Locally produced sculptural objects from unfiltered clay
‘I only think about clay’. Ceramicist and designer Rink Schelling has found her medium of choice. ‘It’s such a complex material with endless variations in composition and possibilities’ she says. While studying at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, Rink discovered clay and it was love at first sight. Rink is mainly interested in clay that is as ‘raw’ as possible; clay that she digs up herself and that has not been filtered or cleaned. With this clay, she creates sculptural objects, often in vase-like shapes that reflect the unique character of the material itself. The composition of salts, impurities and residual organic material create a multitude of surprising effects in the kiln, such as unexpected colours and textures on the ‘skin’ of the ceramic object. ‘These objects tell the history of the clay,’ she says.
