Studio Visit

Di Lunedi’s Nostalgic Ceramics Serve Up A Slice Of Coastal Italy!

A longtime love affair with Italy is ingrained in Elise Eales’ ceramic work. The NSW-based (and occasionally Italy-based) artist started Di Lunedi ceramics after a six-month stint in Florence in 2021, and she’s been meticulously hand-building and hand-painting her playful, seaside-inspired pieces since.

Her work is organic and whimsical, with a perceived naivety concealing deliberate brush strokes and details in each finished piece. With no two designs ever being the same, hopeful buyers have to get in quick to score one that catches their eye!

Written
by
Bea Taylor

Elise Eales of Di Lunedi in her Northern NSW studio! Photo – Tamas Keefer

Equipment and materials in the studio! Photo – Tamas Keefer

Elise uses earthenware and terracotta for her pieces. Photo – Tamas Keefer

The artist meticulously hand-paints each piece. Photo – Tamas Keefer

Elise uses Italian pigments and often mixes them to create her own colours. Photo – Tamas Keefer

Italian faces are a frequent hero of her designs. Photo – Tamas Keefer

Elise hand-builds all her pieces. Photo – Tamas Keefer

Each new design is unique. Photo – Tamas Keefer

Elise makes her plates to be used for the table – or the wall! Photo – Tamas Keefer

Sardine Plate – Granchio, by De Lunedi. Photo – De Lunedi

 

Sardine Plate – Grande Giallo by De Lunedi sits on a stack of more classic designs by Elise. Photo – De Lunedi

 

Elise has created a limited-edition ceramic collection with Hotel Magique! Keep an eye out for the release soon. Photo – Anna Pihan

The collection comprises 10 unique designs, with only a couple of pieces available for each! Photo – Anna Pihan

Writer
Bea Taylor
22nd of March 2023

Elise Eales grew up learning about the complexities and joy of clay from her father’s pottery studio in Northern NSW, yet, her creative path steered her towards fashion and textiles initially. After completing her diploma in fashion and textiles she worked as a hand sewer for Easton Pearson (now closed) and then in-store at Lee Mathews. 

In 2020 she planned to indulge in her longtime dream to move to Florence, Italy, but Covid and suspended international travel prompted her to return instead to her family’s ceramic studio and immerse herself once more in clay. 

This renewed interest in ceramics continued when she finally made it to an art school in Florence for a six month stint in 2021. ‘Italy firmly instilled a love of Majolica techniques and Mediterranean aesthetics’, she says. ‘When I got back to Australia it was these techniques and designs that inspired Di Lunedi ceramics.’ 

The pull of Italy’s beautiful seaside towns and rambling countryside proved hard to resist, and at the end of 2022 she returned to Italy once more, this time to complete an artist’s residency in Naples.  

Her time in Italy fortified her love of Italian ceramics, inspiring her focus on working with earthenware and terracotta, hand-mixed englobes and Italian pigments. Her hand-painted designs are nostalgic and playful with a perceived naivety inspired by mid-century artists Picasso, Miro and Calder. 

‘I am constantly searching for balance,’ she explains. ‘In the rustic inconsistencies of shape and selected use of brush strokes to create naivety. It’s about the feeling of whimsy and a little beauty in your day.’ 

Her pieces are painstakingly hand-built in her studio on her family’s property in NSW, with each one taking around several days to complete from start to finish. 

‘I am incredibly lucky to have a father with a wealth of knowledge and experience. I think that has helped me push through some of the limitations that I might have otherwise become stuck on within the vast world of ceramics,’ she says. 

No two pieces are the same, each a variation of the next, with crabs, sardines, lobsters and Mediterranean motifs  – the stars of Di Lunedi – made to be enjoyed on the table, or admired on a wall. 

And, we’re not the only ones to fall in love with Elise’s beautiful work; popular art print brand Hotel Magique recently selected four of her designs to be transformed into posters. They’re also working on a limited edition ceramic collection of 10 designs, which will be released soon – so watch this space!

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