Inside the Art Deco Apartment of Ceramicist Tatsiana Shevarenkova
Images by Saskia Wilson
This week we visit the beautiful harbourside home of Tatsiana Shevarenkova, founder of the coveted ceramics brand COSSET. Tatsiana’s art deco building was completed in the 1930’s and has views out to Sydney harbour, a lush garden, and a shared sea pool making it an incredibly tightly held block. We spent some time with Tatsiana soaking up the afternoon sun in the backyard with two pieces from the COSSET collection and chatted to her about life in Elizabeth Bay, her creative practice, and two upcoming exhibitions.
An archival image of the ‘Edgewater’ building taken in 1937 by Sam Hood seen alongside Tatsiana holding her ‘Arimida’ sculpture and wearing a IN BED 100% linen robe and slip dress in dove grey.
“Edgewater is an Art Deco building on a quiet street in Elizabeth Bay. It’s our second rental place in Sydney. I, and my beautiful partner, Troy, couldn’t resist the water view, the garden, and the harbour pool the moment we inspected the place over a year ago. Although it’s located in the city, it somehow feels secluded and private. Maybe it doesn’t sound like much, but I like that the space is always the perfect temperature through all seasons. Night swims in the summer are also not taken for granted.”
Tatsiana’s bed is dressed in a 100% linen duvet, flat sheet, fitted sheet and pillowslips in stone.
“I likely spend more time in the bedroom than anywhere else in the apartment. Occasionally I get to enjoy sunlight stretching beside me in bed when sleeping in on weekends. Often working late, it’s important for me to wind down after a busy day or night in the studio. To create a relaxing mood I almost permanently have candles lit. Soft light makes admin work a little more tolerable. However, my favourite object is an El Lissitzky inspired lamp I made for my partner’s birthday. I have the rare pleasure of actually owning and using one of my pieces.”
I likely spend more time in the bedroom than anywhere else in the apartment.
“I cherish the quirky light made by my close friend, EJ. It’s a male torso with a light bulb instead of the head and a rooster/chicken head instead of genitals. A unique book collection that is 99% not mine but serves me as a personal library. Troy has been collecting them for years from around the world. And plants, my alternative to pets that bring me so much joy”
“I find Elizabeth Bay and Potts Point one of the nicest areas to live in Sydney. Weekly we embarrass ourselves at Rushcutters tennis court. And we often spend time at Arthur McElhone reserve next to Elizabeth Bay house to feed the goldfish.”
Pictured above is Tatsiana’s beautiful ‘The Pose’ vase available in white & terracotta.
“COSSET is finally keeping up with demand now that I have some assistance with production. Hopefully, it'll allow me to produce more works available for sale and concentrate on larger, sculptural objects. I'm also excited for my upcoming solo show early next year in Saint Cloche Gallery, where I’ll exhibit some new shapes. Lastly, I have a show at Single Person Gallery in Shanghai in the next few months. It’s been a busy year.”
While Tatsiana’s practice is highly creative, her thought process also extends to the environment and incorporates production techniques that make the development of each object as sustainable as possible.
“As a business, it’s irresponsible not to think about your environmental footprint. Luckily, working with clay you have a chance to recycle, rework and reuse what you’ve been working on. Once something has been fired it can’t be recycled so I never fire works that I’m not confident about. Nonetheless, when I do, I do earthenware single firings which consume less energy.”
As a business, it’s irresponsible not to think about your environmental footprint.
“[For the New Year] I think my resolution is to be more gentle with myself. As in, it’s okay to take time to develop a piece rather than work frantically all the time. To me, quality is more important than quantity. I look forward to potentially travelling again in 2022 and visiting my family too.”
Tatsiana’s bed is dressed in a 100% linen duvet, flat sheet, fitted sheet and pillowslips in stone.