These Playful Ceramic Sculptures By Nastia Calaca Are Bursting With Personality (30 Pics)

Nastia Calaca is a Ukrainian ceramic artist based in Paris who found her true passion in ceramics. For over 11 years, she has been making playful and unique ceramic sculptures that bring her creative ideas to life. What began as illustrations of characters from stories transformed into real, touchable sculptures—each piece full of personality and charm.

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Bored Pandareached out to Nastia to learn more about her artistic journey and process.The artist mentioned that she can’t pinpoint exactly when or where her journey as an artist began. “Maybe it was a magical coincidence or proof of the determinism theory, depending on what you believe,” she shared. “But, my grandmother took me to the nearest art school in the neighborhood, with the hope I could finally stop vandalizing our small apartment with the doodles on the wallpaper, furniture, a neighbor’s cat, several hamsters, and other objects that looked boring to me and needed compulsory improvement in the aesthetic matter.“RELATED:“So I’m a black sheep, a white crow, or whatever creature among my family because I’m the first and only one who decided to dive into the world of art.“Why ceramics specifically? Well, I fell in love with it while on a school trip to a summer art camp in Europe where I first visited the ceramic studio and met all these strange people who did not mind being fully covered in clay, wearing fancy protective masks and overall strange outfits, mixing some powders and mixtures in beautiful glass bottles, like some Medieval alchemists. They did not look glamorous at all, but quite exciting, creating this almost post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ vibe. Of course, being an impressionable youngster, I was immediately hooked!“Nastia’s ceramic sculptures have a fantasy-like quality, vibrant and unique. We asked her where she finds inspiration for her creations. “Despite the fact that I’m focused mainly on the anthropomorphic subject in my art, I do admire people and they have always been a great inspiration to me. People-watching while sitting in a bistro or visiting a museum is my favorite way of looking for inspiration.“Nastia shared that she often carries a small notebook to jot down her ideas and describe them in words. “If I can, I make a quick sketch as soon as possible, and if I’m not in the wild (Paris metro, for example).” At the studio, she turns these sketches into small clay miniatures, which help her better understand the proportions.“If I’m in a really playful mood, I start to sculpt right away, allowing myself to improvise. Usually, I love to procrastinate a couple of days before, so I accompany this process with test tiles and some extra research, checking anatomy books or looking through Victorian fashion catalogs or the Natural History Museum.“Nastia’s favorite part of the creative process is designing the characters. “Then I gradually and quickly start losing interest and try to push myself through the next stages, which are quite a lot: modeling with clay, cleaning (ugh), mixing glazes (oh no), painting, firing, glazing, making pictures, posting and telling about it (so people do not lose me in their feeds).“Nastia believes that an artist’s career is challenging and requires hard work, discipline, and patience. “You have to fight imposter syndrome, copycats and IG algorithms; you also face the heartless fragility and gravity of cracked pots, hot kilns, and electricity bills.” However, if you’re an aspiring ceramic artist, Nastia invites you to imagine this: “You are wearing a pair of magic goggles that make everything look different, allowing you to look at things from an unusual perspective, and transform imaginary things into real ones.“It is about fun, a flexible timetable, living the life you want to live and doing the things you believe in, endless creativity and potential of learning and growing, and seeing people’s positive feedback - how can anybody possibly resist? Also, you can performa trick of escaping in a dust cloud if you do not feel comfortable. Try it!“Nastia also offers a beginners' ceramic course that walks you through the basics and helps you build confidence. Check it outhereand take the first step toward turning your ceramic dreams into reality!See Also on Bored PandaSee Also on Bored Panda

Playful ceramic sculpture of an alligator in a striped suit and top hat, set against a floral patterned background.

Bored Pandareached out to Nastia to learn more about her artistic journey and process.

The artist mentioned that she can’t pinpoint exactly when or where her journey as an artist began. “Maybe it was a magical coincidence or proof of the determinism theory, depending on what you believe,” she shared. “But, my grandmother took me to the nearest art school in the neighborhood, with the hope I could finally stop vandalizing our small apartment with the doodles on the wallpaper, furniture, a neighbor’s cat, several hamsters, and other objects that looked boring to me and needed compulsory improvement in the aesthetic matter.”

Playful ceramic sculpture of a rhino in colorful attire, set against a vibrant floral background.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a purple fox with a whimsical design by Nastia Calaca.

“So I’m a black sheep, a white crow, or whatever creature among my family because I’m the first and only one who decided to dive into the world of art.“Why ceramics specifically? Well, I fell in love with it while on a school trip to a summer art camp in Europe where I first visited the ceramic studio and met all these strange people who did not mind being fully covered in clay, wearing fancy protective masks and overall strange outfits, mixing some powders and mixtures in beautiful glass bottles, like some Medieval alchemists. They did not look glamorous at all, but quite exciting, creating this almost post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ vibe. Of course, being an impressionable youngster, I was immediately hooked!”

“So I’m a black sheep, a white crow, or whatever creature among my family because I’m the first and only one who decided to dive into the world of art.

“Why ceramics specifically? Well, I fell in love with it while on a school trip to a summer art camp in Europe where I first visited the ceramic studio and met all these strange people who did not mind being fully covered in clay, wearing fancy protective masks and overall strange outfits, mixing some powders and mixtures in beautiful glass bottles, like some Medieval alchemists. They did not look glamorous at all, but quite exciting, creating this almost post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ vibe. Of course, being an impressionable youngster, I was immediately hooked!”

Playful ceramic sculpture by Nastia Calaca featuring a whimsical, colorfully dressed animal figure.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a pigeon in a blue suit with a yellow hat.

Nastia’s ceramic sculptures have a fantasy-like quality, vibrant and unique. We asked her where she finds inspiration for her creations. “Despite the fact that I’m focused mainly on the anthropomorphic subject in my art, I do admire people and they have always been a great inspiration to me. People-watching while sitting in a bistro or visiting a museum is my favorite way of looking for inspiration.”

Playful ceramic sculpture by Nastia Calaca featuring a whimsical creature with yellow and orange details.

Ceramic sculpture of an alligator in a swimsuit holding a life ring, by Nastia Calaca.

Nastia shared that she often carries a small notebook to jot down her ideas and describe them in words. “If I can, I make a quick sketch as soon as possible, and if I’m not in the wild (Paris metro, for example).” At the studio, she turns these sketches into small clay miniatures, which help her better understand the proportions.“If I’m in a really playful mood, I start to sculpt right away, allowing myself to improvise. Usually, I love to procrastinate a couple of days before, so I accompany this process with test tiles and some extra research, checking anatomy books or looking through Victorian fashion catalogs or the Natural History Museum.”

“If I’m in a really playful mood, I start to sculpt right away, allowing myself to improvise. Usually, I love to procrastinate a couple of days before, so I accompany this process with test tiles and some extra research, checking anatomy books or looking through Victorian fashion catalogs or the Natural History Museum.”

Playful ceramic sculpture by Nastia Calaca featuring a whimsical creature with large ears and a quirky expression.

Playful ceramic sculpture of an animal with a striped shirt and blue pants, created by Nastia Calaca.

Nastia’s favorite part of the creative process is designing the characters. “Then I gradually and quickly start losing interest and try to push myself through the next stages, which are quite a lot: modeling with clay, cleaning (ugh), mixing glazes (oh no), painting, firing, glazing, making pictures, posting and telling about it (so people do not lose me in their feeds).”

Playful ceramic sculpture with whimsical design, featuring unique creature, colorful clothing, and intricate background detail.

Playful ceramic sculpture of an alligator in a colorful outfit by Nastia Calaca, standing on a table with papers around.

Nastia believes that an artist’s career is challenging and requires hard work, discipline, and patience. “You have to fight imposter syndrome, copycats and IG algorithms; you also face the heartless fragility and gravity of cracked pots, hot kilns, and electricity bills.” However, if you’re an aspiring ceramic artist, Nastia invites you to imagine this: “You are wearing a pair of magic goggles that make everything look different, allowing you to look at things from an unusual perspective, and transform imaginary things into real ones.“It is about fun, a flexible timetable, living the life you want to live and doing the things you believe in, endless creativity and potential of learning and growing, and seeing people’s positive feedback - how can anybody possibly resist? Also, you can performa trick of escaping in a dust cloud if you do not feel comfortable. Try it!“Nastia also offers a beginners' ceramic course that walks you through the basics and helps you build confidence. Check it outhereand take the first step toward turning your ceramic dreams into reality!

“It is about fun, a flexible timetable, living the life you want to live and doing the things you believe in, endless creativity and potential of learning and growing, and seeing people’s positive feedback - how can anybody possibly resist? Also, you can performa trick of escaping in a dust cloud if you do not feel comfortable. Try it!”

Nastia also offers a beginners' ceramic course that walks you through the basics and helps you build confidence. Check it outhereand take the first step toward turning your ceramic dreams into reality!

Playful ceramic sculpture of a hippo in colorful clothing, created by Nastia Calaca.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a capybara figure by Nastia Calaca, wearing a striped outfit against a floral background.

Playful ceramic owl sculpture by Nastia Calaca, featuring pastel colors and intricate detailing.

A playful ceramic sculpture of a cartoonish animal wearing a striped outfit and hat by Nastia Calaca.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a fish wearing a coat and hat, designed by Nastia Calaca.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a whimsical animal by Nastia Calaca.

Playful ceramic sculpture by Nastia Calaca featuring a quirky yellow creature with big eyes and ears on a patterned background.

Playful ceramic sculpture of a whimsical creature with large eyes and patterned texture by Nastia Calaca.

Playful ceramic sculpture by Nastia Calaca, featuring a whimsical creature with glasses and a yellow hat.