From Clay to Sculpture
Each sculpture develops slowly through a dialogue between hand, material, fire and personal experience. Built layer by layer, the forms evolve intuitively — shaped by movement, bodily memory, balance and the unpredictability of the firing process.
Ceramics Technique
The sculptures of Brigitte Saugstad are individually hand-built and modelled. She works with different ceramic bodies, including fine stoneware and coloured clays.
The surfaces retain the traces of both touch and fire. Colour, ornament and texture emerge through an intuitive dialogue between clay, glaze, movement and heat.
Underglaze colours and glazes are applied in multiple layers. Selected works are finished with liquid bright gold for ceramics, which is applied to the glazed surface and fused in a third firing.
Some sculptures incorporate crystal elements, while others are created using the traditional Japanese Raku firing technique. Certain works are additionally gilded with 23.5-carat gold leaf.
Ornament
Ornament, for me, is not decoration. It is language. A trace. A kind of map. Perhaps also a poem or a melody.
Even in figure skating, I left traces on the ice with my blades. In a four-minute programme, jumps, spins and connecting steps created drawings in space — lines and movements carried by music and rhythm. Perhaps my understanding of ornament began there.
Like the notes of a musical composition, patterns carry rhythm and movement within them. They connect forms, allow something to flow, and speak of in
Raku – The Magic of Raku
The art of Raku originated in Japan in the 16th century and is closely connected to the Japanese tea ceremony and the tea bowls created for it.
The potter who developed these tea bowls was granted a golden seal bearing the inscription “Raku”. The word can be translated as happiness, joy or contentment. This name has been passed down through family lineages for centuries.
Since 1922, the technique has also become increasingly known in the West, where it has been adopted, further developed and reinterpreted by contemporary artists worldwide.
The Technique of Raku Firing
First, I form my figures from coarse-grained fireclay, a material designed to withstand strong temperature fluctuations. After drying, the pieces are bisque-fired and then glazed.
During the raku firing, the glowing piece is removed from the gas kiln at around 1000 °C using tongs and placed into a metal container filled with sawdust. The heat of the sculpture ignites the material. The container is then sealed airtight.
Transformation in Smoke
The sudden thermal shock creates a fine network of cracks in the glaze – the craquelé. At the same time, smoke and oxygen reduction create a reducing atmosphere which, together with metal oxides in the glaze, produces shifts in colour, metallic and iridescent effects.
The smoke penetrates the fine surface cracks and deposits carbon within them.
A Unique Piece in Fire
After cooling, the works are cleaned. Only the craquelé structure and unglazed areas remain darkened.
The process is largely beyond control. It follows its own physical laws and produces different results each time. Each piece emerges as a unique work formed in fire.
