How we started turning - Moja Keramik

Moja Keramik was originally founded by me (Marielle) and my little sister Amanda. We had both dreamed of taking a ceramics course for ages but never really had the chance. The opportunity finally came when Amanda was about to turn 23 and our mother took the initiative to book the three of us on a small weekend course with an individual ceramicist out in the countryside.

Saturday, October 16, 2021 was the day that changed everything.

Expectant and nervous, we went out to the rurally located ceramics studio. The potter's plot was idyllically located half an hour outside Gothenburg. The garden was filled with custom-made ceramic decorations and at the far end of the rolling lawn stood a red building with a shabby feel where the ceramics workshop was located on the ground floor. It was a room of perhaps 20 square meters where every wall was filled with shelves with ceramic works in progress and finished firing, glaze buckets from floor to ceiling, a large work table in the middle of the room and two turning wheels.

The lady welcomed us and started by going over the structure of the little course. On the first Saturday we would create at the wheel and table. The next day we would come back to trim (trim/make nice) the turned pieces and continue with the hand sculpting. A few weeks later we would come back once more to glaze our creations, after they had been fired. ( Read more about the pottery process ).

She had a round, top-fed kiln at one end of the room and we caught a glimpse of it filled to the brim with plates, bowls and mugs, piled high and ready for its first round of firing.

The potter gave us a rundown on how to turn . She showed us tapering, centering and how to shape the clay lump into a cylinder. It looked easy when she did it and my fingers were itching to try it. But since there were only two turning wheels, Amanda and our mother had to start. I was also keen to hand-build a large teacup so I got some quick tips on how I could work with curled clay to create my desired shape.

Our mother had attended folk high school in art when she was younger and the art of spinning seemed to be in her spinal cord even though it had been many years since she had last done it. Although she strangely didn't seem to have the patience to follow all the instructions, she managed to make both bowls and candlesticks.

Amanda, who was completely new to turning, struggled a bit with centering at first, as is usual, but also managed to create really nice little bowls and cylinders during her time at the lathe.

While they were turning, I was struggling with my teacup. Some clay-rollers like to keep the texture of the clay sausages they stack on top of each other, but I wanted a smooth surface, so I sat in a trance working the hand-sculpted shape to get it as smooth as possible. The potter gave me encouraging words towards the end of the mug stage that it almost looked turned. In retrospect, I don't really agree, but it was still a very meditative experience to let my hands shape the clay almost on autopilot.

Finally, it was my turn to try turning . I, who am a rather creative soul with a "can do it yourself" attitude in the same league as Lotta on Bråkmakargatan, was not at all prepared for how difficult it would be. Centering felt impossible. The chamotte (roughly like gravel that is found in some clay to give it more stability) peeled my hands until they were sore and I had muddy goo everywhere.

My first creations looked more like soup during the creation process and I, not wanting all the clay to disappear, tried to "patch back" the soft clay lump on top of my off-center claw. The potter then gave me the winged comment "Now I don't know what you're doing" and I laughed a little nervously and said that I like to run my own race.

By the end of the day, I had miraculously managed to put together a small collection of crooked shapes. I felt mixed feelings of frustration that it was so difficult but also an overwhelming happiness. As in, this wasn't the last time. It was an unusual feeling to want to continue with something I was so incredibly bad at, but the mud had quickly caused both me and my sister to fall.

When we went back the third time to glaze, I chose a white glossy glaze and sprinkled on a little black. A style I took with me to future creations as well.

That this little weekend course resulted in what is now my full-time job with several employees was not quite what I had expected.

To be continued...