Medium: Ceramics
Location: Vancouver, BC
Member Since: 1997
Friederike Rahn took her first pottery class when she was in Grade 3, and clay pots have been a significant part of her life ever since. Friederike first studied at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, and later at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax before moving to Vancouver in 1990.
Friederike uses a low-fired red earthenware clay and employs a number of different surface finishes, including terra sigillata, underglazes, and polychrome matte glazes to achieve a rich variety of textures and contrasts, and give each surface a sense of depth. Her tools include a rolling pin, a kick-wheel and an ever-changing assortment of press moulds.
She is influenced by the everyday world of objects to constantly reinvent the familiar vessel, finding creative inspiration in everything from a boat, shoe, seedpod, roof or figure.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“I want to make objects that come fully to life in use, [and] therefore require participation: to cook soup, arrange flowers, or drink tea. Pots celebrate the domestic space and everyday acts like serving and eating food. They are intimate and physical.”
