Candle Set

Nitza Walesca

Earthenware

3.5 & 4.5 in H x 2.5 in D

Written Makers Mark

This elegant set of three candleholders by Nitza Walesca reflects the artist's deep connection to her Puerto Rican and Taino heritage. Walesca's signature black glaze highlights intricately carved surfaces inspired by ancestral Taino traditions, in which carving served as a means of communication, spirituality, and storytelling.

Her forms often reference the female body, honoring the matrilineal nature of Taino culture and celebrating the strong women in her own family. Both functional and deeply personal, this striking set brings cultural history, contemporary craftsmanship, and Walesca's distinctive artistic voice into your home.

Artist Biography

Nitza Walesca was introduced to ceramics by her high school art teachers, and then continued her education in the ceramic arts largely here at The Clay Studio. She started taking classes here in 1993, and is now an integral member of the Claymobile team, teaches ceramics at Temple University, and shows her work in our Functional Gallery.

Artist Statement

My ceramic practice reflects my cultural background as well as the culturally-rich city that I call home. My primary artistic concern is highlighting and uplifting Puerto Rican culture and the history of the indigenous Taino populations. Access to information about the Taino culture is scarce and dwindling. Colonization on the island has been and still is destroying the land, therefore artifacts are forgotten and important cultural information is effectively lost. Other people on the island are doing similar work, fighting erasure by keeping traditional crafts alive, sharing histories, and preserving artifacts. I seek to create a deeper connection with my ancestry through Taino pottery artifacts, learning from Taino makers, and bringing this information back to inform my community art-making practice as well as my own work.

My process centers around the practice of carving, a technique informed by ancestral knowledge. The Taino people used carving to communicate about the present, their spirituality, and the future. In my work, carving allows me to share this rich history while telling my own story. I carve Taino symbols on my vessels to honor the connection between the Indigenous people of Puerto Rico and those of us here today. I further this by creating vessels that are often reminiscent of female bodies, a reflection of the matrilineal nature of Taino culture and a celebration of the strong, beautiful women in my own family who have helped me to maintain connections to my cultural roots.

• Winning Raffles are announced at 10:15 pm EST on September 26th
• If attending the event in person winners may pick up their Raffle in the first floor Gallery at 10:30 pm
• Any winner not in attendance will be contacted on Monday September 28th.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.
• please note: one raffle sheet is 10 tickets for $10, or three sheets of 10 (total 30 tickets) for $25