Handmade Wadi Kelt Serving Tray

Levona is a gifted ceramic artist who established her ceramic business, Local Ceramics in the Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin in the beautiful Judea Hills about 40 minutes south of Jerusalem.

Bat Ayin is more than home for Levona, it is the inspiration behind her handmade ceramic works. Walks in the beautiful hills that surround her home and her ability to experience the natural beauty all around her, inspires Levona in all her creations.

Levona’s studio, which she shares with a friend, is located in a small forest that is also home to organic grape and olive vineyards and ancient archaeological sites dating to the First Temple period. As she sits at her ceramic wheel she is able to look out across a field of olive trees, lavender, and other Israeli wildflowers.

Levona’s attachment to and love for Israel is expressed through her art as she intentionally uses Israeli clay for her creations, just as it has been used by generations past. She takes inspiration from the lives of the Jewish people in the land of Israel and many of her pieces are informed by Israel’s history.

Levona uses glaze to create a feeling reminiscent of a desert and water which reminds her of her childhood home near Wadi Kelt, a lush stream in the Judean desert, and is evocative of the blue skies that she sees from her studio.