Born in 1987 and raised amidst the serene forests of rural Austria, I experienced a childhood devoid of modern gadgets, spending most of my days outdoors, reveling in the tactile joy of playing with mud. Coming from a family deeply rooted in craftsmanship – blacksmiths, sandblasters, painters, glassblowers, carpenters, and tailors – I always knew my path would lead me to something artistic. This inclination crystallized during a brief internship at the age of thirteen with Elke Huala, a pottery artist and close friend of my recently departed grandfather, who was a painter and glassblower.
My journey into the world of ceramics officially began at the tender age of fourteen, when I enrolled in an art and design college to study ceramics. My heart was set on becoming a potter. Though the road was challenging, given the difficulty of sustaining a living solely through pottery, I persisted, balancing my passion with work in my father's metalworking gate business for over ten years. During this time, I experienced the profound loss of four family members within three years. It was amidst this personal turmoil that I dedicated myself to my master’s work in Austria.
In Austria, I delved into the thin line between life and death, exploring the liminal space where a person has already died and the body is still warm, and connections between individuals transcend physical presence. Titled "Homunculus," the work consisted of slab-built clay bodies suspended with nylon, symbolizing the delicate balance between preservation and letting go. Inspired by aerial views while flying to Manhattan for my uncle's funeral, one of the family members who died, the shapes of the bodies echoed the geographical formations of isles and lakes. The big clay bodies are hung up with nylon with a small gap to the ground where I placed metal trays filled with loam I dug from my newly built home and a dead, dried-out mole, that my cat probably brought to the hot and dry attic, symbolized the earth – the ground.
Despite the challenges, I remained steadfast in my pursuit of pottery, ultimately turning down the opportunity to inherit my father's metal business and instead embarking on a journey to London to hone my skills and elevate my craft. In 2019, I was accepted into the prestigious University of the Arts in London for a Master of Arts in Design Ceramics at Central Saint Martins, commencing my studies with enthusiasm.
