All handmade ceramics are fired at a wonderful community studio called Fahrenheit Ceramics Studio located in Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles. My first memory of clay begun when I was a child, creating sculptures with blue-clay (blå lera) that was formed at certain areas at the bottom of the lake Fryken.
Centering and pulling clay…
As a teenager I got a summer job at a local ceramic artist studio in Lysvik, Värmland, Solsieg. There I spent weeks brushing on glaze on the intricate wall art she famously made. But it wasn’t until later in life I begun with ceramics myself. I was in my late thirties when I took my first wheel-throwing class at a small residential pottery studio in Tribeca, NYC. I was immediately hooked! My first teacher, Rachel, was very encouraging, and a humble artist herself. She taught me not to be too afraid of creating mistakes. But only after a few classes I had to stop due to physical ailments and time constraints as a working mom. I had also developed carpal tunnel from too much computer and ceramics was not helping. But after relocating to Los Angeles and a studio opened at a walking distance from my home, I just had to dive into it again. Now, all my spare time I spend throwing or “playing with clay,” just like I did as a child.
My upbringing in Sweden exposed me to the clean and modern Scandinavian architecture and day to day table-ware designs from Arabia, Höganäs and Rörstrand. My inspiration also comes from clean lines of Japanese ceramics and the vases used in Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arrangement.
I find the process of wheel-thrown ceramics to be very meditative. My approach as a potter is to me a “journey without a goal” – It’s not the outcome that is important, it’s the process itself that is! Everything from wedging and centering the clay, to trimming and glazing the ceramics. I also try to recycle all my used clay and see that as a part of the journey as well. If I happen to produce something that to me is beautiful, it’s very fulfilling and gives me such joy to share this with others!
/Sara
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