Why am I involved in this project?
That's because I fell in love with Bornholm. The island is stocked with all the ingredients for pottery. It's a miracle! I want to make pottery from ZERO, so I'm very excited. Make pottery from ZERO, it means that if the materials of pottery are not in my hands, I can get everything from nature and make pottery anywhere on this planet. And I can get so many raw materials from this island and by making pottery from that raw material, I can have a lot of experience. It’s growing up me as potter and a human who alive with nature. And I’m here.
It is not as crucial for me to work with local materials as for Anne Mette and Iwami are, in contrast to the wood-fired process on which I base my entire production. I am driven by collaboration and development of many different kinds.
I have, for many years, worked together with Anne Mette where we have fired a woodkiln together.
This process gives a very special expression that we are both fascinated by.
Getting closer to the firing process easy brings you to wanting to get closer to the clay itself. I have therefore been involved in several aspects of the clay hunt on the island, and also partly participating in processing the clay in Agregård's clay workshop.
I gradually become more involved in the work of retrieving clay and other material, and also begin to use the "wild clay" in my production. In particular, I think that the many different participants who have been involved in the project for several years have been rewarding. I will continue to participate in the effort to master the local clay, to the extent I find time for it, and i am looking forward to hopefully many years of exploration in the future.
Literally, I have walked on pure clay every morning since we took over our old farm 11 years ago.I walk my dog every morning on the remains of the old tile factory, a few minutes from my home. From my pottery, only a few kilometers east, I reach the old kaolin pit, From there, just another short ride, I meet the coast. Going south, and for every step that I take, a new clay formation is revealed, all with its own character and cultural history of what it was sourced and used for.
One can add felspar, quarts sand, granite, limestone etc. within this same distance.
It just always seemed very obvious for me to try to use what is at hand.I am from the generation of potters who uses bags of clay imported from abroad, sender and recipe unknown. Factories and clay mining industry had closed when I moved here.
Only because of committing myself to work with other partners in this project and to choose to spend many hard-won hours taken out from my daily and precious making glazing and firing process, the dream of using local materials has been made possible.
10 years into this process and project, I have realized that, what set out to be a journey towards sensible reason, has turned out to be a true and humble love and respect to the soil that I put my hands into and to the potters who were here before me.I feel part of the islands pottery history when struggling with this exact same mud that they once did.
When I read and understand technical information from a 100-year-old log book about a certain clay formation and honestly can say that this information was very useful, then I carry a small hope that it is a way of keeping this skill and craftmanship alive.
There is a way to go still, before all the imported plastic bagged clay have left my studio, but I will get there eventually.
I'm in the BWCRP project for several reasons. I like to explore and solve problems together with those who are dedicated to a certain field. Especially, if I can contribute.
I have experienced pottery up close for more than 20 years, and even though I am not a potter myself, I roughly understand the "language" that is spoken.
In addition, I am fairly well versed in the geology of Bornholm, and with this insight in the exploration of Bornholm raw materials, I have contributed greatly.
I am also interested in Bornholm's history, including Bornholm's industrial history, and the work on the project has brought me closer to the activities of “Hjorts Ceramics Factory”, and “Hasle Klinker”, the tile factory in Muleby/Sorthat.