Making by hand
Handmade in my studio
in Helsinki
Handling the material and the whole production cycle myself is a source of my inspiration. The process can be slow with just two hands but it keeps me rooted to my objects and to the process. I’m very material-based creator and by carrying out numerous tests and experiments and even more compromises, I find the most intriguing result together with the material. The chemistry of ceramics truly is endlessly fascinating.
My studio is located in an old industrial building at Airam’s former lamp factory in Helsinki. From prototypes to initial experiments with forms and chemistry, I finalise every item myself with care. Though I’m very precise, I emphasize and sometimes highlight, imperfections in the handmade products. My objects are quite often a combination of various techniques brought together in one piece.
About sustainability in my ceramic art process
In my works, I mainly use porcelain with my own formula, because it is durable, high-quality and more ecological than average, as it has a bit lower firing temperature than porcelain usually has. Half of its raw materials come from Kemiö area in Finland, and other half from the Cornwall region in England, UK. Besides porcelain clay, I use traditional Finnish red earthenware clay from Somero (it has beautiful, rough structure and ferrous tone of Finnish soil) and high-quality porcelain-like stoneware from UK.
A lot of water can be consumed in the various working stages of ceramics. I have adapted a small water recycling system in my wokrshop where I recycle my usage water for as long as possible and filter out glaze and clay residues for reuse. In a small studio, you can be quite creative when it comes to recycling and sustainability. Clay is also endlessly recyclable as long as it hasn’t been fired into ceramics, so naturally I recycle all my excessive clay. When clay is fired into ceramics it becomes eternal. In order to save natural resources and energy, I consider carefully what I’m firing to ceramics.
