Hollywood Graphic Designer Tina Charad Turns to Ceramics

Tina Charad, a 51-year-old graphic designer for film and television, has expanded her practice to ceramics, creating decorative and politically charged works in her Pasadena studio. Born in South Africa and a graduate of Chelsea School of Art in London, Charad has designed signage, murals, and other graphic elements for films including Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, La La Land, The Batman, and Maleficent. She took up ceramics to get off the computer, initially making 'terrible bowls' but loving the process. After her husband's death nine years ago, ceramics became a way to process grief. Her work, which includes plates, bowls, vases, wall hangings, and ceramic cats, is sold at Pierce & Ward, a Los Angeles design studio. Upcoming exhibitions include a pop-up at Clare V in Los Angeles in September and a show at Knysna Fine Art in Knysna, South Africa, in 2027. Charad cites artists Jennifer Rochlin, Hylton Nel, and Daisy Makeig-Jones as influences, and her pieces often incorporate humorous, poetic texts that explore hypocrisy and vanity. She continues to work in graphic design for financial reasons but is increasingly invested in her ceramic practice.