Radwa Elafy

As an artist, I find myself inspired by creating patterns, shapes and forms. In ceramics the type of work that I mostly do is tile work. My main focus is to concentrate on developing original ideas and using simple shapes repeatedly to create a larger tile. I also tend to focus on catching the viewer’s attention by using lots of colors from pastel colors to vibrant and bold colors.

My choice of colors comes from my Egyptian heritage. I am fascinated by the rich color palette that I see all around the city of Cairo. The colors used by the ancient Egyptians still live all around me; the colors blue, red, green, yellow black and white. These colors were used to decorate tombs, temples and ceramic pottery. Red is the color of power. It symbolizes life and victory but also anger and fire. The contrast in the significance of colors is represented in my work. I like to show strength and resiliency but also a feeling of nostalgia. Another color I use extensively is blue. It represents rebirth, fertility and protection. It brings me back to the Nile that is a symbol of our African beauty.

I reflect on the things that interest me in my pieces. Some of my previous work was inspired by Islamic art. I have always been inspired by the complexities and the amount of the detail put into the tiles, and aspire to reach that level. Some of my pieces consist of large scale tiles; the process is very time consuming and involves a lot of patience. Creating these tiles, I use graphic design by creating my sketches in illustrator then transferring them onto the slabs of clay by carefully tracing and carving. With the use of ceramics and graphic design making tiles has become my new and ongoing passion.