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Find a Studio with FICA Oficina Criativa
Discover the wide range of ceramic techniques with FICA
In this edition of Find a Studio, Rita Daniel, ceramicist and founder of FICA Oficina Criativa, shares her story with us. Located in the heart of Lisbon and known for the quality of its teaching, FICA has been running hands-on workshops for the past 10 years. The studio has been using graffito ceramic materials since 2018.
Led by founder Rita, the five-person team takes the time to guide students as they explore ceramics, screen printing, woodworking, textiles, natural fibres and other crafts.
Techniques and inspiration
Looking back on FICA’s story, Rita told us how she found her way to ceramics after a decade devoted to screen printing: “Screen printing came into my life a decade before ceramics, and as soon as I felt comfortable with it, I thought it was time to dedicate myself to another craft. It could only be ceramics. For me, combining screen printing with ceramics is fascinating. I started learning ceramics in 2018, and I still feel there is so much more to learn.”
To develop a style that brings different techniques together, Rita has drawn inspiration from artists and designers across a variety of disciplines.
“My inspirations are quite diverse: from Marimekko’s graphic richness to Lina Bo Bardi’s brutalism, as well as José de Guimarães and Matsui Kōse
Although she says she feels particularly comfortable with techniques that require a greater degree of control, Rita always tries to introduce something unexpected into each piece. As she puts it, she also enjoys “letting a slab of Nerikomi travel wherever the potter’s wheel takes it”.
In 2024, that work took on a new dimension when the team began making pieces created at the studio available through FICA Editions.
Getting started with ceramics
For anyone curious about ceramics but unsure where to begin, Rita’s advice is simple: take the first step. Curiosity and a willingness to learn come before technical mastery. After guiding hundreds of beginners, she knows what it means to be part of that journey: “Knowing that our work helps someone fulfil a dream is extraordinary and deeply rewarding. That is what motivates us to keep opening the studio gates every day.”
Ceramics takes practice and patience. Repetition is part of the learning process, even when results take time to appear. As Rita says: “First comes the frustration, then comes the satisfaction.”
“At the studio, we’re never without engobes. I love the colours of the stains and the variety of glazes, both earthenware and stoneware My favourite body clays are earthenware, because I enjoy a challenge.. For throwing we use PR1 (now PR5) and for functional pieces, GF60.”
