Ceramicist
brighten somebody’s day,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of low times in my life, and I felt really strong and in a position to support others.
“There are times when you’re in a position to support and there are other times when you need all the hugs and all the love you can get. When I feel strong I try to offer it up and dancing makes me feel better.”
Strega Studios
Long before OrlandoLalaguna’s fingers felt and morphed clay, she spent her adolescence with her toes in the mud and gathering local plants.
This seeded appreciation for the gifts Mother Nature provides has carried on into her adulthood, artwork and day-to-day musings.
Now, the long-time Chico ceramic artist brings her spirited creations to a new home she fondly titled, Strega Studios.
Orlando-Lalaguna’s artwork and home goods have always been rooted in nature and capturing those medicinal, spiritual and healing properties is a talent she practices daily. So it was appropriate she titled her new studio Strega which signifies a woman who works with magic and nature.
In short, it translates to a witch.
It’s a name that pays homage to her Italian lineage, and one that suits the artist and her line of work.
Orlando-Lalaguna still makes it into her studio five days aweek after taking the mornings to home school her two kiddos, switching around noon with her husband so she can make time to create.
“I’ve been building this business one brick at a time,” she said. “I wasn’t able to swing having this new studio and the job and the kids. Something had to give.”
Starting this new studio venture propelled Orlando-Lalaguna to solely pursue her ceramics career and leave the Lulu’smarketing teamwhere she worked for 10 years.
The upgradedworkspace now allows room for multiple projects, other makers, workshops and guests to bask in a creative space nurtured by art lovers.
From molding her clay, glazing and firing, there is always something to do.
“It keeps my mind from going stale,” she explained. “I don’t like monotonous work, I like it to an extent like I don’t mind doing this or that, but at some point, I get a new idea and I just have to follow it.”
The extra time has allowed Orlando-Lalaguna to focus on her new wares and also harness her majestic craft like continuing to expand her growing library of imprinted molds of flowers and plants she forged in
Chico.
Each plant embodies a medicinal, spiritual or healing property and often shows up in various creations of hers. The artist often blends thesemoldswith her hand sculpted designs.
Since she spends somuch time in the kitchen, a lot of her works are whimsical and beautiful cookware or tools, as well as ornaments, mugs, vases and ornamental wall art.
Lately, the artist’s color palette has been transitioning with the seasons. With spring’s arrival, OrlandoLalaguna has been adding rainbow designs to her latest creations.
“Just being full- time now, I have the time to explore,” she said. “I can really explore an idea pretty fully andnot necessarily get tired of it, but new ideas are popping in my head so fast and I want to take time to explore the ones I got but move onto to this newwork and explore that.
To find more of Sienna Ceramics & Strega Studios, visit facebook.com/siennaceramics and Instagram @ siennaceramics and@stregastudios.