Nastia Calaca is a Ukrainian ceramic artist based in Paris who found her true passion in ceramics. For over 11 years, she has been making playful and unique ceramic sculptures that bring her creative ideas to life. What began as illustrations of characters from stories transformed into real, touchable sculptures—each piece full of personality and charm.
Each of Nastia’s pieces is one-of-a-kind, with its own character and mood, shaped by her hands and the magic of the kiln. Her sculptures have traveled all over the world, finding homes in countries like Japan, India, the U.S., Sweden, and Italy. Scroll down to discover some of Nastia’s most charming pieces!
More info: Instagram | calaca.me | Facebook | youtube.com | patreon.com
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
Bored Panda reached out to Nastia to learn more about her artistic journey and process.
The artist mentioned that she can’t pinpoint exactly when or where her journey as an artist began. “Maybe it was a magical coincidence or proof of the determinism theory, depending on what you believe,” she shared. “But, my grandmother took me to the nearest art school in the neighborhood, with the hope I could finally stop vandalizing our small apartment with the doodles on the wallpaper, furniture, a neighbor’s cat, several hamsters, and other objects that looked boring to me and needed compulsory improvement in the aesthetic matter.”
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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“So I’m a black sheep, a white crow, or whatever creature among my family because I’m the first and only one who decided to dive into the world of art.
“Why ceramics specifically? Well, I fell in love with it while on a school trip to a summer art camp in Europe where I first visited the ceramic studio and met all these strange people who did not mind being fully covered in clay, wearing fancy protective masks and overall strange outfits, mixing some powders and mixtures in beautiful glass bottles, like some Medieval alchemists. They did not look glamorous at all, but quite exciting, creating this almost post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ vibe. Of course, being an impressionable youngster, I was immediately hooked!”
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
Nastia’s ceramic sculptures have a fantasy-like quality, vibrant and unique. We asked her where she finds inspiration for her creations. “Despite the fact that I’m focused mainly on the anthropomorphic subject in my art, I do admire people and they have always been a great inspiration to me. People-watching while sitting in a bistro or visiting a museum is my favorite way of looking for inspiration.”
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
Nastia shared that she often carries a small notebook to jot down her ideas and describe them in words. “If I can, I make a quick sketch as soon as possible, and if I’m not in the wild (Paris metro, for example).” At the studio, she turns these sketches into small clay miniatures, which help her better understand the proportions.
“If I’m in a really playful mood, I start to sculpt right away, allowing myself to improvise. Usually, I love to procrastinate a couple of days before, so I accompany this process with test tiles and some extra research, checking anatomy books or looking through Victorian fashion catalogs or the Natural History Museum.”
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
Nastia’s favorite part of the creative process is designing the characters. “Then I gradually and quickly start losing interest and try to push myself through the next stages, which are quite a lot: modeling with clay, cleaning (ugh), mixing glazes (oh no), painting, firing, glazing, making pictures, posting and telling about it (so people do not lose me in their feeds).”
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
Nastia believes that an artist’s career is challenging and requires hard work, discipline, and patience. “You have to fight imposter syndrome, copycats and IG algorithms; you also face the heartless fragility and gravity of cracked pots, hot kilns, and electricity bills.” However, if you’re an aspiring ceramic artist, Nastia invites you to imagine this: “You are wearing a pair of magic goggles that make everything look different, allowing you to look at things from an unusual perspective, and transform imaginary things into real ones.
“It is about fun, a flexible timetable, living the life you want to live and doing the things you believe in, endless creativity and potential of learning and growing, and seeing people’s positive feedback – how can anybody possibly resist? Also, you can perform a trick of escaping in a dust cloud if you do not feel comfortable. Try it!”
Nastia also offers a beginners’ ceramic course that walks you through the basics and helps you build confidence. Check it out here and take the first step toward turning your ceramic dreams into reality!
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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Image credits: calacaceramicart
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