The roar of a chainsaw slicing logs shatters the morning calm as Shayan Rose Ben Sira sends wood chips flying across her rural studio. Later, wielding a blowtorch, she transforms the raw logs into charred, textured bases for her sculptures. The real alchemy begins as she plunges glowing-hot ceramic forms into beds of smoking straw, where flames erupt and dense smoke billows across her isolated farm. Yet from this dance of fire and smoke emerge sculptures of profound serenity.
Viewers could easily mistake the delicate stacks of Naked Raku ceramic “pebbles” for naturally occurring weathered rock formations shaped by centuries of wind and water. One might imagine stumbling upon these formations in the dappled shade of an ancient tree or perched on a rocky outcrop.
Ben Sira channels her deep-rooted bond with nature and ecology to create unique ceramic sculptures that appear to grow spontaneously from the earth itself.
Ben Sira will showcase her artwork at the upcoming Art Miami Fair at the Corridor Contemporary’s booth #AM412.
In the summer, she participated in the annual Fresh Paint Art & Design Fair in Tel Aviv with her exhibition, “930 Degrees.” The name is derived from the degree Celsius used to fire the ceramic objects. It was a sequel to the “Milestones” project she presented a year earlier.
Ben Sira’s unique artwork is beginning to garner serious attention.
“I was at Fresh Paint, and suddenly I saw her work, and it is different from anything else I had ever seen,” says Shulamit Nuss, chief curator of the prestigious Discount Bank art collection, started in the 1970s by the Racanati family. Nuss purchased one of Ben Sira’s works to add to the bank’s collection of 2,000 artworks on its new art campus. “She wasn’t an artist I knew before; I was never exposed to her work. We are happy to give her work a platform. Shayan’s art is amazing,” she says.
Ben Sira, 58, was born in Holland and moved to Israel at age three. Throughout her childhood in Herzliya, she explored nature to collect pebbles, seashells, driftwood, and stones. Her Welsh father was a seaman, and she often accompanied him on his voyages, spending her time on shore looking for nature’s cornucopia. She displays her collection of seashells and stones in her living room. The driftwood she collects on European beaches is stored in a basket in her studio.
“Love of nature is part of my DNA,” says Ben Sira during a recent interview in her studio on Ronit Farm, a natural green refuge that hosts weddings and corporate events. Havat Ronit, as it is known in Hebrew, is located just north of Tel Aviv. During the interview, one could hear sheep bleating.
Ben Sira worked at the Ronit Farm as head of marketing. She raised four children until she decided to turn her attention to art. Her mother was an artist and art teacher, and in her childhood she watched her father work with wood. A friend invited her to join a workshop in Naked Raku ceramics, and Ben Sira found her calling. She also studied glass-blowing, creating pebble-shaped pieces that add another layer of texture when stacked on the ceramic pieces. The glass-blowing connects her with the undersea world she explores when scuba diving.
Ben Sira explains that Raku, developed by the Japanese between the 15th and 16th centuries, is a ceramic process in which a clay piece is fired once, glazed, and put into a hot kiln that melts the glaze in minutes. While the glaze is still molten, the piece is removed and placed in a container filled with sawdust or other natural materials, which burst into flame upon contact with the hot clay. The smoke from this fire penetrates the clay, creating unique marks on the surface of the Naked Raku piece.
Ben Sira’s work pushes the boundaries of traditional Japanese Raku. The stacked composition of large, individually fired ceramic pebbles creates a sense of precarious balance. It evokes the concept of impermanence that is central to Japanese aesthetics. The varied textures and colors of the individual elements with the mottled, organic surfaces contrast with the sleek, dark pieces interspersed throughout. The interplay of rough and smooth, light and dark, solid and mottled, create a striking visual rhythm. The thin lines of gold in some pieces add a touch of refinement and serve as a metaphor for the beauty found in imperfection and repair, a chief tenet of the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy.
“I never throw away any of my broken pebbles. I mend them with the Japanese kintsugi method,” says the artist.
The charred wooden bases ground the sculptures and add to their organic feel. The alternating patterns of dark and light generate a pleasing rhythm, while the varied textures, from smooth and glossy to rough and pitted, invite tactile exploration.
“I never stop experimenting and creating textures that interact with each other,” says Ben Sira. “All the materials I use are from nature – ceramics, glass, and wood. All objects are handmade.”
Stacking the pebble-shaped creations on top of each other resonates with the ancient tradition of stone-stacking, as old as humanity itself. Stone cairns can be found in ancient Mongolia, the Tibetan plateau, and South America. They were used for navigation, marking a path, delineating property lines, and commemorating ancient burial sites. English speakers dubbed them “cairn” from Gaelic for “heap of stones.”
“I don’t like symmetry,” says Ben Sira. “I don’t work the clay on a wheel. I build the form by hand. Each one is different. They are all unique pieces in all sizes and shapes. The colors I use also come from nature.”
Ben Sira’s artwork is physically demanding and even dangerous. She wields a chainsaw like a lumberjack to cut the chunks of wood that form the base for many of the sculptures. She then chars the logs with a blowtorch, using a face shield to protect herself from heat, sparks, and debris. She wears full-body protective gear and thick industrial rubber gloves when firing the pieces in the large kiln.
“It smokes like a Bedouin village,” she says. “I can do it here because we are isolated on the farm. There are no neighbors to complain.”
Limor Margulis, curator of Ben Sira’s “930 Degrees” exhibition at the Fresh Paint Fair this summer, watched the artist at work.
“I observed the firing processes, moments full of tension and excitement, requiring not only skill and knowledge but also surrender to the consciousness of release,” says Margulis. “The textures and cracks of the final product reflect a complex and powerful process. As an observer, I felt that I was exposed to a fascinating alchemical process through which she creates stones with unique textures reminiscent of distant asteroids, from which a sense of ancient energy and a deep connection to the universe and the natural forces driving it are created. The uniqueness in her work is the deep connection between her and nature and matter.”
Ben Sira’s masterful use of the Naked Raku technique, with its unpredictable crackles, mottled surfaces, and rich patinas, enhances the illusion of natural origin.
Through her art, Ben Sira pays homage to the natural world that has long fascinated her, and invites viewers to reconnect with nature’s inherent beauty and mystery. Her sculptures serve as a poignant reminder of the natural world’s delicate balance and hidden marvels, encouraging us to look closer at the seemingly ordinary elements surrounding us.■