It’s Christmas, and with it, many people are looking to innovate when it comes to decorating their homes.
This is the work of Isabel Silva Melo, an art teacher at Antero de Quental Secondary School and a certified artisan in the art of fish scale work by the Azores Crafts and Design Center.
Passionate about handicrafts from an early age, she currently works with one of her greatest passions, clay, where she combines a more traditional and contemporary aspect.
Diário dos Açores spoke to Isabel Silva Melo to learn more about her work and how she experiences the Christmas season.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Isabel Silva Melo. I have a Fine Arts – Sculpture degree from the Escola de Belas Artes in Porto, and I completed a postgraduate course in Jewelry Design at ESAD Matosinhos. I’m an art teacher at Antero de Quental Secondary School.
I live on a farm, and I’m passionate about plants. I’m also a beekeeper, and my little bees help pollinate the farm.

How did your love of handicrafts come about?
I think it’s always been there. I used to make little clay monsters in pe-
when I was maybe 8, I used to bake in a wood-fired oven my father built for me.
Then I remember when I was 15, and Fimo pasta was launched in England, I gave all my friends earrings, rings, etc.
When I was at university, I made acrylic brooches and buttons for the first time and put them on sale at Sayonara, selling out, which made me very happy. I’ve always visited craft fairs, including the one in Santo Cristo. In my family, it wasn’t Santo Cristo without a visit to the craft fair!

At the moment, your work is very much focused on clay. Why?
In 2017, I had a training course at the Carlos Machado Museum with ceramicist Delfim Manuel, where I learned the basics of figurative miniature ceramics, and since then, my world has changed; it’s as if I’ve found myself again. I immediately fell in love with figurative ceramics.
You have a background in sculpture; was this a determining factor in your turning to handicrafts?
I think so because all artistic areas are interconnected. And, of course, training in sculpture was a major factor in my evolution in these 6 years of figurative ceramics.

Apart from clay work and lapinha cribs, what other types of craft work do you do?
I am also certified in working with fish scales by the Azores Crafts and Design Center. Having all my products with the Certified Crafts seal is an asset.

You can see a combination of the traditional and modern in your work. What inspires you to do your work?
Initially, it was the cultural and religious traditions of the islands.
At the moment, I’ve been developing more contemporary works that deal with themes such as love, nature, and tributes to painters for whom I have a special appreciation.

Do you only do commissioned work, or can we already find it for sale in a store?
I have commissioned works and shown others at craft fairs or ceramics exhibitions, such as Oeiras Ceramic Arte, which took place in October. I always have my studio open by appointment for people to visit, as it also doubles as a store.

Given that we are in what many people consider the most magical time of the year, what does Christmas mean to you? And what is your favorite memory?

It’s my favorite time of year. The family together, the dinners, the fireplace, the non-stop movie showings, the aromas – it’s a magical time. My favorite memory was building the nativity scene. First, we would collect stones and moss at the Sete Cidades (Seven Cities). Then we’d unpack the figures individually as if it were the first time we’d seen them.
The assembly! The assembly took days, a complete city representing the nativity. Once, the crib was so big that it stayed in my parents’ room because it was huge, and all the guests visited their room with the crib! It was undoubtedly the construction of the crib.

What do your pieces represent to you?
They’re like little children, an extension of me.

What are your expectations for the future?
After Expo Açores at Christmas, I took part in an exhibition of Nativity scenes at the Municipal Culture Center with one of my own pieces and pieces by my Atelier students, as well as a Lapinha Nativity scene made by all my students from Antero de Quental Secondary School. Next year, I have orders to honor, fairs to attend, and invitations that are still open. I’m also going to teach an introductory ceramics course at my school.

I’d like to build a traditional wood-fired kiln for firing ceramics and organize a summer meeting with ceramists.
I have so many dreams that it’s hard to find the time to make them come true, but I hope to do so slowly.

by Journalist Ana Catarina Rosa for Diário dos Açores – Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)