“Art is a therapy. I like to give people the tools to get better with art…”
Doriana Usai – Ceramist and art therapist
You told us about art therapy. What is it about? What projects do you carry out?
Art therapy is one of my great convictions of life …. from the age of 23 I began to collaborate with social centers, professional schools, associations of various kinds and schools of all types and levels that required ceramic workshops.
This convinced me that my work was not only linked to my tradition, but that it could be educational, recreational and healing if necessary.
To clarify arts and crafts could give a great dose of rehabilitation not for the body, but for the psychophysical aspect of each of us .. ..and this I have constantly tested on my person.
So I approached the world of art therapy trying to better understand its principles…specializing in the three years to become an art therapist.
The territory and tradition are very present in your production. Tell us about the bride’s jug. What is it about? How do you make it and how much technique and hours does it need?
The bride’s jug is precisely the emblem of the Asseminese and Sardinian tradition; this jug was part of the brides’ trousseau. Traditionally the jug was born in terracotta with greenish incisions, then reinterpreted by potters with floral applications that evoke the purity of the bride or the lapwings symbol of prosperity and good omen.
The more a bride belonged to an elevated social class, the more elaborate the pitcher was.
The realization of the jug regardless of the size requires many hours of work: from the shaping to the lathe, to the applications, from the finishing to the cooking and enameling…I believe there are hours and hours at least 30-40 days to bring it to the sale.