Tonight we had a very special guest who joined us for class. My teaching assistant Susan brought a friend of hers who is visiting from Sweden. They met a few months back when they both attended a workshop at La Meridiana in Italy. It was so much fun to have her in class to share stories, pottery experiences… and she even brought a bowl all the way from Sweden for the bowl exchange!!!

Saga Johnsson hung out with us for the night sharing her path, meeting my students, touring my studio & Lillstreet Art Center. At one point (after cheesecake) she sat down at the wheel to throw a couple quick bowls. It’s always so much fun to watch other people throwing. It’s mesmerizing for me every time!

Later, Saga stepped aside and shared some more of her story with images from home, her studio and her body of work. She showed off her pottery she “sells” for a living, the pieces she plays with to express herself, her kids, her chickens, her workshop photos at La Meridiana, and so much more. Ahhh… the beauty of a tablet packed full of photos!!!

Here’s a quick excerpt from her Etsy site…

I live and work full-time as a ceramic artist/ studio potter in the beautiful countryside of Österlen, SkÃ¥ne in Sweden. I have a studio and a shop next to my house where I also run a small Bed & Breakfast. I started out doing art (painting, drawings and sculptures) 19 years ago… (time does fly by when your having fun! ) The last few (8) years my main focus has been mainly focused on ceramic. I love the way clay challenges me and always let me discover new and exciting things about my material and about my self.

And I loved that Saga was so willing to share. She instantly “fit in” and became part of my class for the night. She has such a great energy about her. I had a great time hanging with her. Maybe I need to plan a little vacation to Sweden?… I hear there’s a great Bed & Breakfast there???… with wheels!!!

Here’s a quick peek at Saga’s stunning work. She does a lot of work with hand-drawn illustrations she turns into decals and applies to her pots.

And here’s a little trick she shared with us…
Saga enjoys placing her decals so they are cropped off the edge forcing the user to “visualize” the rest of the image. Not one to “waste” the cropped off portion of the illustration decal… the other half goes on the other side of the cup!!! Brilliant!!!

For more of Saga Johnsson’s work, click here for her website.
Or click here to follow Saga Keramik on Facebook.