Start of activity 2014.
In the initial period from 2014 to 2016, the main activity was the development of ceramic craft, mostly in the technical processes of production and decoration. From the very beginning, our joint research has focused on alternative firing and decoration methods. As a result, we settled on the “saggar” technique in our practice. This technique allows you to decorate ceramics using natural/organic materials such as sawdust, seeds, herbs, etc. A special gas oven located in the open air is used, a capsule containing ceramics, sawdust and other organics is loaded inside the oven; with a gradual increase in temperature inside the capsule, the process of pyrolysis and decomposition of organic substances occurs, which in turn is accompanied by the imprinting of chaotic patterns and silhouettes into the structure of the ceramics . The decoration obtained by this method is not washed out and remains in the structure and on the surface of the ceramic for its entire life.
During the first months of experiments with this decoration method, we encountered various problems. Destruction of ceramics during the firing process, lack of utilitarian use of saggar ceramics due to the fact that the use of glazes over pyrolysis patterns is impossible. Here, Anna-Marie Wallace, the founder of the Made of Australia studio, who works in a similar technique, provided us with invaluable help in those moments. Technical advice and impregnation for Liquid Quartz ceramics allowed us to completely fine-tune the creation processes and, based on liquid quartz from Australia, we made a similar impregnation for silicon dioxide ceramics that completely replaces the glaze, under the commercial name “no glaze”.

Works in the saggar technique became our main activity in the period from 2016 to 2022. Since the process is based on minimal intervention by the artist in the result and there is only a small opportunity to set different initial conditions before starting the process, the conceptual basis for our research and practice became the philosophical and aesthetic direction "wabi-sabi". This concept suggests looking for aesthetic beauty in natural processes that humans have little control over, processes that at first glance may seem incomplete and imperfect. Natural aging, corrosion, biological decay of pigments, mold and in our case, pyrolysis. We made dishes with the effect of this firing mainly for the restaurant segment, almost completely withdrawing from sales to individuals.
During this period, we rarely deviated from this method of decoration and only occasionally did small sculptural works or works in a different style.
With one of these works, in 2018, we took part in the international exhibition "Ceramic in Love" (Castellamonte, Italy), the work is stored in the Museo della Ceramica a Palazzo Botton museum.
Also in 2019 and 2023 we took part in the international ceramics fair Argilla Argentona (Argentona, Spain).

After moving to Novi Sad (Serbia) in April 2022, we abandoned commercial cooperation with the restaurant business and focused on making designer ceramics and teaching activities.
Since February 2024, we have opened a small co-working space for ceramicists on the site of an old studio in the city center; our new working studio has become part of the general creative space of the SKUP cultural center.

At the moment, when creating our own ceramics, the main object of our joint research is the concept of the “inner teenager,” a part of the personality that retains enthusiasm and curiosity, but has a sufficient level of control of desires and impulses. In our practice, we turn to both our personal experience and archetypal images of subcultural manifestations. . It is natural for Maria to look inward at that period and focus on animalistic motifs and abstract images closely associated with adolescence.
For Roman, this is looking outward and collecting visual images, symbols, and signs. The wall covered with tags and graffiti is full of these symbols, indicating various hidden, understandable and not so clear messages. The aesthetics of punk-hardcore culture from the early 90s to the present day is rich in its own identity, a collection of symbols and its own narratives encrypted in images.
We use all these images both in joint works and in personal projects.

If we consider the concept of the “inner teenager” exclusively from an aesthetic and visual aspect, then the basis of our approach is the following assumption:
A visual style that is understandable to children is naive, so it is easier for them to understand new information. It is colorful and contains as many shades as possible so that the child learns to recognize colors and organize them. The visual style that is usually used to communicate with an adult audience is strict and monochrome. It is not aimed at forming new neural connections; its task is not to distract the already overloaded adult brain from the main information. Teenagers are characterized by an emphasis on certain images, an obsession with colors, concepts that they themselves choose as a result of hobbies for anything and images they encounter anywhere.
We can assume that it is during adolescence that an aesthetic profile is formed in a person, which influences the personality in the future.


The visual imagery and conceptual approaches we use to create our ceramics are relatable to and have remained connected to those who had similar experiences and passions in their teens.