But I have clay!

I live in Tallinn, where I make fine handmade ceramics in my tiny home studio.

My journey to becoming a potter.

How does happiness look like: Me, on my first time behind the potters’s wheel at 2018

My journey to becoming a potter

Hi, it’s nice to see you here !

My name is Kristjan Klementi.

I live in Estonia, in Tallinn, a small country at the shores of Baltic Sea, where I make fine ceramics in my tiny home studio.

My journey to ceramics began in 2018 when I had a desire to take some ceramics classes during the summer holiday, instead of the classes I rented a potter’s wheel and bought thirty kilos of clay, set up the wheel in my garden and made my first attempts to throw something. Naturally, nothing worked out for the beginning, but it was learning and trying that eventually made the thing. By the end of summer, I had quite many bowls, vases and mugs thrown so I could take the Christmas gifts from my own makings. I had to return the wheel after 6 weeks of throwing. But that 6 weeks took my hand and my heart.

Next year I planned to do the same again, instead of renting the wheel I decided to buy the potter’s wheel. By the end of the year, I also received my own kiln so I could fire my makings on my own. Ever since I have made countless number of vessels.

Then came covid and we all needed a place to work from home offices. I made some rework in my garage and this became my office and my studio – with a potter’s wheel and kiln in one corner and my working table at the other corner.

I have not studied art or ceramics. I do not have any art school diplomas, what I have learned is all by making and studying the result and with each vessel I make I have learned how to make them even better.

I’ve revised what is important for me, as well what I want to do. My heart is with making things with my hands. I love this what I do and put my heart and passion into it. This is where I store energy, and this is where I draw it from.

This shortly has been my path to a maker of handmade ceramics in a tiny home studio. Perhaps, I just need more space for my studio

Treasure box from black stoneware and ice crackle glaze

The value of handmade

Before industrial revolution hands were the ones making everything we needed in our lives. While factories can make a lot of cheap things then hands of a master are the only ones that can add love, care, attention and mastery to the work they make and there is always art in crafting a fine ceramic vessel.

Simple and functional objects complemented with subtle details.

In my work I focus on simple designs, simple and functional objects we can have practical use in or daily lives.

I like to play with contrasts between glazed and unglazed surfaces, highlighting the ancient nature of clay that existed long before humans started walking on Earth. I sometimes add subtle textures to the unglazed parts or leave the whole exterior unglazed to reveal the soft and warm quality of the clay.

Mastery of crafting a refined ceramics resonates with my soul and my being.

I pay attention to details, such as how the lid fits on the jar, how the teapot pours tea, how it feels silky smooth in our hands or how it feels when lips touch the rim of the cup and how the bottom of each piece is smooth and does not scratch the table.

Bringing silent and long-lasting joy to your life

We surround ourselves with various objects, often they are linked to who we are and what we value. They help us create the atmosphere and mood in our homes and around us.

The things we use on our daily lives will bond with us over time. In the morning we reach out for our favorite cup and bowl, and when sitting together with family or friends for Sunday dinner, we tend to set the table with the same tableware. They help us make the moment special. Those items don’t tell us stories of the artist who made them – they tell us stories of our memories and the beautiful moments we had together with our loved ones – and they help us preserve the stories and pass them on to the next generation.

My first ceramic cup

In 2009 we celebrated our daughter’s birthday in a ceramics workshop, we all made our hands dirty with clay and hand built what our imagination described, and hands were able to do.

My first ever ceramic jar was made there, and it still stands in an honorable position on my studio shelve. I think this is the time I got “infected”.