Introducing Marianne from Colours on Grey. Where every item is handmade!! From her home in Glen Innes, New South Wales, Marianne creates small batches of rustic Nordic inspired ceramic wares.
Find out why Marianne started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade.
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process.
I am a painter and ceramicist. My paintings are quite abstract, often landscape inspired, sometimes in vibrant colours and other times in very subtle colours. In the last couple of years, I've been focusing on creating rustic pottery with organic shapes and soft colours. I hand built all my ceramics using coil and slab techniques. It's a very old and traditional way of creating with clay, and it gives me a strong and personal connection to the finished product. It also gives an individual and unique feel to each piece.
I primarily use a speckled rustic Australian clay which is fired to 1200 degrees, but some of my pieces are made from a white earthenware clay. White is my main colour both on my ceramics and in my paintings. I love white for its brightness and light, its resemblance to snow and because it eases the eye and goes with everything.
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist.
My journey as a 'maker by hand' started at a very young age being taught the traditional cross stich, embroidery and weaving by my grandmothers and sewing by my mother, - all of whom were fabulous makers. In my teenage years I discovered pottery - my mother did a pottery course and brought home functional wares, some of which I still have to this day.
My love for ceramics took hold of me in high school and the years after - taking lessons from professional potters. But it wasn't before the late 1990's I qualified through TAFE in ceramics, printing and painting, and shortly thereafter I set up my own studio. Besides creating I also hold workshops in my studio and around the area.
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
For my ceramics I find inspiration in the Scandinavian designs from the 1960's. I love the simplicity in shapes and forms from that era.
For my paintings I find inspiration in the amazing Australian bush and in the memories of the Nordic snow-scapes, I grew up with.
Where did you learn your craft?
I learned both ceramics and painting from a series of professional artists as well as being educated at TAFE in ceramics, printing, design and painting. I have been an artist for more than 25 years and I feel very lucky to have been able to achieve that.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
I am passionate about handmade; it's a slow but very gratifying process. Handmade creations are precious storytellers, they tell the story of how and where it was made, by whom and why it ends up in some one's home. I love hearing about these stories.
I am concerned, that in the future handmade skills might disappear completely. In the last decade creative subjects in schools and at TAFE have almost disappeared. I wish our society would value it more and see the tremendous joy it gives us humans - to create with our hands.
Marianne is a much loved member of the MadeIt Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ The Handmade Marketplace of Australia ~ and sharing their new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with Colours on Grey make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
