Ceramic Handbook

Photograph by Anne Kinnunen

Who are you and what are you studying? 

Teemu Siika and I am studying in the Master's program in Contemporary Design. 

Do you see yourself as an artist, craftsperson or designer? Something else? 

I see myself as an artist. 

At what stage are your studies? 

I started the Master’s degree of my studies this autumn. 

How did you end up working with clay? 

I found the material in the fall of 2018 on the “Studio Production Techniques and Materials” course. I immediately took to hand-building. 

Do you only work with clay? 

Hand-building ceramics has been a dominant method in my work over time. However, I try not to let it be the only tool for my expression. 

What project are you currently working on? 

That work is part of my bachelor’s thesis Masters of the Universe. 

What are you researching in the project? What inspired it? 

The work deals with the impact of socio-economic status on an individual's ethics, empathy, and self-image. When planning my work, I had in mind issues related to social injustice. In addition, the work is, of course, inspired by the early 80s TV series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, whose action figure the sculpture is based on. 

What technique do you use? 

The work is hand-built recycled stoneware clay coated with pigment-dyed engobes. 

Why? 

I liked the nature of hand-building as soon as I first tried it. The sluggishness of technology suits my nature. 

What have been the biggest challenges and surprises in the process? 

Design and construction of the joints, as well as figuring out the structure required to assemble the work. Making reinforced openings in the torso’s armholes also had its own challenges, and the torso has been built twice. 

What do you want to work on in the future? 

Sculpture.