During my time living in Sweden one of my most favorite times was my Thursday night ceramics class. It was a small group, mostly women except for our fearless leader Yria. We took turns bringing fika and spent our time working on what made us happy, talking and laughing. It was such a fulfilling time for me. Language was hard…learning a second language is not easy and I am a very social person so not being able to communicate was a challenge for me. However in our ceramics group I didn’t necessarily have to talk. I could sit quietly for hours and just work. I missed being there so much when we moved back to the States. I am happy that I now have a community pottery studio here to fill that void. I have found that my aesthetic for pottery is very Swedish. When I browse Instagram and find something I like, it is very often Swedish or at least Scandinavian.
What is Swedish style you might ask? Here’s a short list of what I have found to be a common thread in the Swedish style of pottery::
1. White. Swedes typically love white…it’s a common color in home decor and also pottery. Many white glazes are used on the forms. There’s so many shades and variations of white so it never gets old.
2. Simple. Simple shapes and forms are so common in Swedish design and art. They typically do not like anything too fussy.
3. Repetitive. Patterns are often repetitive patterns…the same shapes used over and over again to form a pattern.
This leads me to my Swedish Artist Spotlight on Kajsa Leijström. I found her through Instagram and have followed her for quite some time. Not only is her pottery beautiful, her photography on her Instagram is inspiring.
Kajsa Leijström lives in Kivik, Sweden, which is on the southern east coast of Sweden. Most of her work begins on the wheel as a thrown piece but she alters the pieces once it becomes dry enough to manipulate. Her pottery design is simple, elegant, and thoughtful. She uses a lot of whites and blues in her glazes and every piece pottery is functional yet beautiful.
I asked Kajsa what inspires her and here is her response. ” The simple answer is the beauty of the nature around me. Both landscape and macro world…what you see in my instagram photos. But I believe inspiration works a bit like the garden compost; small pieces of everything I see around me blend together in your mind and something new will grow up.” Her words are as beautiful as her work.
I enjoy following along with her work through her Instagram page and I think you should too! She does ship worldwide so feel free to purchase from her website and have your own little piece of Swedish art in your home! You can find her website at https://shop.textalk.se/en/shop.php?id=32882
Here are some images from her Instagram account. All images used by permission from the artist. Follow her instagram::: @keraleij is her handle.
Here’s a video of her in action:::
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