If clay could speak
Tasja P.

There are no algorithms or checklists used when we set out to find our next story. In other words, the story presents itself to us through our research, word of mouth or relationships. Our third story comes from the city of bicycles, thoughtful design and minimalist functional fashion: Copenhagen. As a country that has higher than average income tax compared to the rest of the world, Denmark is reported as one of the top-performing nations for happiness. There is a sense of collective understanding, trust, and belonging in the welfare state as it continues to invest in the country’s infrastructure, education, safety and healthcare. However, like everything in life, nothing usually ever comes close to being perfect.

Situated in the middle of Nørrebro, north-west of Søerne (the lakes); Tasja’s studio effortlessly embodies Danish design principles. Tasja answered the door with a warm smile and explained that she had done her best to tidy the studio after her class, which took place the day before, but I would not have changed a thing. Tasja’s works are placed accessibly and harmoniously, and they naturally emanate an atmosphere of home and warmth. In one word, hygge.

Tasja grew up living and later working in numerous cities and countries across Europe after studying photography and graphic design at university. As she started her post-graduate career in graphic design, Tasja found a hobby in pottery. The creative release provided her with the ability to work with her hands and became her weekly escape for the next three years in Warsaw. Tasja then moved to Oslo to further explore the possibility of pottery becoming her primary profession as the thought of it became more apparent and certain. With the support and encouragement from her friends and family, she took that leap and assisted in a Norwegian ceramics studio.

There have been times when Tasja has been challenged; as she is now not only a potter, but also the owner of her studio and manager of her business. As much as you can learn from mentors or teachers, only by being completely immersed in the role does one discover and develop their own processes. That has been the case for Tasja as she shared her struggles and resolutions regarding sustainable packaging of uniquely shaped pottery and digital marketing. As the student becomes the master, Tasja now has university students and interns working and helping her in the studio as she teaches them the art of pottery. A significant lesson that Tasja spoke about at length was patience. No matter how practised you are in the art of pottery, the one stage that eludes the control of the potter is the process inside the kiln. As perfect as the throwing process may be, you can only wait in patience for up to twenty-four hours for the firing and cooling process to be completed in the kiln; hoping that the clay will transform into the intended ceramic form.

Throwing on the wheel is an interesting counter-intuitive experience. It is a given that the potter is ultimately in control behind the wheel, moulding the clay to the desired form; however, it always seems to catch an inexperienced potter off-guard. During the initial stages of throwing, the wheel’s rotational speed should be kept high, so that any minute adjustments from the potter’s hands will be evenly applied to all sides of the clay in the shortest amount of time. When the clay starts to form an uneven shape, human instinct prompts us to slow the wheel down, which in turn will worsen the shape even further. All this will lead to the second challenge in an inexperienced potter’s hands: as the shape of the clay becomes more uneven, one may not realise that he or she is the one in control, and his or her hands may start to give in to the irregular rotation of the clay. “Do what I will,” said the clay, “why do I not have any handles?”. How bizarre it would be if clay could speak.

It takes patience, high speed and a steady pair of hands to take back control of the shape of the clay. The firing process in the kiln requires patience too. The potter, however, does not have control over the chemical reaction of the clay as it dries and bonds with the glaze. All one can do is to wait in patience and hope that it turns out as he or she imagined it to be. We can find some resemblance in this process with our lives as there will inevitably be times where fear and uncertainty may attempt to consume them. It may seem like the solution and the way out have long passed; however, there is always hope. The beauty is that it is no longer hope if it can be seen. Hope is what we cannot see: what we wait for in patience.

As we cleared up the natural ash coffee table we were sitting around, Christian Gadient, one of the top chefs in Copenhagen, walked into the studio. He brought with him the latest copy of the collaborative cookbook he worked on with five other top chefs in Copenhagen. The cookbook, Fish and Shellfish, featured many of Tasja’s pottery in its magnificently presented illustrative images. As I left them to catch up, I continued exploring the studio and thought to myself that it had indeed been an honour and privilege for me to be able to spend the morning in the beautiful community that Tasja is surrounded by as she is spurred onwards in her endeavours.
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