The hands of a special artist from Deruta

My mother Elena Niccacci was born and raised in Deruta. She started her career when she was only 11 years old by finding a paint brush in the streets of Deruta. She got interested in the art and fell in love with ceramics while climbing to the windows of the closest workshop near her home, where she would spend everlasting minutes watching the artists at work.

Elena has learned the art from another lady artist from Deruta. At that time pupils went to the houses of their teachers located downtown Deruta. Her teacher, Mrs.Giulia Furesco, who worked for the Grazia Factory, was like a mother for her. 

At the age of 14 she applied to be an apprentice at the "Ars Artigiana"  factory, a well known workshop which has stopped the production around the year 2000 and located on the way to downtown Deruta. She is very proud that she was always among the painters selected to make the samples for the fair in Milan.

When she got married to my father, Elena left "Ars Artigiana" to join "Cama Deruta"  early 1960s. At Cama she has made all the samples and the tracing papers that you have been admiring in the past 30 years in the United States without copying any other workshop. She has created her own style.

Elena is specialized in traditional Deruta patterns. At first glance it is hard to detect why her work is so beautiful. But with the passing of time, the comparison with other similar interpretations, you may notice the difference.

Her work  together with the help of her assistants has a consistency which is difficult for other workshops to achieve. Elena is a hard worker besides being creative and her hands talk for her. She is passionate about her art!

Congratulations for all the work you have done so far. We look forward to enjoying your art for more years to come.

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Elena Niccacci, owner of Cama since 1971. Photos of her hands. In 2009 she celebrated 60 years of work in the ceramics art. See her creations at www.camaderuta.com (photos will be completed asap).

Ars Artigiana Deruta: Ars stands for "Art" in English from the Latin Ars, Artis.
Cama is the acronym for Cooperativa Artigiana Maioliche Artistiche.