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Mo Cornelisse: ‘Het gevoel voor trends, creativiteit en ruimtelijkheid…’

Kunstenares Mo Cornelisse maakte in 2012 een carriereswitch en trok de stoute schoenen aan. Ze liep met haar keramiek naar binnen bij Galerie Noordeinde in Den Haag en focust zich sindsdien op keramiek kunstwerken met haar signatuur van wit porselein met goud. Wie was haar kruiwagen?
Mo Cornelisse

What was your very first job?

"As an adolescent I worked in a bakery, ice cream parlor and had a newspaper route in Enschede. Besides my high school, dancing in a show group was my passion and did modeling alongside this. I ran shows all over the country.

After high school, I went to textile school and eventually joined the family company Dormaël (known for the clothing store Steps). At this company I worked in the Purchasing Department where I had an unprecedented time: I thought about new store concepts, traveled a lot and developed myself."

How did you end up in your current job?

"At one point I started my own children's clothing line Triple One and later a teak furniture line. Still, I was missing something. At the ceramist school I was able to express myself and found a new passion. Here I learned everything related to the craft of ceramics. In 2012 Mo Cornelisse was a fact and I got my first solo exhibition in The Hague."

Was there a market for this craft?

"When 'people' heard that I was making a switch to the ceramic craft, people were surprised. Surely it was seen as a stale craft, but nowadays many crafts are popular again. Ceramics is an oddity in the art world, but the craft is gaining more and more respect. There is so much to make with ceramics."

Who was your wheelbarrow?

"Of course, sometimes I asked certain things about my work from those around me, but primarily I have developed a lot myself over the past ten years. The sense of trends, creativity and spatiality I have always been able to pursue by following my intuition."

"If you always do what you've always done, you're never going to do what you've never done."

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

"What I like about this discipline is that the form, the object and the path to it cannot be predicted. For me, the challenge is in the technology: I work with a computer where I develop forms that I could not normally make. That's what I find special and unusual about this profession. I am challenged every day."

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

"For quite a long time I worked alone in my home ceramics studio and was then happy in my own bubble. After a few years, I was approached via Instagram by another artist and at one point we created a group of creatives that I still regularly spar with. It's incredibly motivating to take a critical look at the art world with other fellow artists."

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

"Stick to your gut and follow your intuition, but it's important to think out of the box, because if you always do what you've always done, you're never going to do what you've never done before. Start experimenting, 'playing' and testing out different things!"

Next weekend from August 25 to 28, you will be exhibiting at the NOCKNOCK Art Fair. What will you be showing?

"In the Amsterdam hallen studios I am exhibiting together with sixty other artists, with all the artists also being present. It is a combination of fashion design and art with the theme: Art on the catwalk. I will present new works combining new materials with ceramics. It will be a great spectacle."

Have you been a wheelbarrow for anyone?

"From the making group for artists and creative makers, I regularly speak with colleagues and budding artists. I hope to inspire others and contribute something with our conversations that vary. It's mainly about motivation, passion and the right amount of guts!"