Today, we’d like to introduce you to Alejandra Rojas.
Alejandra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a Peruvian immigrant, and I grew up in an artistic environment.
From a young age, I saw the work of many different artisans who continued the traditional practices passed on through generations. This motivated me to take many different arts and crafts classes after school as well as intensives during the summer.
My family loves collecting and making arts and crafts, so I was always surrounded by it, and I learned by watching. My great-grandmother used to weave looms, my grandmother used to paint and crochet, and my mother is a visual artist.
My dad is an engineer, and when I was very little, he used to take me to construction sites. I grew up seeing buildings being built. It showed me how the craft was employed at a much larger scale. Years later, I built my first adobe wall, and it showed me the laborious craft behind it and how every brick carries a unique fingerprint.
I pursued a career in architecture and specialized in computational design and fabrication. What I enjoyed most was the creative part of thinking and sketching with my hands, which unfortunately happens more at school than in practice.
This is why I came back to working with clay, but this time around, I decided to bring what I had learned and love from architecture to help establish my own practice. For the past few years, I have developed my research on patterns and unusual forms and transformed them into sculptural clay objects.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have faced various stigmas with my workflow. One is the use of technology in a craft, and the other is the association of plaster molds with mass production, despite my lack of interest in the latter.
However, this discourse did inspire me to create one piece that could be aggregated into a larger piece. This approach further reinforces the thinking behind my research of repeating elements to create form and patterns.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is tactile, and I want people to engage with it. At a young age, I refused to wear glasses and got used to seeing everything blurry. When I was curious, I would get up close to observe all the details and touch them.
I was fascinated to see how different things came together; it became my main focus. My work encompasses forms repeating themselves to give a notion of rhythm and movement. When people look at my work, they immediately want to touch it or look at it from different angles, which is part of the tactile experience I seek.
When I started making hand-built ceramics, I would collect fabric samples that were discarded and use them to create unique textures for my pieces. Soon after, I started to design my patterns, which is when I developed my approach to ceramics by implementing new technologies.
My process begins with an idea or sketch that gets translated into a digital model. Next, I 3D print it to create the plaster molds and use traditional slip-casting techniques. All the molds are different, and testing how they turn out is a big part of my work.
Another aspect of my process is constant experimentation and testing. I have learned the importance of the composition and workability of clay. After taking courses, I now create my glazes and develop different techniques to continue exploring multiple possibilities. I love how the glaze uniquely interacts with each piece so that it becomes much richer than its digital counterpart.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I’m grateful for how supportive my family and close friends are.
My mom is an artist, and I’ve learned a lot from her. Not only technique-wise but also persevering to get where you want to be. My dad, on the other hand, is a civil engineer who would take me from a very young age to construction sites to see buildings get built.
My sister is the best. She’s always there when I need her. And my husband, who’s also an artist, understands and supports my practice. He’s been so supportive not only by encouraging me to pursue what I love but also by helping me to get where I want to go. I believe their influence led me to choose the path I’m on today, and I’m so grateful to have them all helping me along the way.
I’m also thankful for all the close friends who have supported me in various ways and at different stages throughout this journey. I have learned that there are many “hats” that you need to wear to succeed, and having close friends share their expertise with me has been priceless in moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://byalejandradesign.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalejandradesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byalejandradesign
Image Credits
Nicholas Myers
BENJAMIN LUCAS DECKER
