There is a legend. Beautiful women lived as stars in the sky. Once in a while they descended to earth using woven chaguar ropes to eat fish caught by fishermen. Men discovered this and used birds to cut the ropes, trapping the celestial beauties on earth. So the women stayed. Not only they stayed, but continued weaving and passed on their heavenly knowledge to their daughters.

Clément Bataille’s art breathes a mystical, dreamlike tension, where sacred rites and childhood memories intermingle in silent figures and dark, reverent spaces. Each painting feels like a confined world barely holding its secrets, a reverent yet tender rebellion, both intimate and magnificent.

A historian by education, a painter and a ceramicist, Bataille likens his artistic process to the disciplined repetition of a mediaeval copyist monk. Influenced by Italian primitive art and Byzantine icons, his work often juxtaposes the structured beauty of these traditions with modern digital imagery.

Painting by Georg Baselitz. "Reiter Im Schnee" ("Rider in the Snow").

Moving through their studio, Kami Mierzvvinsk creates a story which each of us can interpret as their own: each brushstroke a quiet invocation, each canvas a portal to something just out of reach.

They paint from memory. But not from memories they could name. It is the memory of things felt but never seen, a whisper of the world beyond the senses, a place the soul had known before the body took shape.

A documentary photographer, Tahmineh Monzavi follows and captures the lives and realities of Iran: male taylors sewing bridal dresses; drug addicts, some of whom successfully go through rehabs, while most don't, continuing lives tinted by violence, addiction and poverty; a transgender woman in a threateningly, even deadly intolerant society.

The scary stories, the dark stories, the sad stories, some with a glimpse of light, all very real and intense.

Her eyes are green with the slightest shade of brown. And warm. 

Warm is her soft voice and the soft, cozy, tactile wall art that she creates. 

She is Vanessa Barragao, a textile artist from sunny Albufeira. 

In the spacious, white studio, full of air and light, I am welcomed by a friendly Catarina, who introduces me to Vanessa. 

It was not that long ago, Catarina tells me, that they moved to this new, big studio. The previous one was too small for Vanessa's art: her wall pieces need enough space and proper lighting to blossom with their full tactile, warm and gently-colored potential. 

There is something special about Max Weiler's works. He did not simply paint nature; rather, he would “re-create nature without imitating its outward form" and "evoke the atmosphere, the moods, the essence of trees, grasses, and natural elements, using forms entirely [his] own” (Max Weiler, *Tag- und Nachthefte*, 1972).

Through his process, he discovered that the real power of transformation comes from the colors he chooses and the shapes he creates. Their soft, shifting, almost liquid nature is what makes the change possible.

Expressive, unique jewelry has a life and a history of its own. 

It is not unusual for earrings to become a literal part of us, like totemic tattoos: we wear them every day, we wear them when we sleep, we wear them when we shower (albeit that is not the best idea for the durability and looks of precious metals and stones). 

Jewels become parts of us.

Our ornaments.

Our quiet companions.

Our shadows. 

And a silent means to communicate our moods, tastes, stories and ideas about beauty to the outside world.

Funda Baysal, a ceramic and model maker based in Rotterdam, brings to ceramics a distinct approach with her exploration of the intricate dynamics between individuals and their surroundings. 

Funda’s creative practice is deeply influenced by her observations of daily life and internal sensations. In her process, Funda employs various materials, tools, and methods of heat application, creating pieces that reflect moments of learning and discovery, as well as the time and dedication invested in the craft.

Diango Hernández's interpretation of the underwater world is mesmerizing. I am transported to the bottom of the clearest water spring. All I can see are the contours of a female figure, but it is enough to ignite my imagination. I find myself drawn into a whirlpool of speculation: Is she in love, I wonder, or is she grappling with some hidden pain? Is she lost in dreamy reverie, or is there a quiet intensity simmering beneath the surface?