Anastasiia Shmelkova (b. 1991) began her artistic path in Russia, where she studied graphic design at Yekaterinburg Art College and worked in the field for several years. After moving to Israel, she turned to ceramics and graduated from the Department of Ceramics and Glass at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem (2024). She has exhibited in Israel and internationally.
Her practice is grounded in sculptural porcelain and stoneware, exploring adaptation, memory, and transformation. She approaches clay as a collaborator, allowing its reactions and fragility to shape the outcome. She also engages in material research, studying clay bodies and glazes to better understand their behavior. Working with ceramics gives her both an artistic language and a way to cope with the surrounding world, where escapism becomes not only a theme but also a method of slowing down, listening to the material, and creating space for reflection and resilience.