Stepping into the Workshop of San Lázaro Streetæthis sort of temple where daily tribute is paid to art and friendshipæwas a nice experience to me, there Raciel Feria and her work team fires clay to turn it into a variety of artistically crafted pieces. It was right in the midst of this atmosphere where the first meeting with the artist’s work took place. Represented in plates and sculptural pieces, Mother Nature is present in a wide range of motifs: the sun, the moon, the sea, land, air, a wide assortment of fishes, algae and shells; exotic peacocks and, especially, flowers.

A Chant to Mother Nature During our conversation, some features of his art were exposed that explained by themselves his art from the concept standpoint: "no human being can be alien to the sea; I believe that a considerable part of my work is the result of a pact with Yemayá: the reiterated motif of the water, the need to get deeper into its mystery and essences, has become a sort of challenge to me." The floweræthe maximum expression of what is beautiful and humaneæin its variety of types, shades, colors and forms, is also a reiterative theme; it is precisely one of his dearest aims to "capture the vitality of nature," that is why his work is a "chant to water, the sun, the moon, the flowers, enabling us the enjoyment of life". His exhibition dedicated to the Environment World Day, shows the true value of an ecological message.

Artistic Trajectory Raciel Feria’s artistic trajectory is marked by the imprint of several stages that he describes as crucial. The first one was the years of his childhood spent in the little village of Banes, in the eastern province of Holguín, where he used to play with little remaining pieces and items which evoked the aboriginal pottery. Then a second period took place, when he became art instructor and came to Havana and studied History of Art, thus complementing his self-taught studies. He regards this stage of his life, as one of the most beautiful of his artistic career since all his efforts were geared to train new values. He also believed that there was a third significant moment, his work in the Fondo de Bienes Culturales (Cultural Assets Fund) and the Centro de Diseño Ambiental (Center of Enviromental Design), in conjunction with noted personalities in the field of culture with whom they shared the beautiful task of leading, in particular, the atmosphere of tourism facilities. Since 1980, this has been the artist’s main endeavor. As long as he has been gaining knowledge, Raciel Feria’s particular artistic work has been gradually upgraded. Today his last exhibition –The Fourth World–, shows how the forces or elements of Mother Nature are conjugated to be recreated and transcended in plastic arts and in poetry.

In 1998, Raciel was trained in different artistic techniques on ceramics in Imola and Faenza ,(Italy). In 1999, he attended an exchange of techniques of crafted ceramics in Colombia. His works have been on display in collections held in Cuba and abroad; many of them are found in private collections in France, the United States, Spain, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Germany, etc. His works can be seen rendering a special atmosphere in hotels such as Tryp Cayo Coco and Club Med, Sol Club Las Sirenas and Paradisus in Varadero, among others; also in the decoration of Julito Díaz Hospital, the scientific institutions of the Council of Ministers and the Metropolitan Park of Havana.