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Aeyde Collectibles
In Conversation with Laura Welker

Images: Saeeda Shabbir
Words: Katie Cazalet-Smith
Date: 07.11.2024
At the intersection of form and function, Berlin-based artist Laura Welker emerges as a singular force. Specializing in ceramics and with a degree in fashion design, Welker is perhaps best known for her shoe-inspired candleholders—pieces that embody her preoccupation with everyday objects as art. To balance this duality is her mission, crafting pieces that integrate seamlessly within our homes to be both admired and used.  

Brought up by artist parents within creatively-charged communities across Europe, Welker was exposed to the world of art at a young age. Experience with artistic experimentation as a child informed a profound relationship with tools, materials, and art as an expression of the self. Welker nurtures this relationship with every piece she creates.

To partner with Welker for the second iteration of Aeyde Collectibles—an annual series of objects created in collaboration with artists and designers—was a natural choice given her focus . The limited run of 100 handcrafted candleholders sets was inspired by the construction of Aeyde’s new ‘caged’ footwear. To celebrate the collaboration, Welker opens the doors to her studio to discuss the allure of clay as a medium and her fascination with unpredictability.
CandleHolders
CandleHolders

Aeyde: Can you provide some insight into your background and how you came to pursue a career as an artist?

Laura Welker: I grew up in the eighties with parents who were squatting around Europe in different places—basically with a community of people who were all very creative. My parents made art so they introduced me at a very early age to making art and using tools and experimenting and stuff like that. That was how it was as a child. Then I studied fashion design. I made that decision because I really liked the idea of making wearable pieces for myself and for others. The more I was diving into that after my studies, the more I was fascinated with the sculptural aspect of fashion—so more in the direction of shoes. I actually had my own shoe brand back in the day. With that, I felt I wasn’t able to be involved so much in the technical procedure of shoemaking because it’s very, very technical. So I could design freely, but when it came to the shape, I couldn’t express myself directly with the material. So, I was like, oh? How could that be more direct? Instead of pattern making and pattern cutting, I started using materials like clay. So I bought clay and I used it for my designs to create new shapes, and to be less limited. And I enjoyed it so much and was like, okay, this is actually amazing because you can fire it and it changes again into something else. It’s a surprise every time when you make something from clay because there are so many technical steps while manipulating it.

Aeyde: What initially drew you to ceramics as your primary medium of expression, and what aspects of working with ceramics appeal to you in ways that other mediums don’t?

Laura Welker: I'm a very physical person, so I love all types of sport and also like different forms of physical activity. I think clay allows a sort of direct translation. So I can transform my own physical energy directly into the clay and it will remain in the clay. I’m fascinated by that.

"Clay allows a sort of direct translation. So I can transform my own physical energy directly into the clay and it will remain in the clay."
CandleHolders
CandleHolders

Aeyde: You've gained recognition for your shoe candleholder design. What led to your fascination with shoes specifically as an artistic subject?

Laura Welker: I think the high heels. They stand for women as a sort of archetype, and the heel itself is a dangerous thing. I guess it also has something to do with how a shoe changes a person, like it changes the way you walk. It changes a whole persona. Like if you wear heels as a woman, you have a certain type of superpower.

Aeyde: What initially drew you to ceramics as your primary medium of expression, and what aspects of working with ceramics appeal to you in ways that other mediums don’t?

Laura Welker: I'm a very physical person, so I love all types of sport and also like different forms of physical activity. I think clay allows a sort of direct translation. So I can transform my own physical energy directly into the clay and it will remain in the clay. I’m fascinated by that.

"I think the high heels... stand for women as a sort of archetype, and the heel itself is a dangerous thing. I guess it also has something to do with how a shoe changes a person... Like if you wear heels as a woman, you have a certain type of superpower."

Aeyde: Your candleholders merge art with function. How do you approach creating pieces that can be both used in daily life and appreciated as works of art?

Laura Welker: I like to create pieces that have a sculptural attraction. The shoe candleholders are attractive but it’s a nice little extra to decide to give them an actual use. So they have two uses. You can use them as aesthetic objects to look at as well as use them for their function as candleholders. I like to play with objects that are not only objects, but artworks that you can bring into use.

Aeyde: What does a typical day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any specific routines or rituals that help you get into your work?

Laura Welker: The making of the candleholders is already very meditative. I produce so many. I actually make the candleholders to prepare for other things that are more free. I draw a lot, and I love making other works, like more sculptural pieces or more experimental pieces. So making more functional objects, like the candleholders, is a step towards getting the courage to make works that maybe don’t serve a functional purpose.

"I like to play with objects that are not only objects, but artworks that you can bring into use."
Laura Welker
Laura Welker

Aeyde: Can you walk us through your creative process when you begin working on a new piece? How do you move from concept to final piece?

Laura Welker: There are a lot of technical steps involved, of course, which help me to not get overwhelmed. But first I think, what’s the idea? If the idea is there, what’s the intention? How does the idea need to look in the end? And then certain steps will follow, like material choice, color, and so on. If something goes wrong—and there is always a reason for things to go wrong—I just think, okay, what can I do with it? So I recycle a lot, and I make something else out of it. That’s why I have a lot of objects that have been put together out of something else.

Aeyde: What do you find most fulfilling about working with your hands and the tactile nature of ceramics? Is there a specific part of the process that you’re particularly drawn to?

Laura Welker: [I’m drawn to clay] as a very intuitive material. How you feel will be reflected in the material, which is sometimes a bit confronting—you're like, okay, I’m in a bad mood and that’s now affected the outcome. But with ceramics, the thing is that you will fire it. So you will create distance from the outcome just by firing it, as the firing is sort of out of your control. even though the material is within your control, the treatment of several firings will distance you automatically and also create a complete surprise for yourself, which is very fulfilling.

Laura Welker
Laura Welker

Aeyde: What role does that unpredictability play in your approach? Do you embrace surprises or work to control them?

Laura Welker: : I absolutely integrate it. For example, when you create a glazing, you don't really know what will happen because it can look a certain way [before firing], but even 10 degrees can make a huge difference to the outcome. That’s why every piece is unique. Sometimes I open the kiln and there are pieces that are a little bit more silver or there are pieces that come out a little more red. I think this is super beautiful because each piece you get is unique even though it’s part of a collection.

Aeyde: What was the inspiration behind the candleholders?

Laura Welker: The inspiration was the new caged pump. I used that idea to create a sort of cage around my existing candleholder shape. I like the cage—I think it gives something more metallic and more architectural. I was immediately thinking about how I could make that visible.

Aeyde: Were there any challenges you faced when making the pieces? Did anything surprise you?

Laura Welker: There was a lot of hand work. This is the thing with making something new. How am I going to be able to make this with the possibilities in my studio? And it was definitely challenging timewise. The glazing was the thing that created the most surprises. I chose one that had a specific effect of half being super dark and half having this metallic quality. And a lot of people I spoke to said that it really looks like metal, but of course it’s not.

Laura Welker
Laura Welker
"If I can see the craft in a piece or even the hand of the person within the piece... I am immediately charmed and I get fascinated. You can see a real person behind it."

Aeyde: Where do you think ceramics, and handcrafted objects in general, fit into the broader cultural conversation given the dominance of mass production?

Laura Welker:  I find craft in general a fascinating thing. If I can see the craft in a piece or even the hand of the person within the piece—it can be a shoe, it can be a piece of furniture, anything really—I am immediately charmed and I get fascinated. You can see a real person behind it. If you see a piece that is manufactured, you don’t wonder about who is behind it or whose hands are behind it.

Aeyde: In your view, what role do objects play in our lives? 

Laura Welker: We all love to create our own little universe, and I am very honored that I can be a part of that through the pieces that people bring into their homes. That’s why I like to design, because it’s like I can be part of somebody’s interior. And it’s like the little shoes are walking around people’s little worlds.

Laura Welker
Laura Welker
A limited run of Aeyde Collectibles candleholders is available on aeyde.com
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