
«Useful things move me, especially those that are handled daily. Cooking and shared meals also spark ideas in my studio practice. I aim for multiple qualities in one object: a color that excites, a shape that entices, a weight that stimulates, a surface that invites, a volume that is enough, a detail that you want to remember.»
In Elisa Helland-Hansen’s 50-year practice, the social, cultural, and aesthetic values of the meal have been closely tied to her approach to ceramics. In 2012, she moved from Bergen to rural surroundings outside Rosendal in the Hardangerfjord, where she established a workshop. Her encounter with the Western Norwegian nature and its abundant array of food resources became a life choice that nourished her artistic investigations. Throughout her career, she has consistently explored the principles of functionality and how making pottery best expresses itself in the relationship between food, drink, and vessel.