License to kiln.
A 21-year-old hailing from Melbourne, Australia, has found a new passion during the coronavirus pandemic.
Silk Castellas-Cartwright has earned quite the following on TikTok with her eclectic pottery-making skills that she picked up during lockdown.
Her account has garnered over 500,000 followers and over 5.9 million likes across her videos.
Castellas-Cartwright began taking pottery classes earlier this year to hone her skills. The ceramist described herself in her profile as a “part-time mud slinger.”
“I make pieces that are modern and fun, and that can be used functionally but also as a piece of art on their own,” the artist recently told the Daily Mail.
She explained that she wanted to travel after finishing her art degree, however, she “found myself with a lot of spare time in and out of lockdowns.”
“I bought some clay and started hand-building pieces and then enrolled in a few classes at a local pottery studio to learn wheel throwing,” she added.
Castellas-Cartwright then bought a pottery wheel and set up an art studio in her home. She initially shared her videos on TikTok just for fun, but the account “blew up” within a year.
Her short clips show herself spinning ceramic vases, cups, jugs and other clay sculptures.
In one viral snap that has amassed over 11 million views, Castellas-Cartwright springs teeny, tiny pots on her pottery wheel. She carefully cleaned off her art as it was being shaped.
Of her artistic influences, she told the publication, “I get inspiration from contemporary art and sculpture, and also a lot from fashion trends.”
“To make the shape of a cup, I make a whole in the center of the clay and then slowly bring it outwards,” the young Aussie explained of her process. “Then I use both hands to pull the walls up, so it’s really important to keep the clay wet for this entire process otherwise it can get stuck to your hands and can knock the piece off center.”
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