@angel.ceramics
Ηow would you describe yourself?
People tell me that I have a lot of energy and passion. With all ups and downs that brings life with it, I try always to see also the positive side of circumstances. If I have a dream… I am focused and push it through the door of reality.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement as a person?
I am very happy, when I am able to transmit my enthusiasm for pottery to other people.
Have you ever made life-changing decisions i.e. moving to another country? If so, was its carefully planned, or did you wake up one day and said I want to do this and you just did it (leap-of-faith kind of decision)? How did that turn out?
Yes, I kind of planned my life in Greece as a young woman (25years) when I left Germany to build my nest somewhere nice and inspiring for my art work.
Describe a usual day in your life.
Standing up at 8am, feeding 6 cats, drinking a glass of warm water with sodium, one hour of yoga/meditation, breakfast, kitchen cleaning, at around 12am I enter my studio for work, 3pm lunch, 6pm studio again until around 8pm, social media / telephone / film, sleep around midnight!
Has covid19 affected your life and work?
Very much, as my pottery whole sale business collapsed because the gallery/ shop I am working with didn’t open at all…. no reservations for my guest house…
Women face a double challenge when they reach a certain age: gendered ageism. How do you think people react to women over 40s? Have you seen any changes in behavior and / or business opportunities?
I stopped around 40 with working for other people… so I can’t really tell… but from what I hear, yes it is quite bad for elder women to find a new job and for women in general to be treated and paid the same as man!
Name three things that make you smile and three things that make you angry.
My cats snuggling together, a charming compliment, when I open a glazing kiln, (and many many others ;))
Any kind of injustice, when people asking stupid questions or giving stupid answers, if somebody is steeling my time
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t be too critical with yourself and others and cherish the gift of youth
Angelika Fritzsche @angel.ceramics
Born 1964 in Wetzlar at the river Lahn / Germany.
Always having had a love for handicrafts I followed in the footsteps of my grandpa and became a carpenter.
But the money was bad and I was “clever” enough to study. So I trained to be an art teacher and also in german philology at my home university but this wasn’t really what I wanted for myself. During this time I had my first contact with ceramics.
In fact I liked it so much that I also took private lessons. Of course this was just a hobby….but it was one strong motive behind my decision to come to Greece.
First I had to make myself a home…so I bought the land in Skoutari (1630 square metres), which I thought would suit me.
I made a start with my partner, Michael, who was a locksmith. We built a little cottage with our own hands right under an old oak tree. But my hunger for learning new things wasn`t satisfied, so I went on to study interior architecture with the Open University.
I designed a new stone house with a tower (Mani style) and we started building it with the help of a Spaniard, a German and some Polish guys. Then life changed and I went back to Germany for 4 years…I gave training courses in carpentry…but I came back!
The workshop on the land transformed over the years from a locksmith`s to a carpenter`s and for the last 5 years it has become a ceramics studio.
I am happy to be living my dream now, and every day I love to discover new possibilities moulding the clay and transforming it into something beautiful…
You may find me at https://keramikon.weebly.com/
