Rhea Vase V

Elisabetta Lombardo is making one vase for every one of Saturn's 274 moons, each hand-built without a wheel and fired twice until a lava glaze she formulates herself cracks the surface into something like a lunar plain. She left the tech industry for clay, which she picked up at a low point and found steadying, and the habit grew into a practice built entirely around research: minerals tested and mixed rather than bought ready-made. She co-founded a Berlin studio built around hand-building and has held residencies at Hands-On and GlogauAIR.