Thomas Diem

Ceramicist

©Thomas Diem

Building beautiful ceramic pieces

Thomas has found his true voice in ceramics
He likes to make things that will actually be used
He is interested in the role beautiful everyday objects enhance daily life

Growing up with creative parents, Thomas Diem's father was a potter and his mother ran workshops in the family home, he was surrounded by craft and clay from a young age. Despite this, he sought to find his own unique voice through further study and by working under other potters, before setting up his studio in 1997. His work is functional, creating beautiful and modern pieces for the home. He draws on pre-existing objects and structures for his inspiration, building on what has gone before him in the world. He is strongly influenced by architecture which can be seen in the simplicity of his forms, and which he incorporates with pops of playful colour. His work combines traditional skills with a contemporary design edge.

Interview

©Thomas Diem

©Thomas Diem

How did you learn your craft?: Growing up, I did jobs for my father in his pottery studio. Then, I completed the Pottery Skills and Design Course run by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, it was there that I gained confidence and saw the possibility of a career. But you never stop learning in ceramics!
When did you start making your own work?: While studying, we made a tea set of our own design, from concept to finished pieces. It was the first time I had not been given instructions as to how to make it or how it should look. I felt it was fully my own work and I still have the set to this day.
Why do you make?: I enjoy the physical process of making. There is a satisfaction that comes from taking raw materials and creating something. Most of the work I produce is functional. I enjoy that it becomes part of someone else’s life and home, the story continues without me.
Could you tell us something about your work that people might not realise?: Perhaps just how personal producing pottery can be. No matter how much you may try, you can never really detach yourself from what you make. It is a statement of who you are and like a member of your family, you can feel quite protective of it.

Thomas Diem is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1994