo je učinkovita učiteljica vseh mojih načinov dotika.

dotik prinaša svet in vse, kar v njemu najde svoje mesto. skozi dotik se zgodi rojstvo stvari, ki prinašajo v prostor kvaliteto odnosa ustvarjanja. zato je zame prav “kako” in ne “kaj” dotika tisto prvo, ki govori o bistvu nastale stvari. z načinom dotika, kjer niso v ospredju tehnična znanja oblikovanja, marveč spoštovanje in ljubezen do materijala, se zgodi vizualni videz stvari in istočasno njena nevidna vibracija, ki ji da njeno mesto v celoti sveta in zbudi zunanji odziv. ne glede na to ali oblikujem uporabno keramiko ali umetniško delo, je moj “kako” tisti, ki zgradi neki “kaj”. takrat se dotaknem sveta kot svetega prostora. kar se utelesi je stvar, ki govori o spoštujočem soustvarjanju in spoštutje življenje kot njegovo utelešanje. s tega zornega kota se ločitev keramike na uporabno in umetniško izkaže za nekaj nepomembnega in sekundarnega, ki govori predvsem o aktualnem načinu družbene razporeditve in razmerja moči in ne o bistvu ustvarjanja in stvareh sveta.

umetnost, pozorna na “kako”, bogati življenje s preopznavanjem njegove svetosti. takrat, ko “kaj” pade na drugo mesto, umetnost postane življenje. in bivanje, ki se prepozna v “kako”, izlušči življenje v umetnost. s pristopom do sveta in njegovega večdimenzionalnega življenja, ki se sprašuje “kako”, dobi vsako dejanje enak edinstven pomen in smisel, in vse, kar je, najde svoje pravo mesto v konstantno spreminjajoči se celoti sveta.

ustvarjalnost kot način bivanja obrača svet na glavo. stanje navzočnosti, ki ga prinese ustvarjalnost, je trenutek, ko najbolj “sem”. a hkrati, paradoksalno, me prav takrat najbolj ni; obstaja le glina, ki ima mojo popolno pozornost. delo z glino zatorej zame ni eden od načinov kako porabiti svoj čas in biti umetnica, marveč skoznjo živim; dostopam do sebe in sveta.

(iz ivana petan. zgodba o glini 2002-2020, VITAAA, Ljubljana, 2020)

a   s t o r y   o f   c l a y
creating in clay is, for me, a lesson in touch. touch triggers a relationship clay-me-clay. it changes the shape of the clay into a new embodiment, which follows the way of my touch. my respect, attention and the presence of touch are growing into discovering clay as a material that reflects (my) life. instead of being just a trivial lifeless material, a clay started to speak to me of the sanctity of the world as a space for the birth of everything I initiate and am ready to see. wordlessly but out loud; through shapes, sizes, numbers, colours, textures, clay embodies my way of experiencing the life and the world.

and even more. nowhere else has it become as clear to me as when working with clay that – when I extend my touching of clay toward the perception of space and beings around me – my every touch is always already a relationship, and it leaves a mark on myself and the entirety in which I exist and co-exist. I touch physically, mentally, spiritually; with hands, desires, emotions, thoughts and all other behaviours. every touch leaves a trace, which the clay never hides. with its immediacy, it is an effective teacher of all my ways of touching.

touch brings forth the world and all what finds its place in it. through touch, the birth of the things happens that bring into the space the quality of a relationship in creation. therefore, for me, it is the “how” and not the “what” of touch that first speaks on the essence of the created thing. with such a manner of touch, where it is not technical design skills that are at the forefront, but respect and love for the material, the visual appearance of the object happens all by itself and at the same time its invisible vibration that gives it its right place in the world and evokes an external response. no matter if I design useful ceramics or artwork, it is my “how” which builds a “what”. this is when I touch the world as a sacred space. what is embodied is a thing that speaks of respectful co-creation and celebrates life as a way of its revelation. from this point of view, the separation of ceramics into useful and artistic is revealed as something irrelevant and secondary, which reflects mainly of the current model of social categorisation and power relations, and not the essence of the creating and things of the world.

art that pays attention to the “how” enriched life by recognizing it as sacred. when “what” falls to the second place, the art becomes the life, and existence, which becomes recognized in “how”, extracts life into art. with with a “how” approach to the world and its multidimensional life, each action gets an equally unique meaning and sense, and all that is finds its rightful place in the constantly changing enitrety of the world.

creativity as a mode of existence turns world upside down. the state of presence which creativity brings is the moment when I am the most. but paradoxically, at the same time, it is exactly then that I am the most absent; only clay exists and it has all of my attention. so, working with clay for me is not one of the ways to spend my time and to be an artist, because through clay I live; I’m approaching myself and the world.

(from: ivana petan. a story of clay 2002-2020, VITAAA, Ljubljana, 2020)