Ragnheiður Ingunn Ágústsdóttir

Ceramicist

©Heiðdís Husoghibyli courtesy of Hús og Híbýli

©Ragnheidur Agustsdottir

©Larus Karl Ingason

Breathing life into clay

Ragnheiður needs to be hands on making
Every piece she forms is different
Emotion drives her to create the work

Ragnheiður Ingunn Ágústsdóttir creates work that is a conversation between art, craft and design. She studied product design in Milan at the Domus Academy but quickly found she has a personal connection with clay. She went on to study ceramics at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg. Her forms investigate the emotions of everyday life: functional objects that express a type of ethnography. Her objects are primal, they appear to be grown not made. Colour and texture bring an element of play into the work; avoiding taking itself too seriously. She has exhibited widely in Iceland and abroad. She has work in the collections of the EFTA, Brussels and the Icelandic Embassy, Tokyo.

Interview

©Ragnheidur Agustsdottir

©Larus Karl Ingason

What was the first object you made?: Some of my earliest memories are making things out of mud. It may be that I picked up that old tradition again. I do remember a particularly fun piece of papier-mâché I gave to my parents: a fat, spotty, moss-green fish with a big red nose.
Can you tell us a memorable moment in your professional life?: When I came back from Milan after studying product design, I was trying my best to be a product designer. However, I soon realised that it was not for me. I was not listening to my heart. I love mud and to witness the birth of each object.
What do you love most about your profession?: No day is ever the same. Sometimes I’m drawing sketches other days I might be making clay models. When my ideas are working in my head and I’m preparing the clay, kneading it, throwing it or making moulds. The ideas start to take shape and that is so exciting and fun.
Why are everyday objects so important?: Everyday objects are always designed with a function in mind. However, through time the craftsmanship, cultural practices and narratives they convey far outweigh their original role, enabling the object to speak to something greater than function.

Ragnheiður Ingunn Ágústsdóttir is a master artisan: she began her career in 1987 and she started teaching in 2011