When Vasiliki told me she wanted her new restaurant to look like one of my drawings, I thought she was a little crazy (she is,but in the best possible way).
I chose to dedicate the whole concept to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The first area represents spring: mother and daughter together, the world bursting with love and celebration. The second embodies winter: separation, loss, and longing. But also independence, power, and sexuality. The deeper you walk into the restaurant, the darker and more complex the symbolism becomes.
Up until then, the largest painting I had ever made was A3. Suddenly, I was creating two 5x3m ceiling panels. I designed and crafted more than 30 ceramic pieces, even a handmade ceramic door handle. By the end, the restaurant truly felt like it had been shaped by my hands.
The myth has always moved me. This idea that the love between mother and daughter explains the cycle of the seasons. Paired with Vasiliki’s own story of motherhood, it became the perfect theme to build on.
Thank you, @vasilikipierr and @vasilikikantina , for believing in me.
And thank you to @oooh_studio that along with @joyherro did the built interior design of the space—the perfect canvas for my vision.
And thank you @teapotgr for some great pictures!
A month of working on the floor.
I’ve always been fascinated -and surprised- that in a patriarchal society like Ancient Greece, the basic concept of seasons was explained using the myth of a mother’s love towards her daughter. Demeter and Persephone.
So I made my largest work so far dedicated to this myth and this love that I know so well.
The myth is about love, separation, grief, adulthood, sexuality.
You can see the results in @vasilikikantina in Milan along with more ceramic pieces, all surrounding the same myth.
I haven’t been there yet, so will share final results soon 🤎
Epinetron” (επίνητρον) is a ceramic thigh protector that women in Ancient Greece used while spinning wool on their thighs. Penelope is usually pictured with one so it is associated with an activity you do while waiting. For Ulysses to come back, for the crisis to end.
Although it is thought of as an item representing domestic femininity, it’s not. For me, it is an armour protecting the wearer from what is happening outside their own body. It makes them focus inwards when things around get out of control.
I made this epinetron during the lockdown and sculpting it on my thigh, working on top of it for hours, I felt that I replicated the work of the women before me. The “spinning women” as they were called by male archaeologists, who perceived them as unethical because they were working.
More epinetra are to follow.
In conversation with Terpsichore Savvala.
We sat down with Greek artist Terpsichore Savvala to talk about her inspirations, her love for clay, and the stories that shape her practice. Through ceramics and paintings, she explores myth, memory, and protection.
Her exhibition Oscilla is on view in our Elmegade 5 store until September 27th, 2025.
Read the full journal - link in bio.
On view this Friday at @trinetuxenjewelry , Elmegade 5.
Oscilla, meaning little faces, were once small loom weights used as votive objects to female deities. Hung to swing back and forth, they warded off evil and kept loved ones safe.
They are the origin of the word oscillate.
These new works are decorated with flowers, animals, and benevolent creatures, each protecting the small face at the centre. That face may be my daughter, another’s child, or any person in need of protection — too many in the world today.
Small, apotropaic objects of care and guardianship.
This building - more of a sculpture than a building- deserves its own post. I saw it about two months ago and can’t stop thinking about it.
I don’t know if it’s of good taste or not but I don’t care, it’s like a Jenga made of spolia.
The creation of a student of Pikionis, Konstantinos Papatheodorou, this church is so absurd it ends up looking like a surreal collage. It’s like free association writing in a building form.
He made it himself, with his own hands with scrap materials he found in the area, along with pieces of ancient ruins.
Non aligned Volumes balancing on each other. It’s random and genius at the same time. Random eras, techniques, references.
