When did you decide to pursue an artistic career?
In fifth grade in my drawing class. I even won an award at the time. Later on, by coincidence I visited the shop of the Bulgarian Union of Artists and was instantly drawn to the ceramic objects. I loved the feel of the material.
Why ceramics?
My favorite method of expression is through plasticity and observation of nature. Clay gives me the power to shape it freely, while adding colour and graphics. It corresponds to my ability to transform ordinary things in unexpected ways with new functions, forms and aesthetics.
© Ivo Panayotov
Do you have any work rituals?
Once I step inside my workshop, I play music, sit down to drink my coffee in peace and decide what to start with. The tools around me are just ordinary things; I'm open to using just about anything that seems appropriate, such as found pieces of tyres, graters, sandpaper, nets, toys…
Where would you like to go if you had the chance?
I would gladly choose an exotic and unknown place in order to find new experiences and inspirations. I would return to China in 246 BC to have a close look at the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor.