Liisu Arro

Ceramicist

©Liisu Arro

©Elmet Treier

©Martin Saar

©Merilin Kaustel-Lehemets

Everyday joy

Liisu creates playful ceramics
Her tableware seeks to bring its users joy
She set up Arro Porcelain thanks to crowdfunding

Liisu Arro comes from a family of painters and has always loved to work with her hands. She enjoys creating practical everyday objects. Liisu believes that every day should have a moment of joy, beauty and celebration; one's decoration choices should serve to whisk away the dullness of life. Why hide the beautiful tableware for specific occasions when you have the opportunity for daily joy through using your favourite cup? Her beautiful handmade works have been exhibited extensively in her home country and further afield in Germany, Denmark and England. Now through crowdfunding and public support, she has managed to build her tableware brand, Arro Porcelain and continue her fulfilling profession as an artisan.

Interview

©Silver Mikiver

©Liisu Arro

What sparks your imagination?: Since childhood, I have been charmed by the beautiful Estonian summer: gardens full of flowers, the fields and tiny insects. But I'm also inspired by the different natural light throughout the year, opposites, relationships and the beauty of non-perfection.
What do you seek in your work?: Life's emptiness and deficit inspires me. I try to restore balance within myself through creating collections that have a deeper meaning and can communicate the journey to attaining balance. One of my exhibitions, Light, was about the spark of light that gives a direction to life.
What techniques do you use?: I use slip carving or sgraffito technique where I colour the surface and then carve out the image. I'm quite old-fashioned and like to use the coil construction technique, one of the oldest techniques in pottery, that existed far before the wheel was invented.
What makes you tick in your profession?: I love to work in my atelier, it feels like being in a meditative state, when I work in my own space and time. The need to work with my hands and the moment when I open the kiln and all the pieces come out intact and the glaze is just right makes me so happy.

Liisu Arro is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2002