Anne Mette Hjortshøj catalogue - sample pages

Anne Mette

Hjortshøj

2

Anne Mette Hjortshøj

2

David Whiting

Baltic Light Anne Mette Hjortshøj

goldmark 2016

Baltic Light Anne Mette Hjortshøj

Hearing Anne Mette talk of the great risks of being a potter, of the trauma of failed firings, sometimes consecutive (the worries increase when your kiln is a big one to fill), gives that phrase 'putting all your eggs in one basket' an extra frisson, especially of course for the maker. I’ve touched on this when talking about the potter Nic Collins, but it is worth reiterating because the objects you buy, handle and use are not only the result of many hours of accumulated knowledge, but a complex synthesis of processes in thinking as well as making. I’ve always been fascinated by that essentially mysterious course of a potter’s decision-making. Why did they decide to adopt that form, why did they decorate in that particular way and add that detail at that juncture? That combination of the planned and the spontaneous. As Anne Mette notes, the smallest deviation in throwing can change the nature and character of a pot, such is clay’s acute sensitivity to the human hand. It is a responsiveness that changes markedly as you move from stoneware to porcelain to earthenware.

The commitment of being a functional potter and thinking about large exhibitions and large outputs makes this a stubborn breed. Anne Mette has that quality of tenacity and quiet self belief that you need. It is all about clear-mindedness and focus,

5

23. Oblong Bottle Tenmoku glaze. Smoked fish decoration.

Salt glaze 30 x 9 cm

18

93. Round Hollow Dish Dark clay, porcelain slip. Nuka type & Tenmoku glazes 13 x 36 cm

20

previous page:

85. Long Hollow Dish Inlaid porcelain flowers 8 x 59 cm

129. Oval Dish with Handles Dark clay, porcelain slip. Nuka type glaze.

Flower decoration 13 x 19 cm

24

previous page:

12. Oblong Bottle Dark clay, porcelain slip, Nuka type glaze.

Landscape decoration. Salt glaze 30 x 9 cm previous page:

19. Oblong Bottle Dark clay, porcelain slip, local clay ash glaze. Landscape decoration. Salt glaze 30 x 9 cm

198. Large Bowl Dark clay, porcelain slip. Seashell marks.

Salt glaze 11 x 35 cm

42

268. Big Jar Dark clay, porcelain slip. Tenmoku glaze 35 x 30 cm

56