Ulrika Holmquist

A new addition to the store is work by Ulrika Holmquist. Borrowing the techniques of mass-production, she creates bold, bright and playful ceramics in her Rathmines studio. Ulrika was born in Sodertalje, south of Stockholm, Sweden in October 1966. After working for five years in the printing business she came to Ireland in 1990, to practice her English and get used to the idea of travelling by herself, and has been here ever since. When her daughter turned two, Ulrika decided to take up a ceramics evening class, as a hobby. The ceramics teacher convinced her to do the portfolio course they ran there too, and so, she ended up applying to colleges, and was accepted in to the ceramics degree course at NCAD in 1996. 

A year and a half after graduating in 2000, Ulrika started working from a small studio in Rathmines, run by Sandra McCowen, but felt she needed a little more guidance and to improve on her skills, so she applied for the MA course in NCAD. Ulrika graduated from the MA in 2007, having gained new skills, and a great boost in her confidence as a designer/maker. She continues to work from the studio in Rathmines alongside several other ceramicists, and has started an artists collective/group called WOM (Well oiled machine).

Ulrika believes that her method of designing is slightly different to other designers, preferring to mull over an idea or design in her head, rather that working on drawings/ sketches. Having come up with a basic design, she will do her technical drawings for the model and for the mould. Most of her work is slip-cast, meaning that a mould has to be made, in which to pour the liquid clay. The model for the mould can be made from a variety of materials- plaster, plastic, wood, stone, metal or clay- anything non-porous.

Slip-casting is the method used in industry for mass-production, but Ulrika’s moulds are only used a few times to create limited editions. She uses earthenware clay which is fired at a lower temperature than stoneware or porcelain, so that she can use strong vivid colours which can only be obtained at these lower temperatures. She then often uses precious metal lutres on top of the colour, such as gold or platinum, which is sprayed onto the glazed surface with an airbrush and fired at a temperature just high enough (700-750 degrees) to soften the glaze and fuse the lustre on to the piece.