Iryna Radkevich is a Belarusian ceramist and a member of the Belarusian Artists Union. Her works have been shown in ceramics exhibitions or competitions held by Belarus, Poland, Republic of Korea, Japan and other countries. She was awarded the third prize in Art Panorama in Minsk, Belarus and secured the third place in the Triennial of Decorative and Applied Art in Belarus.

Pottery is a world teeming with creativity and imagination. Autumn Grasses is like a solitary minstrel. It sings a profound autumn melody through its ingenious craftsmanship, narrating the perseverance and vitality of life. Every viewer who pauses to admire it seems to step into an autumn field gently caressed by time.

When your fingertips gently touch this work, the sensation of its unique texture travels straight from your fingertips to your heart, leaving a profound impression. It is a masterpiece born from the profound dialogue between the ceramist and the clay, a testament to their harmonious collaboration. Each texture seems to whisper a little secret of autumn, inviting you to uncover its hidden stories. The overlapping autumn grasses, like the veins of life, are arranged in a harmonious and orderly pattern. They seem to capture the growth of autumn grass, from its sprouting in spring to its maturing in autumn. Every gust of wind and every drop of rain has left deep or shallow marks on these grass stalks. The combination of dots forms the texture of the chamomile, which glimmers with a warm luster and becomes faintly visible under the light, as if breathing life into the flower. These textures are not mechanically replicated but are imbued with a soul during the firing process, as the clay undergoes a high-temperature transformation. The clay shrinks and deforms subtly under the high temperature, making the texture more prominent and three-dimensional. They are creations with innate stubbornness and vitality, reborn in the kiln fire. What is truly astonishing is how the color transitions between different textures are so natural and seamless. Like sunlight piercing through the autumn mist and shining on the grass, the mottled and magnificent interplay of light and shadow is revealed. Autumn Grasses has thus become a unique and inimitable treasure in the world.

The spiritual connotation embodied in Autumn Grasses far transcends its physical existence as a ceramic work. It is a heartfelt interpretation of the profoundness of life. Autumn grass, shivering in the autumn wind and awaiting the fate of withering, is often regarded as a symbol of wane. However, this work subverts such a stereotype and endows autumn grass with new vitality. The autumn grass in the work is a testament to the battles against wind and rain in the long river of time as well as a medal of life's accumulation and precipitation. The autumn grass still chooses to take root in the soil and to showcase the splendor of life with its last strength even though it knows that winter is coming. This kind of perseverance and commitment to life is truly moving. And the chamomile, like a wedge of light in the darkness, stubbornly blooms in the desolation of autumn. Beneath its delicate appearance lies extraordinary tenacity. It adds a touch of vitality and hope to the barren autumn. The autumn grass and chamomile complement each other. The ceramist conveys an open-minded and positive outlook on life through this work. Life has its unique value and the possibility of blooming regardless of what situation life is in, whether it is the prosperity of favorable circumstances or the desolation of adversity. We should embrace hope just like the autumn grass and chamomile. We can also make our own profound mark in the passage of time and write our own life legends with our lives.

This ceramic treasure not only opens a window for us to appreciate the beauty of autumn but also plants a seed of life and art in our hearts. For ceramic creators, it illuminates the long journey of creation like a guiding light. It also inspires creators to set aside their impetuousness and delve into every corner of life in order to observe and feel the great power hidden behind the ordinary things that we often overlook. By engaging in an intimate dialogue with the clay through their hands, the ceramists can create masterpieces as touching as Autumn Grasses by integrating their love for life and reverence for nature into every texture and hue of the work.

Looking back from the vast field of life, the image of Autumn Grasses will quietly emerge when we encounter the cold seasons of life rife with setbacks and confusion. It teaches us to hold fast to our original aspirations in difficult situations and not to be swayed by the harsh winds from the outside world. We can still discover the glimmers of hope that shine like chamomile even in the ordinary days. Let’s go through the tempering of life and create our own wonderful lives with the hope and love in our hearts like this ceramic work. Even as time goes by, the vitality from the depths of our souls and love for life will still shine brightly and never fade.