Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Monika

I was born in a small village in Germany. In 1997 I decided to study pottery in the traditional way as an apprentice. During my three year study I spent almost half a year in Nagpur, India. There I learned how to make pots and small sculptures on a wheel turned by hand. In 2001 I completed my apprenticeship at the pottery studio in Fischerhude, Germany.

Shortly after I moved to Finland, the country of her husband, and continued making tableware. All my work was wheel-thrown stoneware, glazed and fired in an electric kiln. However, making tableware was not fully satisfying, and so I started to explore more wheel-thrown sculptures inspired from her stay in India. Together with a friend I exhibited in June 2003 in Helsinki, Finland.

Due to another international move and the birth of my son, I took a break from ceramics for almost 6 years. In 2008 I moved with my family to New Mexico. Once my son started school, I found some time again to go back into working with clay. My interest has now shifted from traditonal pottery to finding a way of exploring and expressing myself.