Anja Penger-Onyett’s ceramic work is rooted in a deep reverence for nature, drawing inspiration from the forms and structures she finds in flowers, seed-heads, and the natural world. She works primarily with thrown and sculpted clay, using these techniques to create intricate pieces that blur the line between functional ceramics and sculpture. One of Anja’s signature elements is her focus on recognizable forms, such as the distinctive crowns of poppy seed heads, which she emphasizes with the vibrant addition of glass frits at the centre of each piece. Anja’s more recent work explores a "painterly" approach to surface decoration, using slips, engobe, and ceramic crayons to bring her slab-built vases and altered pieces to life with intricate colour and texture. Working with white stoneware clay, she is able to fire her pieces at high temperatures, resulting in rich glazes that emerge with clarity and depth. This technique also ensures that her works are frost-proof and suitable for outdoor display, allowing nature to be part of the artwork’s ongoing journey. Anja is an avid experimenter, continuously mixing her own glazes from raw materials to create new, evocative colours that echo her love of nature and the landscapes she has explored.
