Francesca Donadio is a painter from Oriolo (Cosenza) who works in the field of abstract, figurative and sacred art. The work she sent us, called “Abstract landscape” is suited to adaptation as a ceramic picture, perhaps in spaces that need to be “heated up” by a decorative element of nostalgic yet lively tones. A similar use to that of the first Pareti d’Autore DesignTaleStudio.

A look at Francesca’s website (http://francescadonadiooriolo.spaces.live.com/) has led us to identify two other works which could be very interesting for a hypothetic reproduction on ceramic: Two Kings and Fumatori: il bianco e il nero.

Do you also like the work of Francesca Donadio? Leave a comment and, why not, send us your personal creative project.

Yesterday, we all awoke to some sad news: Ettore Sottsass, the dean and guru of Italian design, died as 2007 was coming to an end.

At the very time President Napolitano was giving his final year’s address to the Italian people, appealing to the Italian creativity, Sottsass passed away, and with him one of our greatest contemporary creative talents, an all round talent who was able to test himself constantly with modernity, to recreate himself and to be able to pit his wits against the greatest talents of the new generation. As were, at different times, Michele De Lucchi, Andrea Branzi, Matteo Thun and Aldo Cibic, to name but a few of the main “sons” of Sottsass.

We are pleased to remember that ceramic was one of the main materials Sottsass used to express himself: so, in this sense, it is worth remembering the longstanding partnership he had with Bitossi in the ‘50s and ‘60s, geared especially towards the creation of the vases and design pieces, that launched him towards the very summit of Italian design.

The links below may be of interest:

• Sottsass’s profile on Wikipedia and Design Addict
• A gallery of his work on Flickr
• Three interviews for Panorama, Rai Educational and Archimagazine
• The exhibition to celebrate his 90th birthday, Vorrei Sapere Perché, in Trieste, which runs until March 2008; and, less we forget, Ettore Sottsass – Work In Progress, held in London last Spring and which is the subject of the video at the start of the post, and the Design Museum at the Triennale in Milan
• The first reactions to the news of his death by some Italian bloggers: Designerblog, Designbuzz, Alfonso Fuggetta, Aurelio Valesi, Design Blog Sociale.

Here is the latest creation from DesignTaleStudio: TDA5, the third Tagli d’Autore collection, the new ceramic slabs with a 30_120 cm size destined to the Living, public and residential spaces. The texture of this collection is, we can say, the most traditional one: a texture of lilies (black on a white backdrop and white on a black backdrop) and decorative locks.

A revival, re-interpreted with creativity and innovation, of one of the most famous historic symbols in Italy and Europe. The lily, in fact, is present in the Holy Bible, in Kingdom of France and in the emblem of Florence and it has always been a symbol of nobility and royalty.

The decorative lily which, in reality, is an iris, takes its name from the goddess Iris, the messenger of the gods, who was transformed into a rainbow by Juno. And this is also the main feature of the series TDA5 Tagli d’Autore: a refined and elegant ceramic slab that ennobles and enriches with emotion and luminosity any kind of residential or public space in which it is placed to complement a porcelain stoneware cladding.

An ideal rainbow recreated in our living spaces.

The second Tagli d’Autore collection, large sized porcelain stoneware slabs created by DesignTaleStudio for the dressing of Living and public spaces, is called TDA2N and TDA3A.
The texture that comprises this series is made up of an interweave of stripes, “tongues”, horizontal and vertical rips that interlock one another.

The stripes in relief are in different colours and tones: black and bronze glazes (TDA2N) and red, orange and black glazes (TDA3A). At first sight, the surface seems deliberately torn, revealing an imaginary backdrop.

This Tagli d’Autore series, less minimal than the previous series, relinquishes the geometry of the lines is akin to a delicate, orderly chaos: let’s think about these ceramic slabs in a public or residential space, in a bright Living; they will surely provide volume and enthusiasm and warmth to the atmosphere.

But, what is the creative potential of the series? Imagination, don’t you think? If you look carefully at the slabs, at times you will notice they seem to resemble interweaved branches or waves in a strange coloured sea!

Tagli d’Autore, DesignTaleStudio’s new ceramic slab series is based on three minimal and decorative drawings, today we are going to introduce you to the first one.

As you can see from the photograph, the first Tagli d’Autore texture is the TDA1 collection and it is a series of parallel lines in relief carried out with grits and gold and platinum glazes. The three-dimensional lines create a special light and shadow effect, provoking bronze hints on the surface of the slab which enhance the product, making it brilliant and lively.

It is Tagli d’Autore’s most dynamic and minimal series and if used as a complement on public or residential wall coverings, which are usually mono-chromatic, makes these surfaces more dynamic, tactile and the whole space acquires a different volume. In other words, an incredible space revolution thanks to a simple and basic trait.

Kandinsky used to say that a point is the absolute calm while a line, which comes out from the quick shift of the point, is the movement. What better comparison?

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We would like to close the series of videos taken during The Grand Design Tour event with the presentation, by Laura Villani, of Sandra Bermudez slab, displayed at the Otto Gallery in Bologna. A work with a strong graphic element which uses crunched paper as a metaphor of the feminine work.

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In this video, Laura Villani, “director” of the Grand Design Tour event and Paolo Cesana, Refin’s marketing manager, present DesignTaleStudio ceramic slabs created by Karim Rashid. Works which perfectly fit the aesthetic tradition of the Egyptian designer and which can be used to clad and decorate both interiors and exteriors. The video was filmed at the art gallery “L’Ariete Artecontemporanea” in Bologna during the inaugural event of the Grand Design Tour.

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Towards the end of his speech during the Grand Design Tour, Elio Fiorucci once again underlines the importance of decoration and of the detailed use of colours which has always been a cornerstone of his aesthetics in the field of fashion-design. Summing up, he reported an interesting anecdote connected with his friendship with Andy Warhol in the 70s and a discussion they had about the theme of aesthetics in modern times.

In this extract, Elio Fiorucci goes into depth commenting on his ceramic slab prototype designed for DesignTaleStudio, and on “the mouth” as a positive visual archetype with a huge semantic potential yet easily understandable even though it was difficult to draw. The intense use of colour and the sensation of global sweetness and sensuality make this ceramic slab a “100% Fiorucci” work of art.

With this post, Federica, a young writer from Parma with a strong passion for ceramic and design, starts her collaboration with DesignTaleStudio. Welcome!

Following the preview of the new Tagli d’Autore collection, presented by DesignTaleStudio during this year’s Cersaie, we can finally go into greater detail on all the innovative types of porcelain stoneware composing the brand-new lines of products.

Tagli d’Autore is a collection of large size porcelain stoneware slabs (30×120) of tremendous value and elegance: hand-made ceramics of top quality materials which have been studied and researched with methods recalling the rhythms of traditional Italian craftsmanship laboratories.

Thanks to the creative and elaboration capacity of our traditional and professional skills, DesignTaleStudio offers unique products with a strong, dynamic character with a high artistic content, created to enhance the Living design of public and residential modern spaces.

In the next days, we will examine, in greater detail, every drawing that makes up the collection analyzing their aesthetic and cultural hints. Meanwhile, let’s have a look at some photos: brilliant design, glittering wall coverings for a new way of living.