Barcha Balaban

“I like working with soil and clay – I call my work – permanent garden.”

Barbora Balaban was born in Prague, a beautiful city full of history and culture, where she graduated from the Prague College of Graphic Art.

In 1990, Barbora immigrated to Canada with her family. After settling down in Ottawa in 1995, she started to work with clay. She then joined the Ottawa Guild of Potters (OGP) and over the years, has taken courses at St. Lawrence College and at Fleming College at Haliburton School of the Arts. Barbora participated in numerous workshops offered by the OGP and by Fusion (Ontario Clay and Glass) with top Canadian and U.S. Potters.

Whether it is in her pottery studio or in her garden, Barbora’s work is inspired by her love of nature. She has hiked and camped across the Canadian wildernesses and farther afield in Argentina, Chile, Nepal, Iceland and Europe. Her unusual sculptural ceramic compositions are a testimony to her love of the great outdoors.

Most of her ceramic is functional as well as highly and originally decorative. Barbora juxtaposes glazed and unglazed portions of the pieces to bring out the texture and the warmth of the clay. Then she tops it off by personalizing each piece with distinctive decorative brush work, carving and stamping.

Barbora works from her studio located in the woods near Almonte, Ontario. Her passion for gardening and nature is a beautiful and constant source of inspiration for her ceramic.