Hand Made Ceramic Yüklü Collection Vase by İpek Afacan.Dimensions: W 20 x D 19 x H 32 cmMaterials: Hand made ceramic. About:Born in 1995 in Türkiye’s Black Sea region, the artist spent her childhood in Darahta—an ancient Greek plateau—surrounded by nature and animals. This early bond with the natural world continues to influence her work in form and spirit. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts with a degree in Ceramics and Glass and later settled in Cappadocia, where she met her husband, ceramic artist Aydın Afacan. There, she began to develop her artistic practice, creating large-scale pieces such as tile vase and amphoras reaching up to one and a half meters in length. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions. During her pregnancy, she created the “Yüklü Collection”—a deeply personal series of 40 hand-shaped ceramic objects. “Yüklü,” a folk term used in Anatolia to describe pregnant women, reflects both the physical and emotional weight of that period in her life. The pieces were shaped entirely by hand and achieved their deep black tones through a traditional reduction firing technique, where fire and smoke leave permanent traces on the clay. The artist continues her creative journey in her studios in Cappadocia, drawing inspiration from the land, life, and the stories carried within.