Trust Your Style: karin eriksson: simple contrasts

karin eriksson: simple contrasts

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I've always admired Karin Eriksson's work, which often shows up on design blogs. I wanted to include her in my ongoing interviews with artists not only because I always appreciate her lovely sensibility but also because Karin's style blog is one of my favorite stops whenever I'm looking for a distilled blast of an artist's life. Simple and true, it always brings me right back to the reasons I love creating. I'm so happy that Karin has dropped by Trust Your Style today to talk about her work and her life.

Karin's signature

mj: Could you talk a little about your work--what inspires you and what are your favorite pieces you are working on lately?

Karin's stem vase

karin: I'm drawn to simple, natural things--made by nature or man-made from natural sources. I also love contrasts--contrasting a coarse dark clay with a smooth white porcelain; letting a fragile pattern find its way around a sharp shape; combining a tailored jacket with baggy blue jeans.

Karin's new studio (in Sweden): outside and inside view

For my latest collection I've been throwing with porcelain and have created patterns inspired by grass, insects and splashes of turquoise colour.

mj: How do you think your work is evolving?

karin: The shapes are striving to become simpler. I'm using some colour! I want to make more one-off's.

mj: Besides ceramics, do you do other artwork such as photography or painting, etc?

karin: I take photographs and when I have the time I collage things together. I sing in a choir, I think that musical rhythm has got lots in common with rhythm in form.

Here are A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT KARIN ERIKSSON:

A) THE FOUR MOST STYLISH PEOPLE THAT INFLUENCED ME:
my mum, Audrey Hepburn, my grandmother and my grandfather - although I never met him I've formed a picture of him from all the stories I've been told and I've got a wonderful black and white photograph of him and my grandmother chasing each other on a beach somewhere.

B) FOUR WAYS THAT STYLE MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Great individual style make me smile, make me interested in and curious about other people and it makes me feel at ease.

C) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNERS:
Dries van Noten, Josef Frank, Signe Persson Melin, Christian Lacroix

D) FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:
project manager in an advertising agency, library assistant, waitress, care assistant

E) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER (AND DO):
I don't! But I can give you an endless list of books...
'Eat Pray Love' Elizabeth Gilbert
'A Winter's Tale' Mark Helprin
'The Map of Love' Ahdaf Soueif
Lian Hearn's triology about the Otori clan

F) FOUR PLACES WHERE I HAVE LIVED:
Halmstad, Helsinki, London, Stockholm

G) FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:
This past year I haven't watched much TV so am not very up-to-date...Here are some more books instead ;)
'Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-Gazer' Sena Jeter Naslund
'One Hundred years of Solitude' Gabriel Garcia Marquez
'His Dark Material' triology Philip Pullman

I) FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY (Or at least Weekly):
Camilla Engman, Port2Port, Google, Bloglines

J) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
Potatoes in every shape and form
Fresh shrimps and baguette with cheddar cheese (the strong one from Kvibille)
Pasta in all shapes and forms
Soup--I love soup!

K) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
In a restaurant in New York with David.
Visiting crafts women in Africa.
In a book shop in Tokyo.
On a beach looking out towards the horizon.

Labels: Karin Eriksson