Hi everyone!

I have been wanting to share a bit more about me and my studio here. So every now and then I will share little stories of what has been keeping me busy lately 🎨 Here's the first one!

For the last weeks Wonky Vases have been keeping me busy. My tall, funny looking characters that are always a favorite to make. I recently decided to create a big new collection of them, which got me thinking about how they have been an important part of many of my previous collections. About how they have changed over the years and how it has been 8 years since I built my first tall vase (really? Where did the time go??)

So here's a bit more about how the Wonky Vase came to be, how it changed along with the rest of my work, and some insight on how I make them. 

But first of all: what is a Wonky Vase?

A wonky vase is a tall, hand-built bud vase. Their long, simple bodies make them look quirky and, as they are often a bit tumbled and show marks of the hand-building process, they're wonky. I like them best that way. It gives them a charm:) And even though they are wonky, their thick and heavy bottom also makes them stable. I used to call them Weirdo Bud Vases, a name I personally enjoyed but it often confused people. Fortunately, Wonky is very striking, too 😊 

The story of how the Wonky Vase came to be isn't too interesting. The idea just popped in my head one day, while I was making ceramics. At that time I often created with the pottery wheel and even though I did enjoy myself (and had the occasional good day), I was never really good at it. It did give me a fascination for shapes and, maybe because my throwing skills were limited, it got me thinking about unusual shapes a lot, in particular shapes that cannot easily be created on the wheel. I loved the idea of creating something tall, but I kept the idea in my head for quite a while before I did anything with it.

Once I decided to finally give some of my thoughts a try, I loved it .. It took me some time to get the hand on building them but practiced a lot, trying to make each one better. I loved how they looked; their silly postures and weird little faces. I loved how cheerful they looked in a big goup of them and I loved practicing different patterns on them.

Some of my very first wonkies:

In the early days, almost all of my wonky vases had 'people faces'. It's what I was fimiliar with from creating my face pots, but as my work changed and I started sculpting more, so did the wonkies, and I started making lots of animals. Their shape and style also changed. They became taller and thinner. They got bigger and got heavier bottoms as I realized it helped their stability.

They've had different looks over the years:

I build all of my wonky vases by hand. I have one favorite tool that I have used from the beginning: a big paintbrush. I cover it in a newspaper (which prevents the clay from sticking to the brush) and then I roll a tall slab of clay around it, which then shapes into a small tube. A bottom is added afterwards, and when the clay is dry enough, I sculpt it any way I like. It does require som practice, especially when you want to make the tube thinner, but it can be done!

I may be wrong, but at this point I feel the wonkies have reached a point where I don't think they will be changing, or 'evolving' much more. That happens in the creative journey. Sometimes making something gives me tingles and makes me imagine thousands of possibilities (it can literally keep me up at night) and sometimes it doens't anymore. I just finished a very big collection of Wonky Vases, probably the biggest I have made in a few years. And even though I did include some new designs and had a lot of fun with it (I finally made giraffes, ha!), making them mostly feels like a trip to memory lane. Passing through old designs and remaking the ones I loved most. Trying to refine them and just kind if appreciating them as they are. A very satisfying and comfortable feeling.

So yes, I still get excited working on them. It doesn't always have to be something new to keep the fun in. For me, looking at all the things I make, the wonky vase is also one of the pieces that feels most unique and tipically mine. I love making other things too, but this is one of the things I'm most proud of ❤️

This Sunday (March 29) I will restock my shop with a collection of new made wonky vases. I loved working on them and hope you will enjoy them too. And yes, there will be more wonky vases in the future...😊

X Sandra 

Wonkies in the shop
The previews of the pieces that will be available this Sunday are now online

Make your own Wonky Vases
I haven't planned it yet, but may be making an online tutorial soon. Meanwhile you can get some inspiration from this Instagram video or join me in a real-life workshop in Utrecht this year.