About Sandra’s Ceramics
Our Story
Sandra’s Ceramics Studio represents the artistic works of Sandra & Maria Vumbaca. The Studio is Australian owned & operated. We specialise in the production of quality hand-painted functional & decorative earthenware & porcelain pieces.
We are an award-winning daughter/mother team who take our inspiration from many sources but are largely influenced by our Italian heritage in our use of vibrant colour & intricate design. Maria’s work greatly reflects her keen interest in carving, lustres, multi-fire products & china painting while Sandra enjoys experimenting with an eclectic range of techniques ranging from carving & sgraffito through to glaze layering. We both have a distinctive passion for learning & enjoy sharing our discoveries.
Our Story
Sandra’s Ceramics Studio represents the artistic works of Sandra & Maria Vumbaca. The Studio is Australian owned & operated. We specialise in the production of quality hand-painted functional & decorative earthenware & porcelain pieces.
We are an award-winning daughter/mother team who take our inspiration from many sources but are largely influenced by our Italian heritage in our use of vibrant colour & intricate design. Maria’s work greatly reflects her keen interest in carving, lustres, multi-fire products & china painting while Sandra enjoys experimenting with an eclectic range of techniques ranging from carving & sgraffito through to glaze layering. We both have a distinctive passion for learning & enjoy sharing our discoveries.
We have many moulds & our earthenware pieces are slip-cast by hand, made from the finest Australian sourced clay. Our porcelain blanks are manufactured overseas by the most experienced porcelain producers in the world. Our clay is our canvas & our focus is on the surface decoration.
The glazes we use are all lead-free. These & our lustre finishes are both locally & internationally sourced so that we can access an enormous colour & texture palette. This enables us to experiment with an extensive range of products so that we can deliver truly unique pieces.
Lustres are a significant part of our decorative process however they are not very familiar to many people. Lustres consist of metal based components that have been dissolved in organic solutions.
Upon applying them to smooth glazed objects and firing them from between 600-800 degrees Celsius, a metallic iridescent finish is achieved. Contrary to paint, lustres do not sink into the glaze but remain on the surface of the ware. For this reason, lustres are typically applied to decorative rather than functional items. Multiple firings are often needed to achieve the most interesting effects.
Typically our earthenware pieces undergo two kiln firings. Initially a bisque firing to around 1080 degrees Celsius followed by a glaze firing to around 1030 degrees Celsius. This process particularly relates to most underglaze, majolica & crystal glaze finishes. However where lustres & gold are employed, a third or even a fourth firing at lower temperatures is required.
Porcelain items on the other hand vary immensely. Any given piece can have a minimum of one-two firings to achieve a fairly simple design while other more complex pieces can sustain up to twenty or more firings. The possibilities are endless & extraordinary.
Apart from participating in many industry based competitions we have been active members of the Arcadian Artists exhibiting annually as part of their art trail since 1997.
Our studio is open to visitors throughout the year by appointment & everyone is welcome to come & visit our unique creating environment.
