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Creative Collection: Mona-Lisa Klavus

This potter channels her Nordic heritage with simple shapes and minimal decoration to make functional everyday pieces
Mona-Lisa Klavus

The irregular shape of plates, bowls and platters are born of the hand-building process Mona-Lisa Klavus uses to form her ceramic pieces. Keeping things organic, Mona-Lisa imparts texture onto clay using recycled coffee bags for a patterned effect.

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Textured ceramic serving board beckons the touch, or an afternoon feast (Credit: Mona-Lisa Klavus)

Featured on Home Beautiful’s Creative Collection Instagram feed for our Month of Makers, Mona-Lisa Klavus first worked with clay as a child in Finland – taken along to pottery classes with her mother. “I think I already then got a fascination with this amazing material and being able to make just what ever I wanted to,” she says.

Later moving to Sydney, Mona-Lisa revisited the art, “I found myself taking evening classes in ceramics and straight away I fell on love with the clay.”

She now works from a small home studio, juggling studio life with two children. “Being so close to my work space gives me flexibility and the freedom to pop in when ever I feel inspired. And really working with ceramics is almost like working with babies – they need constant looking after during  their journey from a lump of clay to a beautiful piece of functional art.”

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“That I can take the whole journey of a piece into my own hands… create something functional and beautiful from something meaningless is just mind boggling and so very satisfying.”

Bold black shapes are juxtaposed beneath the quiet matte finish of this stoneware (Credit: Mona-Lisa Klavus)

 “I think it is important as an artist that I look into myself, design and make pieces that I love and find pleasing,” says Mona-Lisa Klavus of her work. “I have found that when I stop looking at what others do and stop trying to figure out what people want I really create my best work and find my own style. After that everything else falls into place.”

Fine lines are hand painted and glorious glaze of Turquoise, Green or Blue is added (Credit: Mona-Lisa Klavus)

Expect to see big things coming soon from Mona-Lisa. “At the moment I am busy getting ready for a big food and wine show in June. I will then launch a new line of dining ware,” she enthuses. “This is all happening at the same time as we are renovating the whole upstairs floor. I am so pleased to be able to escape to my small studio from the mayhem of my home right now.”

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Visit Mona-Lisa here to stay up to date.

Little handbuilt ceramic bowls are edged with a touch of colour (Credit: Mona-Lisa Klavus)

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