![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Ruta-Sipalyte-373x560.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rothko Centre<\/strong>: <\/strong>Without knowing you personally and judging only by your work, it seems it was made by someone who\u2019s super organised, disciplined and structured, someone whose every thought and deed is kept in apple-pie order. Who knows how to manage her emotions. Is that right?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u016bta \u0160ipalyt\u0117: No, I have a tendency to freak out (laughs). If things go wrong, I start stressing. I\u2019m a sensitive soul. My emotions tend to run high, and then I need to have someone talk to me and say: \u201cThere, there, it\u2019s alight!\u201d (laughs). So I have these two halves \u2013 logical and structured versus volatile and emotional. And I try to balance them out.<\/p>\n With time, I\u2019ve learnt to think that nothing is a full-blown tragedy. I no longer see things in purely black-and-white terms, there is also the golden mean, and it\u2019s not the end of the world. And, more often than not, this balance sits in our heads for us to find. I think we only ever grow up, I mean for real, when we realise (and not because our mum and dad say so, but because we\u2019ve come to it on our own) that there\u2019s a place for everyone under the sun! Actually, the main thing\u2019s to learn to deal with ourselves, to figure ourselves out. Which makes it easier to figure out the others. And the main thing\u2019s to accept all our emotions. And to know how to keep them in check. So I give myself time to weigh things up instead of blurting out what I think then and there. I stand back a bit. And try to conserve my energies. I used to spend way too liberally\u2026 Now I\u2019m saving. Because creativity demands incredible strength and focus.<\/p>\n My perfectionism balances things out. When other artists see my work, they say it probably takes incredible patience\u2026 I don\u2019t need patience. For me, it\u2019s a meditation, and I revel in it. I caress the ceramic walls, on and on, and make order out of chaos. And it helps me rein in my oversensitive nature. You see, as I grow older, my work becomes more and more impeccable. When I was younger, still a student, I could leave the seams unsmoothed or turn a blind eye on a wobbly line or two\u2026 Now I\u2019m in a stage when everything needs to be just so. Slick and smooth (laughs). This is now. We\u2019ll see how it goes.<\/p>\n Take Rothko. He kept his compositions minimalistic. But they had these tiny, minute variations. Such eloquence, achieved with just a few means! He knew how to go deep rather than spread himself thin. In a sense, he was an explorer. One can compare his work to deep-sea diving, going down into the depths.<\/p>\n RC: The symposium takes a fortnight \u2013 is the time long enough? <\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: Knowing that I\u2019d only have two weeks, I came prepared. So I didn\u2019t have to stress about not making it in time, which was really liberating and allowed me to work with ease, very naturally. But things don\u2019t always go to plan. So one night (which is when I usually get the most exciting ideas and visualise my upcoming images) I was struck by an idea \u2013 suppose I transferred a Rothko painting onto my ceramics (smiles). We\u2019d been all given some Rothko spirit at the symposium opening \u2013 sealed cans of air from the Rothko Centre, a very original gift. And it tickled me beyond measure \u2013 I would open the can, and Rothko\u2019s spirit would come over me, and there I\u2019d be, awash with his unique vision, with how he saw the world. But there\u2019s something more here \u2013 the place has Rothko\u2019s originals! And one can draw inspiration from Rothko\u2019s paintings, establish a connection, \u201ctouch\u201d his genius and \u201ctalk\u201d to the great artist. And make something of one\u2019s own. Such a unique opportunity! And then I thought maybe I\u2019d gone barking mad in the heatwave (laughs). But it all worked out.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: How did you become involved with ceramics?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: Back in school, I was good at mathematics. I actually have a few medals from physics competitions. Literature was harder. I dreamt about studying architecture (my parents are architects). To me, architecture is a special domain where exact sciences and creativity coexist in a symbiotic relationship. I was really drawn to this \u201ctwo-in-one\u201d aspect. But my mum had other ideas. Those were the Soviet times, which didn\u2019t leave much room for creativity in architecture. And another thing \u2013 she said it was a problematic domain for a woman and warned I\u2019d find it hard to break the glass ceiling. She said: \u201cYou\u2019ll spend all your life doing menial work for others, make technical drawings and all manner of routine tasks. Then off to a building site to fight with the construction workers who\u2019ll no doubt mess things up. Even given a perfect drawing, they\u2019ll NE-VER E-VER make it right! Why saddle yourself with all this trouble?\u201d As to ceramics, it came into my life through a strange twist of fate. I hadn\u2019t even given it a thought. Then, in Form 4, the teacher read out a list of the things we could do in an after school club as extracurricular activities. I kept listening and listening\u2026 And nothing appealed. Until I heard \u201cceramics\u201d, and it was an instant click. Oh! OK, ceramics it is! From then on, ceramics was always there, in the background, as an aside. Eventually, I brought it up with mum, and she said: \u201cAn artist, whether a ceramicist or a printmaker, can do their work from A to Z, from idea to solution. You\u2019re your own boss. No building company will take anything away from you by finishing what you\u2019ve envisioned, and you won\u2019t be dependent on anyone.\u201d And I thought \u2013 great! Knowing my pedantic nature, this is perfect!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: In your travels around the world, you\u2019ve been able to compare the ceramics of different countries, see some things you\u2019d like to try\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: You know, in Lithuania, ceramics is more of an applied art. I\u2019ve travelled quite a bit, and I\u2019ve seen how things stand in other countries. Take America or China. It\u2019s an esteemed art there! Actually, Chinese ceramics are out of this world. They have such distinct traditions! Before I went there, my perception of China came from what we see here in cheap mass-market goods. But when I saw their ceramics first-hand in China, I was stunned\u2026 Here we simply don\u2019t get to see what they\u2019re making.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: Do you share your secrets with other ceramicists?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: In 2019 in China, during my latest trip there, a local artist (a wonderful scenographer, connoisseur of ancient literature, calligrapher and ceramicist) said a fascinating thing: \u201cYou know,\u201d he said, \u201cin ceramics, the glaze is fifty per cent of the work. And no one will tell you the recipe, because then everybody would be making the same type and we\u2019d lose all uniqueness and appeal. So why aim for similarity?\u201d In my teaching work with students, I do the same. I don\u2019t ask for similarity, I don\u2019t ask for a replica. I let them each have their special something. I don\u2019t try to change or bend their nature. I let it work. You know, I once had a student who was \u201call thumbs\u201d, let\u2019s put it like that. And she kept worrying and fretting\u2026 And I told her \u2013 relax, it\u2019s your bonus! I could never do the things she did even if I tried. I was positively envious of her work. It had this particular \u201cpainterly\u201d feel. So I thought this was something she could use. After all, what makes us interesting is our uniqueness, not our similarities. Coming back to your question, I do share my techniques, and gladly. And people share theirs with me. That\u2019s normal. If it helps someone with their work in the technical sense, why ever not? Then again, I have a few of my personal tricks and secrets, such as the glazes, which I prefer to keep to myself, and that\u2019s also fine, isn\u2019t it? (smiles).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: You are also known as the curator of the Teacup exhibition in Vilnius. How do you like working with other artists? Knowing the field inside out, knowing full well how protective creators are of what they\u2019ve made, how do you feel about promoting and publicising the work of others?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: Initially, it wasn\u2019t even an exhibition in the usual sense of the word. We simply put out an open call for teacups, and ceramicists brought in their work. No selection. Well, and then we thought \u2013 if we want quality, we need a juried selection. And we didn\u2019t think of it in terms of promotion. We were just doing our job. Ceramicists have very few opportunities to bring their work out to the public. If we don\u2019t put ourselves out there, we\u2019ll never get out of the fringes. So we did it for ourselves (smiles). After all, we have a vested interest. As one psychologist rightly said, whatever we do, we do it for our own sake. Even if we\u2019re helping someone, we\u2019re implicitly helping ourselves. So no point lying to ourselves that we\u2019re doing it for someone else. No, we aren\u2019t. Somehow or other, we expect a return on the energies we invest into others. We think it\u2019ll do us good, one way or another. That\u2019s human nature. You give some to get some. That\u2019s how it works. The same goes for the exhibitions I make for others \u2013 in a sense, I\u2019m also doing it for myself.<\/p>\n RC: In your role as an artist, do you ever have questions or special requests to curators?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: The greatest clash is always about where my work has been put (laughs). Even here (at the Rothko Centre \u2013 ed.), when I came down and saw the exhibition, saw my cube, it hit me how sensitive we artists are and how many meanings we attach to our work. I thought \u2013 why have they put it like that? But I didn\u2019t start making a fuss. I just gave myself time, I said \u2013 slow down, hold your horses, give it a think. It\u2019s never a good thing to go in head-long. I gave myself two or three days of quiet, not to be a drama queen. Then I had a little chat with the curators and very carefully said I\u2019d envisioned it a little differently. But they had a whole different concept for the show and laid it all out very gently to explain their decision. And I let it be. It wasn\u2019t easy, by far. But I trusted their vast experience and professionalism and gave them the freedom to work. And I have no regrets. So, yes, there\u2019s always this conflict \u2013 everybody wants pride of place, front and centre, the best possible spot (laughs).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: And what do you expect as a curator from the artists you work with?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: Please bring only the work you believe in. Only the work that you love. And trust me. Trust me all the way through. Or better don\u2019t come at all. We\u2019ll play it fair. We can negotiate, but no ultimatums.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: From idea to the grand finale, which is the key moment in the whole creative cycle?<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: There\u2019s more than one. First, when things fall into place, I mean the birth of the idea. The making as such, not so much \u2013 it\u2019s pretty tedious and routine. The second moment is the meditation mentioned above when I\u2019m caressing my objects, smoothing them out. And then waiting for the end result. Will it crack or hold? Will it be what I\u2019d envisioned? At this point, I\u2019m like a woman giving birth, waiting for the result. I mean when it\u2019s still unclear if I\u2019ve gained the upper hand over the material or if it\u2019s got the better of me.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n RC: What\u2019s the first thing that comes to mind in hard times when you seem stuck in a rut and need to pull yourself together and get going.<\/strong><\/p>\n R\u0160: Once, I believed in a single truth but now I know better. I know everything is relative. And that other perspectives have the right to exist. It\u2019s such a liberating thought!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36584,"parent":32825,"menu_order":98,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34154","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/r2-489x560.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Rothko-475x560.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n