Going and living at Capellagården was decisive for me. When I applied, there was no similar school in Denmark, where I come from, that had so much focus on the craft itself. Being surrounded by all the creative, knowledgeable people and inspiring materials made me feel like I had found home. It wasn't a given that I would work with ceramics, but after I came to Capellagården I was hooked.
Lively, playful and light - that's how I want my ceramics to be experienced! For me, turning is a way of seizing time, momentum and rhythm. I work with my hands, design and utility ceramics in a room where aesthetics and function meet in balance.
I find great inspiration in details in nature – whimsical phenomena that catch my eye. It can be the texture of a tree's bark or the color of surreal lichens that give me the idea for the next glaze. Proverbs and music also arouse my imagination – sounds and words create associations that merge and materialize in new projects.
My next project will be to make glaze from the ashes from the sick elms on Gotland - a (hopefully) beautiful way to remember the fallen trees.
After Capella:
After two years at Capellagården, I went to "Incubator - Kreativa Öland" and started my own company. Now I live on Gotland, where my girlfriend is from, and here I have started my own workshop. I am part of a cooperative in Visby where, together with other artisans and artists on Gotland, I run the GKF shop and gallery. It's an incredibly good way to have both colleagues and a context, which I can really recommend. It gives me a lot of motivation and inspiration to work together with others!
My best advice:
My best tips for anyone going to Capellagården are:
Be brave! Dare to test wildly without regard for results. In the ceramic workshops (almost) all techniques and materials are available!
Be kind to yourself! Even if you were to be in the workshop all your waking hours, you still wouldn't have time to do everything you want. Enjoying and being happy about what happens is an art in itself.
Get out! If you're stuck or a bit claustrophobic, take a trip to a big city or another place, and then come back and experience everything with new eyes.
phone: 0760-343336
bjernokeramik@gmail.com
bjernokeramik.com
