Integral HarmonyFocus By Elena Renker November 8, 2022

Integral Harmony
Focus by Elena Renker

Statememt

My focus has been on making functional ware that can be used in everyday life. I aim to make work that is beautiful to look at, feels good in the hand and is pleasant to use. I think functional wares should be made with their purpose in mind - a vase should enhance the beauty of the flowers, not compete with it, and a bowl or plate should complement the food served in it.

My pots are loosely thrown on the wheel or faceted and hand carved using various types of stoneware clay. Often they are slightly deformed to fit more comfortably into the hand of the user. They are then decorated with various ash or iron slips and partially glazed in quick, gestural movements. They are fired in my wood or gas kiln for 12 to 18 hours to 1300C, the effects of fire and flame adding another dimension to the surfaces of my pots. My aim is not perfection - on the contrary, my belief is that imperfections make the bowls come alive, make them easier to relate to, make them more human. Nature’s perfection lies within its own asymmetry.

Biography

Born in Germany, Elena Renker was first introduced to Pottery in 1977 at Golden Bridge Pottery run by Ray and Debra Meeker in Pondicherry, India. Elena says, "Mostly I was just given a few balls of clay and shown to an old kick wheel under a mango tree and told to just get on with it." More structured learning followed on her return to Germany at the studio of Gisela Fattorini, a Canadian potter working in southern Baveria. After a year at her studio Elena moved to Munich to study graphic design, started a family and moved to New Zealand. She rediscovered pottery in 1998 after her youngest child started school, first taking lessons at Auckland Studio Potters and then studying towards a Diploma in Ceramic Art at the Otago Polytechnic which she completed in 2007.