Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carolina Cortella. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carolina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I’m confident that being a creator is what I want to be. I have tried to deny my creativity and it only made me feel miserable and frustrated with myself. I need to create, it gives my life a purpose, everything makes sense when I’m making things. Creativity is like tapping into the universe and flowing into the energy of life, where I can experiment and try new things. However, I’m a perfectionist, so I need to constantly remind myself to play and let go of the fear of making “mistakes”.

There’s always an opportunity to be creative in regular jobs, it’s about finding new ways to be surprised, to make you feel something, even when you’re doing the same task. Being a creator is exciting and challenging, as you’re constantly in demand of coming up with ideas, figuring out how to execute them and solving problems. There’s also regular job tasks involved in being a creator, such as cleaning my studio, answering emails, doing some accounting, packing pieces, etc.; these can be grounding and snap me back into the real world. But my most fun time is when I’m at the studio sculpting the clay with my hands, and seeing an idea I had, manifesting. I love creating with clay and how versatile it is.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Caro is a handcrafted ceramic studio based in Los Angeles, created by the ceramic artist and designer Carolina Cortella.

Carolina, originally from Buenos Aires, after receiving a BFA in Film Direction from Fundacion Universidad del Cine and a career in filmmaking, she felt the urge to experiment with tangible materials, as a way to continue her storytelling. She works from her home studio ,where she focuses on creating organic pieces that blur the line between art and functional work, drawing influence from nature. Driven to create a sensory impact, her hand-built pieces are intended to react in their environment through light and space.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started doing ceramics 8 years ago, while I was still directing films. It started as a hobby, mostly throwing pieces on the wheel late at night at Bitter Root Pottery studio, in West Hollywood. That evolved into going mostly every night. I was feeling so much joy, I was so excited to share with my husband every piece I was making and to gift pieces for my friend’s birthdays. Slowly but surely, ceramics started taking over and eventually, after going to several studios around LA, I made the decision of getting my own wheel and setting up a studio at home. Directing wasn’t my drive anymore and making tangible objects out of clay, became my new passion and a great way to continue my storytelling.

I started feeling pain after throwing, the pain wouldn’t go away after stretching or anything, then it developed into chronic pain. I had scoliosis since I was a child so I was used to some degree of pain growing up, but now I had two herniated discs that were causing me excruciating nerve pain and it was more than I could handle. It was devastating, but I had to take a break and start healing myself. I started physical therapy, going to acupuncture, meditating everyday and taking turmeric and other herbs. It was a very tough time, I had so much pain that sometimes I couldn’t walk, but I didn’t want surgery and I was determined that I was going to heal naturally and that I was going to be able to go back to work. I had tremendous support from my husband, family and friends, which helped to keep going everyday. I really wanted to keep making pieces, so very slowly, I started going back to my studio and trying to hand-build some pieces. I had taken some hand-building workshops before and I really love how organic the pieces looked, so I was looking forward to it. There were days that I could only work for 1 or 2 hours and I had to learn to take breaks, check-in how I was feeling, I learned to take things slow and to prevent myself from pushing it too hard.
Now, I’m still on physical therapy, acupuncture, meditation, herbs and also trying Osteopathy. Pain is so tough and can cause so much depression, but I push through every day and although I can’t really do the wheel anymore, it allowed me to discover hand-building, which I enjoy so much more now. I’m open to exploring other techniques to facilitate my work in the future, but for now I produce less and every single piece is made by hand and one of a kind.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

What drives my creative journey is to explore new things, to create something I haven’t seen before. I always loved the avant-garde, the pioneers, maybe people don’t get them right away, but they were the ones starting things, the originals and I always admire that. I don’t imagine myself always making the same things, I love to try all the possibilities I have with creating with clay. I make vases, lamps, candle sticks, sculptures, bowls and ceramic wall art. I also want to keep expanding and exploring more my photography and my painting practices. My goal is to create things that are interesting, beautiful and meaningful. I want my pieces to have protagonism and interact with the light in the space and make you feel special while you’re surrounded by them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://carocortella.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carocortella/

Image Credits
All photos taken by Carolina Cortella