Karin Amdal
Location
Norway
About
Karin Amdal is a Norwegian potter and designer based in Oslo. She is a qualified Art Director, holds a Master of Design and a Diploma of Ceramic Art. Her creative career spans three decades (two of them in New Zealand) and involves 2D and 3D works that over the years have gained awards and international attention. She has worked full time with clay since 2019.
"A background in visual communication and a fondness for graphic wit shapes my ceramic practice. Ideas and concepts underpin my work, often resulting in unexpected twists. I work with simple, geometric forms and build my pieces by hand.”
Artist Statement
How do you make a living as a potter?
In 2019, I attended the Australian Ceramic Triennale in Hobart. I'd travelled there from New Zealand with a fresh ceramic diploma in hand, eyes and ears wide open. I attended a session with the inimitable Prue Venables, the theme was 'finding your voice'. At Q&A time, on the edge of my seat, I popped the question ‘but, how do you make a living as a potter?’. Silence. Then everyone in the room started giggling. There was obviously no easy answer to that.
5 years later, now back in my native Norway with the challenges and unexpected thrills that come with moving practice between two different cultures, I am finding my voice. Since Hobart I have won several awards, featured in international magazines, group exhibitions, been a selector, collaborated with Poliform in Milan, delivered vases to Simone Haag for a Sydney Hotel, I have gallery representation in New York, received fan mail from Puls gallery in Belgium and I’m about to work with a design company to put some of my vases into production. I still don’t have the answer to the question, but I have a few tales to tell that shed some light on the dynamics of life as a potter.