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Anna Westerlund

  • Ceramicist
  • Alcabideche, Portugal
  • Master Artisan
Anna Westerlund Ceramicist
Contact
Portuguese, English, Swedish
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+351 932895712
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Bridging cultures through ceramics

  • • Anna has always felt the urge to create using her hands
  • • Her work falls between folklore and minimalism
  • • She is influenced by her Swedish-Portuguese background

Travelling and discovering different cultures has always played an important role in Anna Westerlund’s life. Firstly because she was born to a Swedish father and a Portuguese mother, so from an early age she was accustomed to moving from one country to another, immersing herself in different cultures. Later in life she became a model, a profession that led her to explore many cities and take in all that she experienced. “During my travels, I went to all the art galleries and craft exhibitions I could. When I got back after one of these trips, I changed from doing a marketing degree at university to studying ceramics at ARCO Art School in Lisbon,” she says. In 2012 she opened a workshop in Lisbon and created her own brand.

Read the full interview

Works

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Jug and vase – Azilah Collection 2019

This jug and vase were completely handmade from stoneware and decorated with blue patterns. Anna tends to include quite a few patterns and drawings throughout her work and appreciates that her lines are not always the same length or may be crooked. She finds that this distinguishes her work from the 'perfection' of machine-made repetition and also allows her to imbue her ceramic pieces with a sense of how she was feeling in the particular moment she made them.

Height 20 cm

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Black round jug

This jug was handmade from stoneware and decorated with black slip biscuit. Anna creates her designs in the manner that feels most natural at the time, so the lines on this jug are not all the same length and are a bit crooked. “For me that gives character to a piece and makes it more unique. If all my pieces were to look perfect and machine-made, for me they would not carry my soul,” she says.

Height 20 cm
Diameter 18 cm

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Tribal tall jug

The handle of this stoneware jug decorated with coloured slip has been finished with porcelain and sari fabric details. Being half Portuguese and half Swedish, Anna feels her work balances the minimalistic feel of Scandinavian design with the warm colours of the south. “As a person I feel the mixture of both cultures in me, so it would be impossible for my work not to reflect that.”

Height 29 cm
Diameter 15 cm

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Terracota tall teapot

This teapot and cup, made from stoneware and coloured slip, feature wooden beads and a straw handle. Anna tends to use a lot of patterns and colours in her pieces. She is very sensitive to colours and their various combinations.

Height 28 cm
Diameter 14 cm

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Dancing blues teapot

This stoneware teapot has been decorated with blue slip and finished with glass beads and fabric. The lines on the pot are not completely regular: “For me that gives character to a piece and makes it more unique. If all my pieces were to look perfect and machine-made, for me they would not carry my soul,” says Anna. She is very sensitive to colours, and colour combinations are an important part of her work.

Height 28 cm
Diameter 14 cm

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