Louise MARTIENSEN
LOUISE MARTIENSEN
CERAMICIST
Marrickville, NSW , Australia
Louise Martiensen pours liquid porcelain into porous plaster moulds for a living, and then spends the rest of the day making sure that no two pieces which come out of them are alike. She studied design at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney, took ceramics as an elective on a whim, and has run Louise M studio from Marrickville since 2011: cups, bowls, plates, platters and vases. She sells online and at markets across the country and is the clever hands behind Pepe Saya’s ultra cute “butterkeeper”. She also teaches slip-casting, and Marcy, one of her former students, now works beside her in the studio. Her most treasured possession, however, is not a pot at all; it is a pink bathroom, and you will it below.
A few photos from the hundreds shot that day…. Read More
A few photos from the hundreds shot that day….
We met at Finders Keepers, where I gave Louise my little red zine full of artists photos I took over the years and we had a great chat across her stall. A winter of kiln breakdowns followed for her, and it was spring before I stood in her studio: Pod P1, the first door on the left inside an industrial building on Carrington Road, where the roof is made of translucent corrugated panels and the afternoon falls through them in a warm orange glow.
Louise prepared for the shoot as carefully as she prepares a firing. After receiving my “How to prep your studio for a photoshoot” guide, and a week before the day, she sent me a shot list organised like her production line (casting, fettling, trimming, carving, glazing, kilns, packing). She had hidden every plastic bucket in the studio and set pieces at every stage of drying, so that the whole life of a cup could be photographed in a single day. That is why, for once, I delivered more than five hundred images instead of my usual 100+. In the interview below, she explains why she named her studio after her own surname, why glass-blowing tempts her, and which English word she loves purely for its sound.
Connect with Louise
Fun GIF experiment with Louise’s hand fettling a large porcelain bowl
INTERVIEW
ORIGIN & IDENTITY
What’s the story of your name? LouiseM studio is because I have an unusual last name. All my life I have listened as people struggle to pronounce it, and then patiently spelt it out when it’s needed by others. So when it came time for a professional name, I tried a couple of other ones, but came back to my own name, with an easier to spell shortening.
Where were you born, and where do you live now? I was born in Sydney, and still live here. It’s my home, where most of my family and friends are, where I’ve built my life, and feels like where I belong.
What language do you speak at home? What other languages do you speak? English, with a smattering of half-forgotten high-school French.
As a child, did you know you wanted to do this work? As a child, I don’t think I knew this job existed. I always loved making things and using my hands and working on creative little projects, so it feels like I ended up in the right place, but my child self would be surprised that this is what the future holds for her.
CRAFT & PRACTICE
Please describe what you do. I design, manufacture and sell ceramic wares. I can explain it more, but all of the things I do are an extrapolation of that.
What do you love to do so much that it makes you lose all sense of time and place? Reading. A good novel really takes you out of yourself, it’s just delightful.
What was your big break, the moment that changed everything for your practice? Two moments. The first would be when I decided I was serious about this ceramics thing and I was going to rent out a studio. Once I had my own space to work in, it changed how I thought about what I was doing. The second would be when I got Pepe Saya as a client. It gave me a more stable income and brought me into work more regularly, as well as showing me how much I enjoyed the challenges of working on commissions.
What’s the most difficult hurdle you’ve overcome in your work? My shyness. I mean, I wanted to say the kilns, because I feel like I’m worried about one or the other of them any given day, but seriously it would be my natural reticence to speak to strangers and social awkwardness. You can’t sell your ceramics if you can’t talk to people, so it’s something I’m always thinking about and working on.
What does a perfect working day look like for you? I’m not sure. I’ll tell you when I’ve had one! Ha. It probably looks like a day where the kilns are firing perfectly, nothing breaks in there, nothing breaks when I’m doing any of my other processes, and most importantly, I actually get to the end of my to-do list.
If you could master one skill outside your craft, what would it be? I’ve long thought my ideal superpower would be to speak any language in the world. But if we’re looking for crafts, I’m quite fascinated by glass-blowing. I’m interested in the similarities and blown away by the differences.
INFLUENCES & MASTERS
What artwork, object, or piece of craft had the most impact on you? I’m not sure I could choose one. My creative practice has always been a bit of a grab-bag with influences pulled from so many places, I struggle to even name a few that stand above the others.
Name the absolute master of your craft. I bow down to Sydney’s master mould-maker Somchai Charoen. I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside him and seeing his mastery first hand. And he’s a lovely person.
Name an emerging artist or maker you’re excited about right now. Is it nepotism to bring up my studio assistant? Her business is Marcy Art Studio, which she does alongside working for me and another job. Coming to one of my slip-casting classes was one of her first forays into the world of clay, so I’ve seen her practice evolve over the years and I’m so proud to see how it’s developing.
Who taught you something essential that you still carry with you? My mother taught me through her example to be kind and to work hard.
VALUES, FEARS & PERSONALITY
What are your three most important values? Kindness, effort, and a sense of humour.
What is your favourite word, and why? I was talking about this recently with the two women who were working for me earlier this year. English isn’t the first language for either of them, so they were complaining about lots of our little English quirks, quite rightly! They asked me this question too, and thinking about it, I have to say I love the sound of the word chicane.
What is your greatest fear? Being abandoned in the water in the middle of the ocean. Public speaking doesn’t hold the same horrors for me now that it did when I was younger.
What do you most value in your friends? A good sense of humour, because these are the people that I laugh with.
QUIRKS & TREASURES
What is the most extravagant thing you’ve done? Buying a house. In Sydney. Outrageously extravagant!
Is there anything you collect? I try not to. My family has a tendency to hold on to a lot of things, as most do, and with all the things I hold on to for practical purposes I can’t really justify doing it for pleasure.
What is your most treasured possession, and why? I think it might be our bathroom. We bought a really run-down old rental and EVERYTHING needed replacing, including the bathroom. I convinced my partner that it should be pink and we designed a new layout and put a lot of work and money into it and I have no regrets. It gives me an uncomplicated joy to spend time in there every day.
What sound or noise do you love? The sounds of native birds. From the gentle chit of a rosella to the harsh squawk of a cockatoo, I love them all.
What’s a small luxury you couldn’t live without? Good olive oil.
TASTES & CULTURE
What’s your favourite dish? That’s a very hard question! How could one possibly choose?
Latest book you loved. A friend lent me a copy of The Wager by David Grann after talking it up and it did not disappoint. Survival stories are so gripping, and this was written so well. Just great.
Latest film that made you love cinema all over again. Not a recent release but I just re-watched My Neighbour Totoro and remembered the magic and why those Miyazaki films are so dear to me.
Latest TV show you binged on. I haven’t been watching heaps of TV lately, but I think it would be The Pitt.
What music are you listening to right now? The new Chelsea Wolfe and Swapmeet albums.
FUTURE & DREAMS
If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I wouldn’t even go far! I’d just move closer to the ocean, maybe just south of Sydney, near the Royal National Park.
Tell me about your most exciting current or dream project. Current projects are just working hard and getting ready for Christmas, which is my busiest time of year. But next year I’m hoping for a bit more time to work on some new projects. I’m planning a new range of tablewares as well as a couple of other items that I’ve been looking forward to for a while.
What do you hope your work will be remembered for? I hope my work is used. That’s always my joy in working, in knowing that my work is loved and used.
If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? I’d be too intimidated to choose someone famous or influential. I just want to have dinner with my friends and have a laugh.
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Ceramicist
Marrickville, NSW, Australia