Who or what motivated you to become a ceramicist?
I had graduated as an engineer and was attending night school at the Dresden Art Academy. Then, in a café in Leipzig, I met Claudius Gabriel, a ceramicist who was in the process of setting up a workshop in Leipzig. I knew I wanted to work for him.
What makes ceramics interesting to you?
What is interesting and perhaps also problematical about working with ceramics are the almost limitless possibilities of shaping, surface design and colouring. The accessibility for everyone on the one hand, and the potential for high specialisation in terms of materials and techniques on the other.
What remains hidden from the eye of the beholder?
What you cannot see is all the mental work that goes into a piece. Product development, work organisation, devising and trying out strategies, logistics, taking care of sales and exhibition opportunities, customer care and bureaucracy take up a large part of an artist's and craftsperson’s time.
Why do you train people?
An apprentice at the potter's wheel usually produces hardly usable results at first. Over the three years of training, however, one has reliable help, and it is a pleasure to accompany the learning process.