In this final instalment of our series on making hollow dishes, Anne Mette works to shape the curve on the bottom section of the dish and find the desired symmetry that makes the dish appear to float. A stable foot is formed and an air hole is added to prevent explosions in the kiln. The following day, porcelain slip is applied with added minerals for a thick textured coat before glazing. Anne Mette finally shows us two finished dishes. She talks about how the different glazes, different clays and different firing positions change the look and feel of her signature form.
Anne Mette Hjortshøj
Masterclass | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Hollow Dishes | Part 4
Anne Mette reveals one of her favourite tools to use and talks about the joy of working in clay rather than any other medium. She discusses the differences between making functional and sculptural work and how the limits imposed by rules she has been taught assist her creative process. She speaks of the craftsman’s balance … Read more
Masterclass | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Hollow Dishes | Part 2
‘You can do almost anything with this material but you have to do it well. Join Danish potter Anne Mette Hjortshøj in her Bornholm studio for the second part of the making of her signature hollow dishes. In this 10 minute film, she shares tips about sticking clay together. She talks about the memory of … Read more
In Conversation | Anne Mette Hjortshøj & Mike Goldmark
Join us to watch and listen to Anne Mette Hjortshøj & Mike Goldmark in conversation at the opening of Anne Mette Hjortshøj’s 2023 exhibition at Goldmark in the UK. Anne Mette chats about her ‘wild clay’ project, her collaboration with the restaurant NOMA and Kyoto, Japan, making and selling tableware. She takes questions from the … Read more
Rewilding Tradition
Anne Mette’s mission to unearth the hidden clays and minerals on the island of Bornholm shows that tradition need not be staid and sterile, writes Robin Holt. Anne Mette Hjortshøj’s originality is born from observing, remembering, and repeating tradition to a point where it becomes a unique and hard-won ‘giving over’ to what has gone … Read more
Masterclass | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Teapot Handles
Have you ever wanted to make your own handles? Sometimes we feel that shop-bought handles don’t quite have the character that we want for our pots. Join Danish potter Anne Mette Hjortshøj at her studio on the tiny island of Bornholm as she shows us how to make a simple handle from wisteria. Anne Mette … Read more
In Conversation | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Part 3
Join Anne Mette Hjortshøj in the third and final instalment of our conversation with her on the tiny island of Bornholm off the coast of Denmark. She talks about her support network on the island and the ever-changing relationship between a potter and their kiln, with all the failures that go with it. She speaks of the importance of mentors and the deep satisfaction of making things. Also, we hear her surprise at the continued response to the documentary that brought her and her work international acclaim.
Trimmings | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Home Workshop Tour
Join us as we follow Anne Mette Hjortshøj for a brief tour around her home workshop.
In Conversation | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Part 2
Join us for Part Two of Anne Mette Hjortshøj | In Conversation. Anne Mette talks about making a living as a craftsperson and finding the freedom to create what she wants. She also discusses using shapes and glazes that have come before, about making plates, both thrown and press molded and shows us some examples of her work. She talks about growing up in the countryside, coming from a working family (her father was a traditional carpenter) and how that has inspired and informed her career as a potter.
Masterclass | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Square Bottles
Join Anne Mette Hjortshøj for a masterclass in her studio on the island of Bornholm just off the Danish coast as she prepares press moulded square bottles. She finishes by throwing the neck of the bottle and describing how she will glaze and decorate using finished examples. ‘I spend most of my time in the studio working on my wheel, and I like the process, but sometimes it’s nice to get away and do something different. So I started making these press-moulded square bottles, in which you have a flat canvas that you can work on and that can show off the glazes. I see the materials in a different way when I see this canvas, when I see a picture more than I see a three-dimensional object.’
Documentary | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Paying Honest Attention
Anne Mette Hjortshøj lives and works on the small Danish island of Bornholm situated in the Baltic Sea.
Our documentary gives a gentle and revealing insight into one of Denmark’s leading potters. It follows Hjortshøj’s daily life; collecting clay from the local beach for her glazes, throwing and making pots in her studio, and talking about the firing of her two chamber wood-fired salt kiln and its role in producing the decorative aspects of her work. We learn of her influences both within and outside of the Danish potting tradition and the inspiration she takes from the nature of the island.
Her pots are characterised by a quiet dignity, entirely in tune with her surroundings and demonstrate the greatest respect for both beauty and function.
The Pleasures of Quiet Pots
‘I really hope that nothing I ever cook takes the attention away from any of Anne Mette’s work, but instead works with it, the two becoming one. Quiet food for a quiet pot.’ – Nigel Slater OBE (English food writer, journalist and broadcaster) My pots work for their living. When I say ‘my’ pots I of … Read more
Talking Pots | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Baking Dishes
Anne Mette Hjortshøj considers one of her trademark oval baking dishes. She describes the construction of this simple cylinder, the decoration and how the two applied slips react in the salt kiln to give interesting results.
Talking Pots | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Plates
In this short film Anne Mette Hjortshøj gives a detailed description of how she constructs, decorates and fires her hand built plates. She discusses the important role that wood firing has when it works with her applied decoration resulting in unique pieces that still work together to form a set.
Square Bottles by Anne Mette Hjortshøj
I don’t usually invent shapes or techniques: I like to understand those that people have made in generations before me. I think that’s what keeps me going, why I am still working as a potter. White slip landscapes of pillowy snow; dappled salt-glaze frostings on claret red fields; each square bottle by Anne Mette Hjortshøj … Read more
Masterclass | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Teapots
Anne Mette Hjortshøj demonstrates how she makes one of her signature oval teapots. Working in her studio on the Danish island of Bornholm, she throws the body, lid and spout and makes two little handles for the handmade willow handle.
Talking Pots | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Square Bottles
Anne Mette Hjortshøj looks at one of her trademark square bottles and reveals the surprising way they are constructed. She talks about the importance of getting away from the wheel and how these bottles serve as a canvas for decoration and experimentation.
Talking Pots | Anne Mette Hjortshøj | Square Bottles
Anne Mette Hjortshøj looks at one of her trademark square bottles and reveals the surprising way they are constructed. She talks about the importance of getting away from the wheel and how these bottles serve as a canvas for decoration and experimentation.
Trimmings | Working with a Gallery
Danish potter Anne Mette Hjortshøj talks about her relationship with Goldmark Gallery and how this has liberated her as a potter allowing her time to concentrate on developing her craft. She describes how the gallery acts as a translator; distilling the essence of her craft and representing this in a meaningful way to the public. She also acknowledges the influence of the Goldmark film archive which has given her insights into the working practices of fellow potters and resulted for her in a visit from the Queen of Denmark.
Critic’s Choice | Anne Mette Hjortshøj
WLC’s very own Max Waterhouse looks at Anne Mette Hjortshøj’s tea bowls and oval dishes. He talks about her life and access to materials on the Danish island of Bornholm. We see some footage from an interview taken with Anne Mette for the documentary ‘Paying Honest Attention’.
When Anne Mette Hjortshøj Met The Queen of Denmark | Goldmark Films
Back in 2012, the Goldmark Gallery made a film about Anne Mette Hjortshoj. Viewed on Danish national TV by the Queen, a royal visit quickly followed…