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©Iris Stefansdottir
©Iris Stefansdottir
©Iris Stefansdottir
©All rights reserved

Katrín Valgerdur Karlsdóttir

  • Kaolin
  • Ceramicist
  • Kópavogur, Iceland
  • Master Artisan
Katrín Valgerdur Karlsdóttir Ceramicist
Contact
Icelandic, English, Norwegian
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+354 6987012
©Iris Stefansdottir

Creating with the elements

  • • Katrín pushes her materials to their limits
  • • She has a deep urge to make with her hands
  • • She uses fire as her tool

Katrín Valgerdur Karlsdóttir graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2001. She was turning 40 at the time and although it took time to find her path, she experienced a lot on the way. She worked as an educator for many years, teaching pre-school children and wood carving to senior citizens. Now a full-time ceramic artist, she is part of “Brennuvargar” an association for ceramic artists who fire their work with flames. Every firing and each piece is different; a counterbalance to the repetitive uniformity of mass production. Her work encapsulates extremes, using fire not just as a tool but as an integral part of the work. It is a symbol of destruction and rebirth.

Read the full interview

Works

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Photo: ©All rights reserved
Viking mugs

These handmade Viking mugs – intended for beer, mead or schnapps – are finished with a red base, black patterns, and a silver-grey interior surface. The cups are handcrafted from stoneware, terra sigillata and cobalt oxide. They have dents on the sides for to improve grip. The decoration and the inscriptions in runes are hand carved forming a facial mask. They reproduce a pattern found on a granite Viking Age memorial runestone in Denmark.

Height 14 cm
Diameter 9 cm

Photo: ©All rights reserved
Fire Bowl

This handcrafted decorative bowl is fired using an ancient method, in a pit with live fire. The vessel is handcrafted from stoneware and terra sigillata. The smoke from the pit fire creates a multi-coloured surface. Wind and humidity play a part in the process while the bowl is fired outside in nature. This is the third of six bowls that can be stacked as a nested set of bowls, but are also beautiful on their own.

Length 13 cm
Width 11 cm
Height 3 cm

Photo: ©All rights reserved
Ancestresses Memory Vessel

This vase, handcrafted from stoneware and terra sigillata, is fired with an ancient method, in a pit with live fire. The smoke creates the black, grey and brownish hues. Due to extreme conditions in the pit, the ceramic can easily crack or break. Then it is possible to repair with Kintsugi, an ancient Japanese method to repair with metals. This vase is repaired with silver and finished with a beeswax coating.

Height 40 cm
Diameter 25 cm

Find Katrín Valgerdur Karlsdóttir in the itinerary

Reykjavík: craft inspired by nature
9 locations
Fed with the strength of volcanoes and the frozen air coming off the sea, Reykjavík is a mystical city. Recognised as one of the cleanest cities in the world, nature is at its core, and so it has become a centre of beauty and sustainability.
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