Karin Blach Nielsen

Ceramicist

©roeddikdk

Simple shapes, grand glazes

Karin Blach Nielsen mainly works with hand-thrown stoneware
Her studio shop is in Vesterbro, a trendy corner of Copenhagen
She trained at the Design School in Kolding and the Royal College of Art in London

Karin Blach Nielsen is a ceramic artist who seeks the poetic balance between traditional shapes and complex glazes. Throughout her career, she has experimented with glaze materials and subtle refinements to play with texture and relief as well as colour. Soft pastel-like hues that soothe the senses are her hallmark. To Karin, classic designs for ceramics will transcend current tastes and fashions. She crafts pieces that last, in use and aesthetics, and manages to create a bond between object and user. Her compositions are at once functional objects and art pieces in their own right.

Interview

©roeddikdk

©roeddikdk

How did you fall in love with clay?: I was fascinated by the production process in my very first ceramics course – how the material felt in my hands, and how my vision could materialise at the potter’s wheel. Later, when we opened the kiln and saw how the heat had transformed our creations, I was really in awe.
Are glazes your signature?: My genuine interest is experimenting with glazes and ornamentation, and I focus on diversity and contrasts. Clay can take infinite expressions, not just in shape but also in the chemical composition of glazes. The unique features of each glaze come out in the firing.
Why are aesthetics important?: I claim that aesthetics bring meaning and beauty to even the simplest object, situation or moment. It is an approach that includes and activates our senses to refine, challenge and enhance our unique and intuitive understanding of the world around us.
What does your craft mean to you?: I see my craft as the basis for everything I do. It is a knowledge bank that constantly challenges me as a maker. Working on ceramics is my way of expressing and implementing my ideas no matter the assignment.

Karin Blach Nielsen is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2000