cERAMICS
Lea Schelling
Could you share a bit about yourself and your background?
My name is Lea, I was born and bred in Munich, Germany, which I left at 18 to study food sciences in Italy. This was probably when my love and fascination for food was manifested. Living in a small picturesque town in northern Italy, discovering vegetables I'd never seen before, finding out how a really good hazelnut can taste, spending long evenings in the small wine bar down the street, all whilst studying the multiple facets of food, was simply magical. After finishing my Bachelor there I thought about becoming a chef. I staged in a couple of restaurants and in 2018 began my 2 year apprenticeship back in southern Germany. Those 2 years were tough but very valuable. I moved to Berlin and started working at Lode&Stijn, a wonderful fine dining restaurant in Kreuzberg, which sadly is closed today. I learned how every product has its destined way of being prepared, I learned using my instincts, sharpened them.
I had multiple mentors in this kitchen and personally grew a lot. After two beautiful years of full time cooking, I decided to go back to university to study nutritional sciences and that's where I am today. Being a student with a more flexible schedule, I have time to extend my pottery and artistic work with food.
When was the moment of revelation that clay was a form that you would like to explore?
As a full time cook I clearly used my hands everyday. Tasks I most enjoyed were the ones completely immersing my fingers into ingredients. Peeling roasted beets - oily, stained fingers - , opening scallops - seawater and mussel -, kneading dough - buttery, sticky, sweet hands. I like the thought of coming a little closer to a product by touching it, working it. So it was no surprise that when I was gifted a first pottery class, I liked having clay on my hands.
Tell us more about your love for food?
Oh, that's a big one. To me food is memory, comfort, indulgence, connection, healing. When I cook I like to use all my senses, I don't like to wear gloves for example, I want to touch it, feel it. When I go to the market, I squeeze many artichokes before I pick the one to come home with me. In the kitchen, I instantly feel comforted when I smell butter melting in a pot, slowly browning, maybe add some onions, some thyme, and it's a party.
Most significant memories and encounters of my life are connected to a dish, I can remember better when I recall flavours. Eating well makes me so happy. It's healing me when I'm unwell. And honestly, it can be as simple as a well buttered slice of sourdough bread topped with some aged cheese.
How did Studio Beurre come about?
I set up a tiny clay corner in my flat where I started to build quirky, weird vases, exploring how I can control the material but also be open to shapes I never had in mind. Somehow the pieces slipped out of my home into more public settings which led me to giving my clay adventure a name. As a lifetime butter lover I simply called the project Studio Beurre. Today I'm creating vases and sculptures as well as smaller pieces aiming for purposeful and aesthetically pleasing objects. I find great excitement in designing food installations, a sort of edible foodscape - nourishing for eyes and souls.
Can you take us through your process? Do you have a favourite part of the creation process?
I always start sketching. Sometimes different versions of the same idea, sometimes just a few pencil strokes in my notebook. Be it sculptures, tables or single dishes, I always like to start with a rough direction. Maybe that's my favourite part - still somewhat deluded by an endless basket of possibilities. When I'm particularly fond of the project I shift all other priorities to get started right away. Starting to build up clay I sometimes realise that not EVERYTHING is possible (it's mainly gravity that's hard on me), which can be frustrating but it all contributes to experience and gathering knowledge.
Working with clay can lead to unexpected results. How do you build a balanced relationship with this material, and let go of what you expect?
I am currently trying to get better at looking at circumstances from multiple angles, to not get discouraged too easily. And this counts for everything else in my life really. Shifting from being sad about not having fulfilled expectations towards "Hey, maybe this is not what I expected but couldn't it be cool as well?" It doesn't always work.
But in this sense clay can be a great teacher for everyday-life-situations I guess. At the same time I'm trying not to take everything too seriously. If I lose my playful, intuitive approach to creating ceramics, I won't enjoy it anymore.
What and who inspires you?
Being a passionate fleamarket nerd, I pull a lot of inspiration from unexpected, unique finds. Digging through abandoned boxes full of old plates and delicate glasses, thinking of a new purpose for them truly fulfils me. I was recently gifted an old French cookbook suggesting menus for different occasions and it's a feast for the eyes: puff pastry tartlets filled with glossy peas; stuffed, braised and caramelised pearl onions; eggs with caviar and toasted bread; sugar coated, shiny summer fruits.
The way the tables are so carefully set and designed for a specific meal, inspires me a lot. I love paintings, wandering between large canvases by Mark Rothko, Picasso, Matisse, Joan Miró or Paul Klee transports me into a different world, a world of velvet colours and soft edges.
Where do you think lies the biggest potential to preserve important local crafts in the contemporary context?
Sliding into an era in which AI will play a major role and erase many many jobs, crafts will claim back their fair value and appreciation. The handmade, the unique, the custom made, the imperfect. Those attributes will mean more in the future. They already do today.
Where do you want your most significant contribution to be?
When drowning in shocking news from all over the world everyday, I often think my work has no value. Does the world really need another ceramic object or pretty plate? I do struggle with finding my raison d'être but my mum recently told me "It's important to carry beauty into the world" and I think that's true.
When it comes to food I want to teach others through their personal experience that there are differences in quality and that it can be important to connect with what you eat. Look at this dark pink tomato, lift it up, close your eyes, smell it, cut it, lick it, taste it. You can't have this much fun with a discounter tomato.
What current projects excite you right now?
I have a few big caterings coming up this year and I want to engage more with the thought of designing ceramic objects to be used and incorporated into a menu. I'm thinking overproportional spoons and forks, a big ceramic cone to be decorated with pickled vegetables, a ceramic knife rest and and and…
Where and how can people engage more with your work?
Find me on Instagram @studiobeurre
Check out my website www.studiobeurre.com
Or send me an email to studiobeurre@gmail.com
Photos by Lena Reetz, Natasha auf'm Kamp, Yoni Nimrod, Lea Schelling
