"Soil touching souls"

My ceramics are hand made by me, coil built, organically shaped and unique in their own imperfect way. I love basic and timeless design, so that's what you may expect from my work.

Less is more... However, I do like to make a statement from time to time. For me, the beauty in design is not only minimalistic and pure. But in a subtle way bold too. That means my objects are mostly off white, brown or black, without any glaze and preferably a bit bigger than average.

How I work & get inspired

I work intuitively. I just start. Without a plan or drawing. However, every shape I make is exactly how I like it. Perfectly imperfect, inspired by the Japanese philosophy wabi-sabi and by my mother. My independent courageous mother who not only taught me to see the beauty in life. But also showed me how to keep life beautiful. By always staying true to herself. Until the very last minute

Because my mother didn't just die. My mother herself chose death. On January 22 in 2019, at the age of 81, she faced death with her eyes open and her head held high. So great was her fear of staying alive. “It is a liberation to know that I will not end up in the hell that awaits me here because of Alzheimer's…” is how my mother expressed her gratitude when her euthanasia request was granted. Fully aware of how privileged we are here in The Netherlands, that this is so well regulated by law.

Just before her death, she made me promise to share her story. To inspire people to do what she did: to take control of your own life and to write down and talk about what you want if a disease like Alzheimer's takes over. "Then it was not in vain", because: "you can only break through taboos if you talk about them," my mother said. Taboos always had an enormous attraction to her. Her own chosen death was the most important and most heroic one she managed to break.

How I started ceramics

At the beginning of 2020, I started ceramics classes. As a freelance copywriter with a lot of deadlines, I needed more time to let go and grieve after losing my mother the year before. Holding on to clay made me just do that.

As a little child, I already tasted the love for pottery. Now many years later I noticed that clay felt more familiar to me than I expected. Unfortunately, because of Corona, the classes stopped shortly after they started. But in a way for me that turned out as a blessing. Staying at home gave me all the time of the world to work with clay. And it grabbed me immediately. It still does.

Exhibitions

Not long after I posted some of my work on Instagram, Ceramics Magazine featured one of my vases after which I was invited to exhibit during the Paris Design Week, at the exhibition '1000 Vases' in Paris. In the meantime, I had the chance to participate an exhibition at a gallery in Amsterdam and now, December 2020, I'm joining here at The Artling too.

Grateful & honoured

I'm so grateful for all these opportunities. And for the fact that people appreciate my work and many more people worldwide are able to see my objects now, to enjoy them even in their very own beautiful homes. All because of me trusting the process. The process of grieving and exploring...

In a way, my mother didn’t just send me to ceramics classes as a little girl—she sent me again, 40 years later. That’s why I dedicate all my ceramic pieces to her, keeping her strong spirit a little bit alive. It has led me to explore my own journey in self-care and following my intuition, which is reflected in my work. I would love to see my pieces inspire others to embrace self-care with the same bravery my mother showed. That’s why every piece’s name starts with ‘Modder’: it sounds like mother, and in Dutch, it means mud—the essence of what clay truly is.

My Dream

My ultimate dream with my ceramics is to touch people’s souls, all over the world. Every time you see one of my pieces, I would like it to be a loving reminder to take good care of yourself, by always staying in tune with your own nature. Just like my mother did. Just like I try to do every single day.

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