For Joana, ceramics began as a hobby. After studying painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, it was during a course with the artist Teresa Pavão that she began to develop a taste for this malleable material. In London, she merged her two references - the canvas on which she trained and the three-dimensional nature of her new discovery. The result was an approach to sculpture that she still pursues today with her wall pieces.
In her workshop in the heart of the Baixa Pombalina, her days are divided between these and other creations, although the pace is generally slow and unhurried. Through the mixture of ceramics with iron, she began a new family of pieces that sat halfway between the sculptural exercises and her more commercial work. Orders at the Joana Passos Studio have been piling up since the end of last year, especially on the utilitarian ceramics side - the cups, plates and bowls that she has kept in stock. She has also ventured into earrings, but her fashion accessories have not gone beyond the occasional experiment.
Without moulds, the potter’s wheel is where many of these pieces originate. Over time she has opened her workshop to the outside world, both as a point of sale and as a workspace. In it are resident ceramists as well as some people who want to learn to create from clay, although here the learning is more personalised. This is because Joana prefers to give private lessons rather than offer group workshops.