claystudies

[claystudies]

Images: Jo Davies / Text: Anke Buchmann, Jo Davies

In the studio with Jo Davies

Last week I was fortunate to visit Jo Davies in her studio at the Chocolate Factory in Stoke Newington, London.

Jo Davies is an award-winning, London based ceramicist, with years of experience and craftsmanship. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2007 and has a degree in 3D Design: Ceramics from Bath School of Art and Design. Jo specialises in wheel-thrown and hand-built porcelain. She recently had a solo show "Lines in Porcelain: Vessels and Light” at Circus Gallery on Marylebone High Street.

CS: Thanks so much for having me here today at your studio. What I really like about your work is the combination of craftsmanship and energy. You enhance perfect, regular shapes by embracing irregularity and asymmetry, which leads to pieces that seem to be alive, fluid, full of positive energy.

CS: On a scale from 1 to 10, how happy or satisfied does your job make you?

JD: Well, probably an average of 8.7 most of the time. But occasionally it is more a 2.5. These are the days when you have worked really hard, you have been to a show and sold one thing. Fortunately this mostly doesn’t happen and, for the most part, things go well.

I am happy doing this work. I am happy in this studio. I am happy with my own company. Yeah it’s more good than bad. It’s more 8.7 days than 2.5 days.

‘I quite like the clay looking liquid.’

CS: You describe that you are interested in the ‘exploration of the material qualities of clay’. Can you talk a bit more about the process of this exploration?

JD: Well, when I am throwing there is a lot happening. I am always quite aware of my body and using it as whole to throw the clay – a shift of body weight or standing up to work. The exploration of these physical movements when throwing will change the shape of the clay and so I can explore the possibilities and the boundaries in this way. Ultimately I quite like the clay looking liquid when it’s finished. It should still look quite fluid in the final ceramic, quite soft, as it is when I’m throwing it.

CS: Your work is designed to feel very liquid, satin and tactile. The look is equally important to the feel. What makes your work unique or special? What is it about?

JD: I’m really interested in the clay looking like it’s been handled, like it’s still soft clay, and creating work that doesn’t look like it’s been machined. Often that comes about through the use of exaggerated throwing lines as well as some inefficient making processes to create work that appears to move organically. There’s a balancing act between geometrical forms and organic shapes – too organic and the object starts to feel unwieldy, too geometric and it starts to feel too still or as if it could have been made by a machine.

I use quite a lot of water when I am throwing porcelain, which isn't technically what you are supposed to do, but I know it gives me this liquidity that I’m after . I have arrived at a point where I have mastered using the very wet porcelain in larger quantities so it works for me and gives the work a unique feel.

‘Porcelain was in the air.’

CS: Why did you choose to work with porcelain rather than another clay?

JD: I think when I was at Bath School of Art it was something that was in the air. Porcelain was in the air. So I started dabbling with that. And then I quite liked the idea that you could use a clay that was its own colour and surface finish when it was fired. So that was appealing, of at least having the option of not glazing. Although everything I do now is glazed. It’s also because of the refinement of the material, it’s a smooth and elastic material that’s beautiful to throw. It stretches and moves at every stage.

CS: What artists or designers have inspired you most along the way?

JD: That is always a tricky question to answer actually, because there are so many people. But right at the start I liked Barbara Nanning - a Canadian artist. Her forms seem to defy gravity and she was quite influential on me. Louise Bourgeois was also influential as a character, her attitude, as well as her art, are massively inspiring. These days there are obviously a lot of people whose work I really respect and love but their work doesn't affect me in the same way as the early influences because I am in my own aesthetic trajectory. Plus with age I have found it harder to be as in awe.

CS: What is for you the most favourite part of the process?

JD: Actually working on the wheel. When I am developing something new on the wheel and it is working there is an excitement to seeing it evolve. Quite often I work on new shapes and a lot of things don’t make it because they are heavily edited. However, I also know I sometimes have to let a new object sit there for a while in order to really consider it. This is because I am irrational at the point that I have just made something new and need to give myself time to think about it more logically. Every few weeks I am developing something new, or evolving work in progress, but because of this frequent but slow development there are some designs where it takes me years until I am happy. I might make something and then come back to it a few months later in order to refine it and work into it.

CS: How many hours do you spend on a cup from your collection, from wedging clay to taking it out of the kiln?

JD: For the journey of one cup I suppose, from wedging the clay, handling it, …stamping it, wiping it off, into the kiln, it gets glazed, in the kiln again… so yeah, probably about half an hour for a cup but across the course of about 2-3 weeks.. Other things would take much more time. I normally make cups in medium-sized batches.

‘Because I am here on my own, it can get quite intense.’

CS: How does a typical day look like for you?

JD: Typical days look like me getting into the studio between 9-10am and starting with writing a list of all the things I have to do and then cracking on with it. But, to be honest, there are not many typical days. Sometimes I spend a whole day in design development and sometimes I spend a whole day answering emails. This morning I answered a whole list of questions from a journalist, answered a customer about a possible commission, booked a hotel for the weekend. So sometimes my private life blends into my work life as well. I am quite self-motivated overall but I would usually start the day off with a few emails to keep on top of answering questions from customers, galleries and other enquiries. There are certain things that can’t wait and sometimes not answering within 24 hours looses the work, I can never lose track of the fact that this is both my passion and my livelihood.

CS: Are you good at stopping?

Yeah, I am good at stopping, I don’t really work into the evening and try not to work over the weekends but, because I am here on my own, it can get quite intense. I don’t take breaks a lot through the day but will be quite definite about time off and won’t allow that time to be encroached on. When you work for yourself it can be quite easy to end up without any boundaries, different pressures on your time taking you into the studio or elsewhere at all times through the week but I realized a while ago that I can say ‘no’, or arrange something on a day other than the one that’s being requested, without feeling obligated to give a reason!

CS: Can you talk me through your process when designing new pieces of work or when working on a commission?

JD: Sometimes I quickly sketch an idea. And yes, sometimes there will be research involved. It depends on the project and how technical it is. So my pendant lighting range has involved quite a lot of technical research but then a project from a few years ago with the William Morris Gallery involved a lot of more creative research and drawing prior to the making of the installation I produced. Mainly though I will sit down at the wheel to develop new work. That is like a sketchbook for me, developing 3D sketches.

CS: What do you recommend to an emerging ceramicist?

JD: Don’t give up! Just carry on doing what you love. It is very easy to think ‘I will do this thing on the side, something that people will like in order to make money’ but what sells your work is the fact that you love it. If you can learn to integrate both things, business and creativity, if there is a connection between the two, then that is going to be a success.

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Artist Website: http://www.jo-davies.com

Instagram: jo_davies_ceramics Masterclass with Jo Davies: https://vimeo.com/135448079

Upcoming Events for Jo Davies:

Lustre at Nottingham University

4-5 November One of the best mixed craft events in the UK

Future Icons Showcase, 67 York Street, London

6-11 November Future Icons presents the inaugural Winter Showcase of client collections at 67 York Street, Marylebone. For this occasion, Future Icons has selected key pieces from client collections for design savvy buyers to purchase in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Jo Davies Open Studio, Chocolate Factory N16, Farleigh Place, London, N16 7SX

25-26 November The Jo Davies studio is based at the Chocolate Factory when this Open weekend will offer work from 27 studios at this hidden gem in East London. This is also the only time to buy samples and seconds from the Jo Davies Studio.

Porcelain³ Jo Davies . Katharina Klug . Anja Lubach

Contemporary Ceramics Centre, London

15 Feb – 10 March  An Exhibition of Vessels by 3 contemporary porcelain ceramicists.

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Images: Anke Buchmann / Text: Anke Buchmann & Phoebe Cummings

The enduring effect of Phoebe Cummings’ temporary sculptures

A few month ago I was lucky enough to do an interview with Phoebe Cummings. Phoebe is a UK based ceramic artists. She was the winner of the British Ceramics Biennial Award in 2011 and recently has been nominated for the Woman's Hour Craft Prize. She is known for her unfired side-specific sculptures and installations made from raw clay. Her temporary site-specific works last only the duration of the exhibition. Below is an excerpt of the interview she gave.

CS: Thanks Phoebe for taking the time to talk to me today. What I find very interesting in your work is that you create pieces that emphasise the moment, the temporary. I think it is an important counterpart to our consumer driven world, where so much seems to be about what we own. I myself try to create work that focusses on the experience and often struggle with the idea to create even more objects to possess.

CS: Could you explain a bit more, why you chose to create unfired pieces of work? Were there also pragmatical or ecological reasons (storage, firing costs, land-fill) What are the advantages for you? What are the challenges?

A MOMENT, LIKE A DANCE PERFORMANCE

PC: It started out as a necessity after university, with me not having a studio, nor the money to make and fire but the wish to keep making. Now it became a conceptual approach - creating something that only lasts a moment, like a dance performance.

CS: Do you think that your audience gets a different experience from the raw and unfired work (compared to fired ceramics)?

PC: The visitors are confronted with the idea of momentariness and the idea, that things don't last forever. Some feel that it is a shame, that they can’t buy or collect the work.

CS: You have no studio and work often directly on site. How do you prepare your work and do you prototype or test build the work at all somewhere? Do you sketch everything out, do you do experiment with new methods or do you leave most to the work onsite?

PC: On site I usually do 1 to 3 weeks set up. Preparation happens through mood boards to get the idea across, showing directions or similar styles. It is hard to sketch down what’s in my head. I am making the moulds beforehand and sometimes start preparing small pieces like press mould leafs, which I keep wet, stored in boxes.

CERAMICS IN A NEW CONTEXT 

CS: I was reading that your work spreads across art and design. Does a distinction between art or design matter to you at all?  

PC: My work is inspired and influenced by design. I look at how design learns from nature or I look at historian ceramic design as well as decorative ceramics and let that inform my pieces. The results I create are then sculptural.

CS: In another interview you said*: ‘I’m interested in how making in suspended space alters the relationship between your body and the object.’ Can you explain more about this relationship?

PC: I am interested in placing ceramics in a new context. Usually it sits on a table, shelf or floor. But I want people to be able to walk around it, or along it or underneath it. I was wondering, how does it feel to have tones of clay above your head. I am interested in the performative aspect (for the audience).

Artist Website: http://www.phoebecummings.com

Other sources: http://www.sculpture.org

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Images: VICE creators / Text: Anke Buchmann

Water up to the neck

Even though the sculptures by Italian born artist Willy Verginer are made of locally grown wood and not clay, I felt the need to share them on claystudies.com. 

He uses the technique of half-dipping his figurative sculptures into dark paint to highlight our environmental issues. A technique used by ceramicists or potters to glaze contemporary functional ceramics or Raku objects for decorative purposes. 

With his work, he contributes to a discussion about nature, our relationship to the environment, our responsibility and the effect on future generations.

If you are close to Detroit go and check out his show at Wasserman Projects. 

More: https://creators.vice.com

Artist’s website: http://www.verginer.com

Gallery website: http://wassermanprojects.com

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Images: Jack Davison for The New York Times (E.d.Waal), Johannes Nagel (New Jazz), Keith Harrison (Last Supper) / Text: Anke Buchmann

What does the process got to do with the outcome?

Lately I finished a research paper on the question, ‘What is the relationship between process and outcome for Edmund de Waal, Johannes Nagel and Keith Harrison?’.  

The paper investigates the process of Edmund de Waal's, Johannes Nagel’s and Keith Harrison’s practice, looking at the basis of their process and its connection to their outcome. The text attempts to show how the process is driven by the artists concept and how the process determines the final work. All three artists uncover contemporary expressions through the medium clay, in the shape of large-scale forms, using conceptual thinking and informed research. Edmund de Waal is an artist as well as an historian of ceramics. He is widely known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels, which are a result of ‘iterative movements of arm, wrist and hand’, as he calls it (De Waal, Crichton-Miller, Glanville, 2014). Looking at his controlled process and methods guided by his conceptual thinking will show the immediate influences on the outcome of his practice, focussing on his later works. Keith Harrison is an artist who also creates large-scale installations for public galleries and Museums such as the V&A, producing site-specific time-based works. But his process- based live public experiments in which he investigates the physical transformation of clay from a raw state using different electrical systems, have a ‘quality of impermanence about them’ (V&A, 2016). Within the essay it will become evident that they focus on the process rather then a final product (Harrod, 2012). Last but not least Johannes Nagel a german ceramist ‘explores the vessel as an archetypal form where design and culture coalesce’. His practice embraces a dynamic and improvisational approach. ‘The final, finished installations are meant to evidence the process of their making.’ The essay will shed light on how he achieves that (Alexa, 2015).

Please email me, if you want to read the whole research paper. 

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Text & Images: Anke Buchmann showing Paul Scott, Costa Concordia, 2014, Paul Scott, Refugee Series No 2, 2016, Paul Scott, The Horizon Series, Fracked No 5, 2014

The power of plates

Paul Scott is bringing daily news onto industrially made transfer-ware and showing them in juxtaposition to historic cultural artefacts. The Cumbrian based artist explores a range of issues from ecology to the refugee crisis, altering, erasing and adding new images to scenes and items of domestic items, whereby the imagery is ruptured and recalibrated for a contemporary world.

Listening to Paul’s insights and research on the production of the objects and the role that they have played in an industrialised capitalist society brought my attention to his glasses that matched the blue and white artworks. A very nice touch that emphasises the artists eye to detail. 

Paul Scott’s private collection ‘Home Truths’ is up for view at the PEER gallery 3. March - 22. April 2017, 97 & 99 Hoxton Street, London N16QL 

Artist Website: http://cumbrianblues.com

Gallery Website: http://www.peeruk.org

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Image: Domain de Boisbuchet / Text: Anke Buchmann

Coming up: Amazing Ceramic Summer Workshops at Boisbuchet

Get your hands dirty and make the future grow at Boisbuchet’s summer workshop in France. Boisbuchet integrates innovative architecture and design into the splendid setting of a 19th century estate. They invest in a culture that respects the past and builds for the future, research into a sustainable relationship between the natural and the man-made and offer a creative environment for people of all cultures to share.

Exciting for all ceramic lovers is the one of a kind Anagama Kiln that allows to fire ceramics and meld glass for glass sculpturing at the same time. This year the team has set up two Ceramic Workshops: one with British designer Tim Simpson and Dutch designer Sarah van Gameren who will guide you on a journey that, through glass and ceramics, leads to perfume.

And of course there are many more exciting design and architecture workshops at Boisbuchet, in case you don’t want to work with clay this time. 

See you at Boisbuchet, very soon!

Check out the program: https://www.boisbuchet.org

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Text & Images: Anke Buchmann 

Behind the scenes of Stokes pottery production

During my trip to Stoke-on-Trent together with the ceramic students of Central Saint Martins we got the chance to interview some very influential people from England's ceramic industry.

Talking to Emma Bridgewater helped understand how active she is in preserving the ceramic heritage of Stoke, including the traditional manufacturing process. She chose the former Victorian pot bank for her earthenware production that she founded in 1985 together with her husband.  Her team of designers, and skilled jiggers, jolliers, fettlers, casters and decorators work on the hand-made batch production of her ceramic giftware, using the traditional sponging method to decorate the slip-casted pieces. She says: ‘The casters are highly trained with years of experience and they make around 30,000 pieces of pottery a week.’

In the modern factory of H&R Johnsons on the other hand you will have a hard time finding people at work. The tile manufacturer handed the production over to robots and machines. Meters of deserted halls in which tiles get pressed, glazed and fired without hands. While I can see that some appreciate this very modern, fast and efficient process, to me the atmosphere in these machine dominated production facilities seemed unreal and spooky.  

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Text & Image: Anke Buchmann

When the potters of Stoke-on-Trent sleep

Together with the Ceramic Design Class from Central Saint Martins I had the pleasure to visit the Crème de la Crème of Staffordshire Ceramics. To all pottery lovers out there, I can highly recommend the Gladstone Pottery Museum. Don't miss the chance to talk to the remaining craftsmen, that still produce hand formed ceramic flowers and hand painted tableware with passion. They know stories to tell from the times when working in the industry meant risking your life. 

The trip was very diversified and gave an insight on how Stoke-on-Trend’s ceramic production covers anything from traditional craftsmanship to state-of-the-art mass production. While the days were filled with factory visits, design  talks and science presentations it was a pleasure to stay the night in a village near by, and see that some things never change. 

Keep reading the second part of the article in the next post ‘Behind the scenes of Stokes pottery production’. 

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Text & Images: Anke Buchmann

Burg Giebichenstein

The open day at the Art School ‘Burg Giebichenstein’ in Halle, Germany revealed lots of talents in Sculpture and Ceramic Art. I especially enjoyed the work of Prof. Martin Neubert’s class, that presented their lively work lead by experimentation and curiosity. 

School Website: http://www.burg-halle.de

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The publisher ‘Curating the contemporary’ decided to publish my research article on Ariane Prin’s RUST collection. I am very happy about that support. 

In the book ‘Design by nature‘, Maggie Macnab refers to ‘ethical design’, a design culture following the three ethics: caring for the earth, caring for people and choosing cooperation over competition. Find out what that has to do with Ariane’s collection by reading the full article here. 

Featuring Website: https://curatingthecontemporary.org

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Text & Image: Anke Buchmann 

CREATING VALUE WHERE OTHERS CREATE WASTE

During the London Design Festival 2015 I discovered Ariane Prin‘s freshly launched hand-made homeware collection RUST, and I was immediately fascinated by its appeal and the surprising smooth haptic of the rusty vessels.

Magazins such as Wallpaper, ELLE Décoration, Dezeen, Design Boom or CASA Vogue have published her RUST range and by now it is being sold across the world. Before that, her work has been exhibited, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Mint Gallery, Herrick Gallery and Heal’s in London, Cité de la Mode et du Design and S. Bensimon Gallery in Paris.

”THE ROYAL COLLEGE HELPED ME FIND THE WORDS TO MY IDEAS.“

While studying at the Royal College of Art the french-born product designer found her very personal leitmotif, the narrative that connects all her projects since - transforming other peoples left overs and waste into precious raw materials. Looking closely when others look away has allowed her to not only detect a design process lead by experimentation and discovery but it also let her make deep connections to a wide range of professionals, such as the locksmiths. Happy to exchange one thing for another, Ariane enjoys sharing her work with the people who allow its production through their left over materials.

In the heart of Hackney Wick, London‘s old warehousing and industrial zone, in a hidden upper floor studio, Ariane Prin creates her extraordinary RUST collection. Walking up to her workshop, I keep thinking, it must feel to her like ‘Schlaraffenland’ (german for „land of milk and honey“) working in an area surrounded by industrial materials and objects left behind on the streets. But she stays strong these days, focussing on metal dust from key cutting for her rusty range of cachepots, trays, vases, bowls and boxes. ‘There is so much more to discover’, Ariane tells claystudies***, and as long as the metal dust keeps surprising her, she will continue exploring this exceptional substance.

”THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ORDINARY DAY.“

Every piece takes about two exciting days to produce, pouring metal dust mixed with gypsum based materials into her one-off moulds, adding another extra four months for the metal particles to oxidise. Every product shows a unique texture, varying in colour and intensity. For Ariane it is all about catching the perfect moment, when the oxidation reached its most interesting state. That is the moment, when she stops the oxidation process by applying high quality vanish.

”IN THE FUTURE I WOULD LOVE TO BE INVITED BY A COMPANY, THAT LET‘S ME EXPERIMENT WITH THEIR WASTE MATERIALS.“

Ariane is full of ideas and enthusiasm for her sustainable approach. She hopes to inspire others and make them think twice before throwing stuff away. There is a lot of value out there, waiting to be discovered. In a perfect world, Ariane dreams of an opportunity to expand her idea and collaborate with a bigger company on creating design objects out of forgotten leftovers.

I wish Ariane all the best and I am excited to see the RUST range grow even bigger in the future. Thank you for this wonderful insight into your work.

Learn more about her lovely process on: http://www.prin.in

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Text: Anke Buchmann, Image: Salon94

THE ALLURE OF TAKURO KUWATA’S PORCELAIN BOWL

This unconventionally elegant porcelain vessel with its odd fractures and robust accumulations, created by Takuro Kuwata in Japan 2015, is the epitome of his work. The bowl (17,7 × 24,8 × 22,5 cm) was firstly presented during Kuwata’s second solo exhibition ‘Dear Tea Bowl’ in the gallery Salon 94 Freemans in New York, USA and is priced $12,000 by New York dealer Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn. Salon 94 describes the work of the young Japanese artist as ‘dysfunctional’ yet oddly elegant clay objects. For Kuwata himself his work is less dysfunctional, but rather aims to be joyful and fun.

In the eyes of Salon 94 ‘Kuwata’s ceramics are earthquakes in which the glazes shatter, re-shape, melt, unravel, stick, poke and create a feeling of the artist’s geographical origins’.

Author John Berger knows ‘The way we see things, is affected by what we know or what we believe.’ About Kuwata’s work we know he follows a radical approach to pottery, leaving much to chance by adding stones to the clay and applying extra thick glazes, so the surfaces explode during the firing process in the kiln. This so-called Ishihaze method, as described by the New York Times, he combines with Kairagi-Shino, an old firing method, in which pottery is removed from the kiln before the glaze completely melts, mastering different traditional Japanese techniques and re- interpreting them for his ceramic work.

CHALLENGING JAPANESE TRADITIONS

By using bright colours for an entire piece instead of delicately applying it decoratively or figuratively, adding glittering gold, known from European ceramics, Kuwata explains, he challenges Japanese traditions. He follows a fearless and un- conventional approach, using nails to keep the thick glaze from running away, as a conversation with the Sales Executive Darren Warner of Alison Jacques Gallery during Frieze London 2015 revealed.

Kuwata, who lives and works in Toki City, Gifu, Japan, says his work is in dialogue with the centuries-old ritual, refering to Wabi Sabi, an aesthetic of traditional tea ceremony wares.

In the eyes of the curators of Mad Museum, New York, the artist succeeds in merging conventional cultural ideals and aesthetics with a high degree of individual expression and innovative thinking. Jeffrey Uslip even sees topical matters addressed; describing ‘[the work] provides an aesthetic correlation to Japan’s recent natural and social disasters’. The Museum of Arts and Design, New York showcases his work in the genre Japanese Kögei and refers to his work therefore as ‘...highly skilled artistic expression, both in form and decoration, associated with specific regions and peoples in Japan’. According to Mad Museum his work reflects a decisive and somewhat controversial shift from that of their peers.

PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR PHYSICALITY 

Michele Varian, shop owner in Soho, NY refers to the Zeitgeist by explaining the fascination with nature and the handmade is a reaction to the digital age where almost everything around us is virtual and mass-produced. People are looking for physicality and appreciate seeing the handcraft in a piece.

With his joyful creations, that reflect our times, Kuwata applies a contemporary sensibility to pottery. His skilful created bowl with its bright colours and handmade feeling not only makes people feel good but also spreads nature’s energy through the usage of different natural materials.

Artist Websites: http://www.takurokuwata.com

Gallery Websites: 

http://www.alisonjacquesgallery.com

https://www.salon94.com

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Text and Image: Anke Buchmann

INSPIRED BY THE EVERYDAY

Highly recommended by Ceramic Art London 

One of my personal highlights of Ceramic Art London, was the work by Italian artist Faust Salvi. His IDRAULICA series especially created for CAL 2016 is inspired by the aesthetics of pipes and pipe fittings. Salvi grafted the extruded pipe-like ends onto round coil built shapes, that strike with a surprising and powerful appearance. He explains, ‘the ceramic objects have been cooked in a furnace several times, with successive lasers of glaze which create a ‘skin’ that is strikingly colourful, sharp in contrast and with strong tactile effects.’

In his manifesto Salvi describes how he studied the expressive possibilities of clay and modelling to learn to communicate through shape and volume rather than only through drawing. He also discovered the surface of his pieces as abstract textures that he could modify with pure pigment. 

His work has been shown in the UK, Italy, France, USA, Korea, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. Looking at his older pieces one can tell, his ceramics are very diverse, coming as plates, cylinders, jugs, vases, sculptures, wall pieces or furniture. 

It was a true pleasure talking to Faust Salvi and I wish him all the best for the future. I am excited to see, what inspires him next. 

Artist Website: www.faustosalvi.net

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COMING UP: Ceramic Art London 2016!

Between the 8 - 10 March the leading fair for contemporary ceramics will take place at Central Saint Martins, London. Stay tuned for further updates! claystudies will be reporting on artists, talks and happenings from behind the scenes. 

Tickets and details at http://www.ceramics.org.uk/index.php

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AJ Vintage ABC

Arne Jacobsen is world renowned for his simple architectural functionalism which is manifested in one of his iconic buildings, The SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. His in 1937 hand-drawn typeface, originally created for the Aarhus City Hall in Aarhus, Denmark now characterizes the AJ Vintage ABC collection, designed by Design Letters & Friends. 

The tea pot is made of fine Bone China which makes it very strong, white and semi-transparent. The letter "T" stands simply for Tea. I love the clean cut and the architectural reference in its shape. Its functionality I cannot judge, as I hadn’t have the pleasure to use it myself. 

Spotted at Ambiente 2016 in Frankfurt.  

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Text: Anke Buchmann, Image: MANI / 29 Feb 2016

BRITTA HERRMANN

I had the pleasure to interview Britta Herrmann, founder of MANI. With her Mani Collection she created a bridge between contemporary design and traditional Italian craftsmanship. Every living accessory of the collection is an epitome of simplicity, monumentality and timelessness. 

Britta moved from Hamburg, Germany to Pistoia, Italy, where she creates her beautifully hand-made ceramics. She exhibited her work at "Salone Mobile” in Milan and the Ambiente in Frankfurt and sells the MANI collection in Italy, Germany, China and soon in Norway, Finland, Sweden, England and the Netherlands. 

Catch a glimpse of the wonderful conversation I had with Britta: 

“I FEEL IN ITALY FREE FROM CONVENTIONS. I CAN DRIVE AN OLD, DIRTY CAR AND WALK AROUND WITH MY OLD SNEAKERS.”

ANKE FOR CLAYSTUDIES: Almost 10 years ago you moved from Hamburg, Germany to Tuscany, Italy. Besides the weather conditions, what was it, that you were looking for in Italy?

BRITTA HERRMANN: I think my character is very similar to the Italian character. I like to let people be, everyone can do what he wants. I do not look too much at what others do or try to judge it. I feel in Italy free from conventions. I can drive an old, dirty car and walk around with my old sneakers. This is normal here. The italians live another luxury. Good food is important here ( best from their own garden… or the grandfather). And to meet people... to have the time for each other. In other word “arte di vivere”.

ANKE FOR CLAYSTUDIES: Your work is inspired by the “arte di vivere” of Italy and Italian architecture. The geometric shapes of your vessels also remind me of the Weimarer Bauhaus. How much does your german heritage influence your design or maybe even work ethics? 

BRITTA HERRMANN: Design is for me very important and for me it means first of all essential[s]. Smooth surfaces, perfect glazes, straight lines ! This is important to me. But I work here together with Italian artisans who were used to produce things in the same traditional way for generations. So I'm trying to realize something different: a mixture of a new design with old traditional manufacturing. To reach these results, it is necessary to try, try and try again, make the own hands dirty and try again. While being consequent, consistent and accurate... that's probably my German heritage.

And of course, a big influence comes from my hometown Hamburg. Wonderful modern architecture mixed with the old existing one showed me how beautiful "old" and "new" fit together and what "timelessness" means.

ANKE FOR CLAYSTUDIES: Your collection shows fine craftsmanship, confident lines and a skilled eye for design. What do you do yourself and what comes from teamwork or collaborations? 

BRITTA HERRMANN: The design comes from me. I usually draw down the form that I imagine on a paper table cloth. Then I start to work with different molders to get a prototype. After a process of trial and error,  … finally we find how to realize the first prototype and then I paint the design.

For the production I work with different factories in Montelupo Fiorentino or Faenza. And a very nice girl, Veronica, as a painter. [That] way I can guarantee that each piece of MANI is hand turned and hand painted.

“MANI IS SOMETHING TIMELESS THAT FITS ALMOST ANYWHERE. ON THE OLD FARMHOUSE TABLE IN AN OLD COUNTRY HOUSE, AS [MUCH] AS IN A MODERN, MINIMALIST APARTMENT O[R] LOFT.”

ANKE FOR CLAYSTUDIES: Your collections are almost too beautiful to be used on an every day basis. One could be afraid to break it. Where do you see your work fit in best? Art or Design? Does it even matter to you?

BRITTA HERRMANN: NOOO! Please! MANI IS for every day! And please no categorization! MANI is something timeless that fits almost anywhere. On the old farmhouse table in an old country house, as [much] as in a modern, minimalist apartment o[r] loft. Anyway … if I [had] to classify me ...well, I would see myself as a follower of the idea of  ‘Arts & Craft’ ...  the products from MANI are far away from mass produced items, but we have a production. Of course we work with some modern machinery - but all the pieces are made by hand with the skills of old italian craftsmanship. I'm not working, consciously, with ceramics molds and decals. If I would do that, I could also produce in China. I like the process of the craftsman. It is a part of MANI so long “mani” means “hands”. All the rest is my design.

“...TO MAKE A HANDMADE OBJECT THAT IS REALLY EXPENSIVE IS EASY... I WANT THAT THE ‘NORMAL’ PEOPLE (LIKE ME) CAN AFFORD TO [BUY] HANDMADE DESIGN OBJECTS.”

ANKE FOR CLAYSTUDIES: What was the last artist/show you’ve seen, that left you speechless? Or at least left an impression?  

BRITTA HERRMANN: At the last ‘Salone Mobile’ in Milan I was in the showroom of Paola Lenti. She is an Italian designer who works mainly with textile materials from which she manufactures furniture and carpets. I loved her showroom, the colors, the harmony ... that really inspired me. My new colors Pale Pink, Flamingo with a dot of bright yellow ..this comes from here.

I am thanking Britta for this lovely interview. My personal tip to everyone interested - check out the MANI website www.maniceramics.com and the beautifully queer intro video in which two characters with papier mâché animal heads and a ceramic eye are playing cards. Little insight: in the intro, Britta is the horse!

[claystudies]

SURFACE DESIGN SHOW 

Tomorrow is the last chance to go and see the surface trends of 2016, all at one place at the Business Design Centre in Angel, London. The trend I discovered are geometric shapes breaking through a flat surface, creating a sculptural effect. Lot’s of potential to use in glas, tiles or stone.

Book your ticket online: http://www.surfacedesignshow.com