Elsa Dinerstein: from gesture to object : a sensitive approach to contemporary ceramic practice
Master’s student in Design, Arts & Crafts and Industry
Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France
Master’s student in Design, Arts & Crafts and Industry
Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France
Trained at Olivier de Serres, where she took a refresher course before enrolling in a BTS in design, Elsa Dinerstein then enriched her career path with a year-and-a-half of training, taught by instructors from the Boulle, Duperré and Olivier de Serres schools.
Her practice is based on a concrete gesture: reusing the leftover clay accumulated during commissions. This constraint gives rise to creative freedom, where experimentation takes precedence over the norm, and where each material imposes its own rhythm. Elisa has allowed herself to be guided by her feelings, accidents and the reaction of the material, thus developing what she calls a “ceramic emotion design”.
For her, sensoriality is at the heart of the creative act: painting, turning or modelling becomes an exchange with the material.
Her creations are both functional and aesthetic. They resonate like presences in everyday life, establishing an emotional connection with those who use them.
LUTZ Natasha, SAMISON Angela : How do you currently combine the demands of contemporary design with traditional craft techniques in your practice?
DINERSTEIN Elsa : Why would the two be incompatible? In fact, what would be the constraints of a contemporary design that would run counter to using traditional techniques? Ultimately, in terms of the timescale of our professions, this issue arose almost a hundred years ago. Because today, when I started, it was already there. My question was: “Why am I going to make tableware or pieces when in China they can make the same ones, or almost the same ones, for 100 times less?” The issue has been around for a very long time. On the other hand, today we live in a world that is so standardised and dematerialised. People no longer have a connection to materials and to pieces that are embodied. In design, the question is not whether or not to use craftsmanship, it’s about putting something human into it, really embodying it. When we think about how an object is handled, when we think about the situation in which the object is used and we do real groundwork on that, that’s when we’re doing contemporary design. And whether we produce in small series or not is just part of the process. But it’s not at the heart of the design. Unless, of course, it’s a constraint set out in the specifications. We can work in a contemporary way and still use traditional processes. It’s difficult because we’re in France. Either we’re designers or we’re craftsmen, but it’s awkward to say that because a designer who doesn’t know the material will draw things in a very theoretical way and ultimately waste a lot of time compared to someone who is used to working and has already integrated lots of constraints and obstacles. So, in the end, there are things I see, designers who do a bit of everything. And I think to myself that sometimes it’s almost a gimmick. I often find it very anecdotal. It’s simplified because, in the end, they come up with something that, for us, is obvious. I think it’s important to know traditional techniques and integrate them into the process. It’s so obvious that it saves time. So for me, it’s not incompatible.
L. N. & S. A. : Your work results in pieces that are very different from one project or exhibition to another. Can you explain your creative process and how you design these unique objects?
E. D. : Having attended a school of applied arts and studied the subject, I received solid technical training in ceramics. Unlike technical training programmes, where we see people who are changing careers, they will obtain a CAP (Certificate of Professional Competence). They will learn to throw pots and make things. In applied arts, we learned to do more than we do today, because the DNMade courses have been greatly reduced. So we still had a solid technical foundation. But above all, we worked on project design, conception and the creative process. Because I do have very different jobs. But that’s also my personality, in that I get bored with what I’m doing very quickly. My way of balancing this weariness is to switch from one subject to another on a regular basis. And changing subjects means changing processes, changing worlds. And from there, since I left school in fact, I have continued to explore and learn techniques. I love recycling. And from there, I experiment. On the other hand, I refuse to just execute; it doesn’t interest me, and I’m not going to copy other people’s stuff. We start with a mood board, and I have my internal catalogue of techniques, possibilities, materials, etc. And from there, we do our research. Then I start exploring different avenues and come up with a first draft based on how I feel and where the client is coming from. Then we do a bit of experimentation. And that’s where the constraints of design come in. In other words, there’s this overall vision with the price, the time, the process, everything. And that’s how it’s organised. Aesthetically, it can be very different. But in the end, I realise that there is still a common thread.
L. N. & S. A. : Your career path has been marked by a variety of professional experiences. Was there a turning point that led you to fully commit to creating design objects?
E. D. : I have had a woman’s career, so to speak. After school, I did quite a few things outside of my studies. So I did an extra year where I was enrolled at Olivier de Serres, and for a year I was basically doing an internship. So I did a year in a company before going back to GRETA. During that time, I started working. So I did some work for artists’ creations. I designed a collection and made the prototypes and some of the moulds, which were sold at Potiron, a company that was just starting up at the time and aimed at the high-end market. So that’s how I started out, with my designs being released. I worked on and off, but I was actually a bit scared. First of all, I didn’t have the money to set up my own business. So I worked, but as a freelancer. There was no such thing as micro-entrepreneur status at the time. So I did that, making my own creations and working a little on the side to earn money. And then, when I was 26-27, I got pregnant. So I had my first daughter and gave it a try. I had a workshop for two years after that, but I couldn’t go there very often because my husband was never around. And then I had a second daughter. Obviously, I couldn’t raise two small children almost single-handedly and start a business at the same time.
L. N. & S. A. : Through your practice and teaching experience, what would you like to pass on to young designers and creators who are now embarking on hybrid careers similar to yours?
E. D. : In my opinion, what I would like to convey is really experimentation, touching the material, discovering techniques. Because I think that if you don’t have something that comes through the body, something is missing. And if I make objects, it’s because we can think about them, we can theorise about them, we’re dealing with ergonomics. But the person who is going to use this object, even if they use it, there’s an issue, but above all, it’s something we’re going to touch. We’re going to touch it, we’re going to look at it. So aesthetics, OK, but there’s a kind of coherence to be found. And so, I would say to a young designer, get to know the material that is being transformed because you can understand a lot of things. And I think we can go much further in our creativity.
L. N. & S. A. : How do you envisage your practice evolving in the face of new constraints and opportunities, particularly in relation to new materials, emerging technologies and AI?
E. D. : So we are always experimenting with new materials. I added other elements: paper, whatever I had to hand. There are materials, and there are also residues that can be used, which were used in the past. A long time ago and in different ways, but evolution means always searching and experimenting. There are principles, you can mix certain things: if an element has a similar characteristic, you have to test it. So evolution means having the time to do the research, it means always being open to it. I don’t know about AI, but in any case, new technologies can be used to make super-fast gauges, to make and create tools… For my practice, that’s more it. I’d like to make a drawing and give it to someone to cut my metal, my gauge, in three seconds because it’s actually super simple to do. So we can save time by inventing our own tools tailored to each project. Because I find that with 3D printing, we can make things that used to be complicated but aren’t anymore, so we can make our own tools. For each creation, each project, we can save time if we have someone nearby to do it.
