Glazed in Memory:

An Artist’s Tribute to Culture and Community

Have you ever caught a tantalizing aroma drifting through the air that transported you to a moment when food was the heart of your world? Imagine walking toward a backyard gathering and picking up the rich, distinctive scent of fire-roasted meat, smoke weaving through the laughter and shared conversation. For ceramic artist Marina Caliari, these powerful, sensory memories became the inspiration for her exhibition, “Sunday Lunch.”

Marina’s captivating collection doesn’t merely suggest the intoxicating smells of her Brazilian grandmothers’ Sunday feasts, it transforms our sensory images of sound, taste, and texture into a visual and tactile experience. Through mirror-like glazes that capture the gleaming surfaces of ripe fruits, olive oil or the vibrant ceramic interpretations of garlic cloves and silvery fish, her work brings the warmth and abundance of family gatherings to life. “Sunday Lunch” is currently showing at the Art Gallery at the Nevada City Winery . Visitors can enjoy a steaming cup of mulled wine while immersing themselves in this tribute to family bonds and community connection.

Following a visit to the Art Gallery at the Nevada City Winery, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marina. Our discussion gravitated towards her works, the emotions she felt that brought her to this exhibit, her history, and then moved into deep conversations about the importance of community. The many brightly glazed papaya wall hangings are a homage to Marina’s paternal Grandma, Maura. Maura held a passion for papayas and would eat them whole, seeds and all, believing “they were good for your insides.”

Photo: Papaya

Creating the “Sunday Lunch” exhibit was a deeply grounding experience for Marina. As an immigrant from Brazil, living through these uncertain and difficult times, she sometimes feels a hopelessness pressing in at the edges of her life. In response, she began shaping memories into physical form, letting clay hold what distance and harmful politics cannot take away. Piece by piece, she returned to the feeling of a sunlit Sunday lunch with her grandmothers and extended family in Brazil. That was a world where she felt protected and certain that everything was going to be okay. Her work becomes both refuge and reminder; even when home is far away, its rituals and relationships can still hold you.

On her website, Marina describes her show as:

A pledge for community and an intent to convey a message that culture comes from a deep-rooted place. Culture needs a soul; it needs to be built layer by layer with conversations, music, and food, and it cannot be picked apart and have unwanted parts discarded. It is, in fact, the antidote for any individualistic society and the best way to celebrate our stories and to cultivate mutual understanding.

Photo: Pomegranates

For her, this isn’t an abstract statement, it’s a response to the experience of being an immigrant in a world that often fragments identity. By insisting that culture is whole, alive, and built through communion with others, “Sunday Lunch” offers a quiet but powerful counterpoint to fear and isolation. It invites viewers to consider how honoring each other’s full stories might open more space for empathy, belonging, and connection.

This philosophy comes to life most clearly around the table. Marina loves food, especially slow food, because it forces us to linger. If you are peeling crab or crawfish, you are peeling, the other person is peeling; hands are busy, so your attention turns to conversation. You slow down. She draws the same parallel with making ceramics: working the clay, repeating gestures, allowing time to stretch so that stories and emotions can surface. In both the kitchen and the studio, slowness becomes an antidote to a fast, fragmented society. Around food, as around art, people gather, talk, remember, and listen. “Sunday Lunch” reminds us that community is something we build together, layer by layer, until hope starts to feel possible again.

Photo: Sardines

Marina earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Federal University of Espírito Santo in Brazil. She then pursued postgraduate studies in conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in Barcelona, Spain. During her nine years there, Marina worked as a restorer, teacher, and artist.

In Spain, Marina developed an interest in building and redefining shrines. After restoring and writing papers on them, she sought to move beyond their traditional role as religious icons. Marina wanted to create intimate shrines; pieces others could personally relate to. She began creating them with a focus on community. I quote from her website:

When I was living in Spain I made a series of small shrines and hung them on the walls of a gallery in Barcelona. I invited the visitors to place a loving object or something they were carrying in the shrines for a little while. There was a lipstick in one, a love note on another, key chains, a small photo...

It was really interesting to see how my shrines became somebody else’s shrines the moment these personal objects were placed in them. Also, I love the idea of shrines being portable, maybe because I moved so much throughout my life, and it’s comforting to know I can always have a familiar space to pay homage to something or someone, whenever I am.
I think they embellish our ceremonies. They frame our intentions, and that can be a beautiful thing.

A Shrine for Rain

I invite you to visit Marina’s website to learn more about her practice. Take a moment to appreciate how deeply her ideas about culture, memory, and community are woven into her art. As you view the exhibit, be sure to pause at the ceramic hangings that are shrines and reflect on their titles; here, you will certainly find how emotions inform the creation of these intimate pieces.

When you stop in at Nevada City Winery, you’ll find not only an inviting environment, fine wine and locally crafted gifts, but, until January 19th, Marina’s ceramic hanging works will be on display. Like the ritual of Sunday lunch, may we take time to slow down, and share what matters. Let us pause and reconnect with what truly nourishes us: diverse stories, shared memories, meaningful relationships, and our collective human story.

As the holidays approach, “Sunday Lunch” offers a thoughtful alternative to hurried, impersonal shopping. Marina’s ceramic pieces are available for purchase, making them meaningful gifts for friends and family, or cherished additions to your own home. A gleaming papaya, a small shrine, or a platter of fish on your wall can become a daily reminder of warmth, tradition, and connection. This season, consider choosing art that tells a story and supports a working artist in our community. Visit Nevada City Winery, enjoy a glass of wine, linger with the art, and perhaps leave with a gift that keeps the spirit of Sunday lunch and of community alive all year long.

Marina Caliari’s Website: www.studio-caliari.com

Marina’s Instagram: studiocaliari

Nevada City Winery: 321 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA

Poem, Immigrants painted and written on clay by Marina Caliari