While just recently in Positano on the Amalfi Coast, I completely fell in love with the art of ceramica that I noticed displayed so decoratively all about the village. Plates and bowls painted with pastel houses, vibrant lemons, soft village scenes and active sea life reflected the warm feeling of being in a Mediterranean environment. I wanted to bring them home with me and decorate my entire house. I resolved to begin the process by finding four dinner plates that were special to me.
I met Lisa Cinque toward the upper part of the village of Positano. Her little shop, L’arte delle ceramica, looked out toward the sparkling blue Mediterranean. Attractive from the outside, I decided to see what she had for sale. After scoping out several ceramic shops prior, Lisa’s shop stood our to me as a bit different. Her art was unique. Not only did she have the typical designs of classic Amalfi Coast ceramics, but there were original contemporary pieces with limited compositions as well.
Lisa welcomed me immediately with a big smile and soft manners. Her artwork is her pride and joy, and she spoke fondly of each piece. As she took me around, I learned that she fashions and paints each one. These were all her creations. Her deep love for art was evident in the different styles and variety of colors. She uses materials that are unusual and different, such as engobe (white or colored slip), glass and mother of pearl.
Lisa graduated with a degree in Applied Arts at the Art Institute of Sorrento. She went on to further her training in art and is recognized by the European Union at the Centro Studi Arti Vietri (Center for Art Studies in Vietri) as well as studying with master potter Alfonso Cassetta and Erika Rossi. From them she learned “the techniques of shaping and decorating as well as deepening my knowledge of the historical and cultural implications of the antique tradition of ceramics.”
Positano is the perfect place to find inspiration. There is beauty from every angle. Lisa is a true artist and shares her heart freely. “I am continuing my creative journey in my pottery workshop, a place where I find the perfect concentration to give life to my works. Works that draw their greatest inspiration from the essential elements of life: fire, earth air and water.”
An artist in her own right, Lisa is a seeker of mood and emotion from the past as well as the present and future. Not one to follow the crowd, she has created and fashioned her own world of artistic designs that fascinate. Each one is original and unique. I did find my four plates in Lisa’s shop and I now have them hanging on my dining room wall. They are a joy to me and each time I stand back to look at them, i’m reminded of Lisa and her beautiful shop, of the Amalfi Coast and enduring Mediterranean environment. It’s my own little bit of paradise.
Please do visit Lisa in her shop if you find yourself in Positano. You can find her at L’arte delle ceramica, 147 Cristoforo Colombo, which is the main street in Positano, just 100 meters from the main square.
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