Martin Schlotz

Ceramicist

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Almost like magic

Martin works on a potter’s wheel
He uses a vast variety of glazes and clays in his work
He enjoys the responsive nature of the material

“This is magic” was the first thought of 17-year old Martin Schlotz when he witnessed the work of a ceramicist for the first time, creating a vessel out of a lump of clay. A year later he had built himself a simple foot-operated potter's wheel in his parents' tiny shed and started working on his own. “It is almost surreal when a vessel grows in size and form with just a gentle movement of the hand and the rotation of the disc,” he says. Time spent in France and at the Freie Kunstschule Nürtingen in Germany helped Martin broaden his knowledge and intensify his work. But it was working under the guidance of ceramicist Volker Ellwanger that had a lasting influence on the unique aesthetic Martin is known for today, which he describes as “formally strict, but sensitive in material and surface”.

Interview

What do you like about the character of clay?
It is a responsive material which makes the initial creation process very direct. However, creating on the potter's wheel is fast-paced and you quickly end up producing rejects if you don’t pay close attention to the peculiarities of the material. The almost spontaneous nature of the process makes it very complex to produce vessels of prime quality.
The potter’s wheel is a very traditional tool.
Indeed, and so are rotational symmetric vessels, but within this tradition you can find a lot of creative freedom. I incorporate different influences into my work from African sculptures – especially Dogon – to minimal art, textile structures, architecture and classical modernism. The result doesn’t seem very traditional.
What makes an artwork well made?
When something is done well you can look at it in all its details and all you can see is that everything is exactly meant to be that way. It is the integrity of the expression.
Why is ceramics so appealing to you?
I think it is the unbelievable wealth of design possibilities resulting from the immediate interplay between the hands and the rotating material, as well as the adventure of the glaze firing process that also decides the character of an object.

Martin Schlotz is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1985