"If I was to establish a system, it would be, that Mountains are produced by Volcanoes, and not Volcanoes by Mountains."

Sir William Hamilton Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and other Volcanoes (1774)

The relationship between craft and the environment is one with never ending ramifications. What binds the objects of one place to the characteristic of the place itself intertwines the historical, geological and social aspects of humanity as well as the uniqueness and simplicity of every-day life.

The field of investigation is always expanding, as endless and unique as there are ways of life. The lands and corners of cities we live in shape us. Their geography, customs and vices become our own. We try to imprint ourselves as well upon the land, and we succeed, from time to time. Pozzuoli is a small village on the outskirts of Naples, with one of the highest population density on top of an active caldera in the world. 150.000 people on top of 24 active craters, Pozzuoli is a tailpipe for the land it was built on.

Older than the foundation of Rome, it is a place where history is difficult to avoid. You can see the layers of cities before, civilisations lost to the power in nature. The investigation of alternative solutions through the study of folklore and natural events is one of the key elements of Tellurico’s practice.

This project, ‘Telluride’, presents the first results of a specific material research that looks into the possibilities of using volcanic rocks as a combined element with porcelain clay and high-firing glazing. During the firing, the lava melts breaking the porcelain structure and creating an organic and unexpected texture. The two structures components bond together and the material result is solid and with a high resistance to impacts. The Lava was gathered on the hills of the Phlegrean Fields, in the North of Naples. South Italy. “Telluride” is an on-going project, that continues with the creation of a full range of design objects of different size and function.