The Beauty of Imperfection: The Ceramic Art of Negar Azadsarv

Could you introduce yourself and tell us about the path that brought you to ceramics? Where did you grow up, and what experiences first shaped your relationship with art, objects, and making things by hand?

My name is Negar Azadsarv, and I’m a ceramic artist from Iran. I studied graphic design, which has strongly influenced the way I see shapes, composition, and visual balance. I have always been drawn to pottery and working with clay, but over time, ceramics became much more than an interest for me. I found something very personal in working with my hands and creating objects from such a simple, natural material. This eventually led me to pursue ceramics more seriously and develop my own way of working with clay.

What is your educational and professional background? Did you study ceramics or art formally, or did your practice develop through self-education, experimentation, and direct experience with clay?

My educational background is in graphic design. Although I did not formally study ceramics at university, I took pottery classes and learned the fundamentals of working with clay. My teacher, Masoud Khorasani, introduced me more deeply to the world of ceramics and encouraged me to pursue it. I have always been especially interested in making vases, and over time, I continued along this path and developed my own way of working with clay.

Do you remember the moment when clay became more than simply a material for you? What made you realize that ceramics could become your primary form of artistic expression?

I think that happened gradually rather than in one specific moment. The more I worked with clay, the more I realized that it gave me a freedom that I had not experienced with other materials. I could shape it with my hands, experiment with forms and textures, and allow imperfections to become part of the piece. At some point, I realized that ceramics was not just something I enjoyed making—it had become the way I wanted to express my ideas and feelings through objects.

Your vessels often feel as though they could have been discovered in an archaeological excavation rather than created today. Are you consciously influenced by ancient pottery, traditional vessels, archaeology, or the history of handmade objects?

I have always been drawn to the natural texture of clay and the rustic character of handmade objects. I’m interested in surfaces that feel raw, earthy, and connected to the material itself. I’m not consciously trying to recreate ancient pottery, but I do love the feeling of objects that carry a sense of history and time. I think this is why my work sometimes has an archaeological or ancient quality to it

There is a strong tension in your work between simplicity and imperfection. The forms are often minimal, yet their surfaces reveal marks, irregularities, asymmetry, and traces of the making process. What does imperfection mean to you personally and artistically?

To me, imperfection is an essential part of the beauty of handmade objects. I don’t try to make my pieces perfectly symmetrical or completely flawless. I like the marks of the hand, the irregularities, and the natural changes that happen during the making and firing process. They make each piece feel unique and alive. Artistically, imperfection allows me to stay connected to the material and to accept the unexpected rather than trying to control every detail.

Many of your pieces have dark, earthy, almost weathered surfaces that suggest fire, soil, rust, smoke, and the passage of time. How do you achieve these finishes, and what draws you to this particular material language?

I achieve these colors and textures mainly through techniques such as saggar firing, Raku, and smoke firing. I like to let the fire and smoke naturally interact with the clay and create their own marks and variations on the surface. I’m drawn to these techniques because they preserve the raw, earthy character of the clay and give each piece a unique, weathered quality.

Your work demonstrates a very sensitive relationship with form. Some vessels are rounded and almost bodily, while others are narrow, distorted, angular, or sculptural. How do you develop a new form, and what tells you that a piece has reached the right proportion and character?

Some of my pieces begin with a sketch or a rough idea, but most of the forms develop during the making process. I often let the clay guide me and respond to what happens as I build. Sometimes, even in the middle of making a piece, I change the form completely and take it in a different direction. I know a piece has reached the right character when the form feels natural and balanced to me, even if it is not perfectly symmetrical or precise.

Could you take us through your creative process from the first idea to the finished object? Do you usually begin with drawings and measurements, or does the form emerge through a dialogue between your hands and the clay?

I mainly build my pieces using the coil-building technique. I usually begin with a general idea or a rough sense of the form, but I don’t always follow a fixed drawing or exact measurements. As I build layer by layer, the form gradually develops through my hands and my interaction with the clay. I often make changes along the way, allowing the final shape to emerge naturally during the process.

One of the ideas visible in your work is “Broken. Repaired.” What role do breakage, repair, vulnerability, and transformation play in your practice? Can an accident or damage become part of the meaning of an object rather than simply a flaw?

I see breakage and repair as part of the natural life of an object. I don’t always want to hide cracks or imperfections; sometimes they add character and make a piece more meaningful and unique. I’m interested in the idea that something can be broken and still have value, and that repair can become part of its story rather than something to hide. For me, this is closely connected to the idea of wabi-sabi and accepting imperfection and change.

Your vessels often include small handles, projections, uneven rims, and other subtle details that seem almost like gestures or traces of a personality. Are these elements primarily functional, aesthetic, symbolic, or intuitive?

For me, these small details are not just functional or decorative; they are an important part of the personality of my vessels. Especially the handles—they give each piece its own character and make it feel like my work. Sometimes, if I remove the handles, I feel that the piece is incomplete or that it no longer feels like something I made. They are a very intuitive part of my creative process.

There is something very human about your objects. Their asymmetry and individuality can make them feel almost like bodies or characters rather than conventional vessels. Do you ever think of your pieces in this way, as objects with their own presence or personality?

Yes, definitely. I think of my pieces as having their own presence and personality. This is one of the reasons I choose to build them using the coil technique rather than making them on the wheel. Coil building allows me to shape each piece more freely and preserve the irregularities and individuality that I want. I feel that these qualities make the vessels feel more human and give each one its own character.

Some of your ceramics function beautifully as vessels for flowers or everyday objects, while others clearly enter the territory of sculpture. Where do you see the boundary between functional design and art in your own practice, and does that distinction matter to you?

I don’t see a strict boundary between functional design and sculpture in my work. Even when I make sculptural pieces, I often like to give them a function. For example, my wabi-sabi bull sculptures have an opening at the top, so they can also be used as vases. At the same time, some of my pieces are purely sculptural and don’t have a practical function. For me, the important thing is that the form and character of the piece come first, and the function can sometimes grow naturally from the form.

Your photographs often place the ceramics alongside aged wood, natural materials, flowers, branches, and quiet architectural spaces. How important is the environment surrounding an object? Do you think about how your ceramics will interact with an interior while you are creating them?

The environment is quite important to me because I’m naturally drawn to rustic and wabi-sabi styles and architecture. I love natural materials, aged wood, simple spaces, and quiet textures, and I think my ceramics naturally connect with these kinds of environments. When I create a piece, I do think about how it might feel within a space, but I don’t design it specifically for one interior. I want each piece to have its own character and be able to interact naturally with its surroundings.

Looking back at your work from the beginning until today, how has your artistic language changed? Were there techniques, aesthetics, or ideas you had to abandon before you discovered what truly felt like your own voice?

In the beginning, I also made glazed and colorful pieces, but even from the start of my journey, I was especially drawn to clay vessels with natural textures and aged, patinated surfaces created through smoke. Over time, I realized that these earthy, raw qualities felt much closer to my own artistic voice. So my work gradually moved away from colorful glazed surfaces and toward more natural textures, earthy tones, and the marks created by fire and smoke.

What are you searching for in your work now? Are there forms, firing techniques, larger sculptural objects, installations, collaborations with architects or interior designers, or other directions that you would like to explore next?

For the future, I would like to focus more on my wabi-sabi bull sculptures. This series received a very positive response, and I feel that it has a lot of potential to develop further. I would also love to collaborate with architects and interior designers on architectural and interior projects, and explore how my work can interact with different spaces. At the same time, I want to experiment with new forms and variations while keeping the raw, earthy, and individual character that is important to my work.

Interested in discovering more from this talented artist?
Explore the portfolio, follow new projects, and connect through the link below.

Instagram: @negar.pottery
Phone: +989214234203