Kyllikki Salmenhaara may not be known to many Finns, let alone to other nationalities. Yet she is one of the most well-known and appreciated of the Finnish ceramists¹ who have influenced Finland’s ceramics reputation internationally. Her career was cut short, but she continued to make her mark on Finnish ceramics by redesigning both the curriculum and practice of higher level ceramics education in Finland.

Why is Kyllikki Salmenhaara called ”the mythical figure of Finnish ceramics”? Why and how did she redesign Finnish ceramics education? How does that reform show in Finnish ceramics and the structure of the Finnish ceramics industry today? How did she help create a distinct style for Finnish ceramics? These questions are discussed in this paper.

Kyllikki Salmenhaara as a Ceramist

The Early Years: How Salmenhaara Became a Ceramist

Kyllikki Salmenhaara was born on July 14, 1915, in the small town of Tyrnävä, on the western coast of Finland. She first went to school in Oulu in Northern Finland, but after her parents’ divorce she moved to Helsinki and finished her education there (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 7).

Bottles (1951). Some of the bottles that won Salmenhaara a silver medal at the 1951 Milan Triennial. Image source: Kyllikki Salmenhaara 1915 – 1981. Taideteollisuusmuseon julkaisu 20 (26).

Salmenhaara’s mother was worried about her daughter’s dream to become an artist. She did not consider art a profession that would support her daughter, and she sent her to England hoping that she would give up her idea of becoming an artist. Unfortunately for Salmenhaara’s mother, there could hardly have been a better country for someone interested in art pottery in the 1930s. Having returned to Finland after visiting France, Belgium, Germany, and Sweden, Salmenhaara was more convinced than ever about her future career (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 7).

Salmenhaara studied ceramics in the University of Art and Design Helsinki² under the instruction of Elsa Elenius from 1938 to 1943 (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67). Already in her student days she differed from her fellow students by working especially diligently and showing interest in experimenting with clay and glazes (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 8). Because of World War II, there was a lack of materials. The facilities at the university were also insufficient, and Salmenhaara would often stay behind after classes to work in order to have more space and tools. Due to the lack of materials, Salmenhaara began making clays and glazes from scratch, because raw materials were more easily available than ready-made glazes and clays. This way she was driven from early on to experiment with both materials and glazes (in Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 8).

After finishing her studies, Salmenhaara worked in Kauklahden lasitehdas, a glassworks, where she decorated glassware and could try her hand at creating unique specimens together with the company’s glassblowers. In 1946, Salmenhaara found her way to the Danish Saxbo ceramics studio, where she worked as a trainee (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 8). Saxbo was run by the chemist Nathalie Krebs and the potter Eva Staehr-Nielsen (Hawkins Opie 13), whose philosophy was based on a strong understanding and command of both materials and technique (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 8). At this point Salmenhaara’s works were characterized by Chinese refinement, and the classical Chinese pottery tradition was clearly showing. This was the trend both in Finland and in other European countries (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67). However, Salmenhaara’s style would soon begin to change.

The Years at Arabia: Building up a Reputation

The years 1947–1961 at Arabia gave Salmenhaara an excellent opportunity to freely cultivate her technique and understanding of material (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67). Salmenhaara first worked for the Industrial Art Department, but in 1950 she was transferred to the Art Department (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 8-9). At Arabia, she continued to study clay masses, glazes, and firing. Most ceramists relied on the ready-made clay masses and glazes that Arabia’s laboratory provided, but Salmenhaara wanted to make her own. In fact, Salmenhaara was the one who started using the prestigious dun clay, coarsened with chamotte³ and crushed porcelain or stoneware, which soon became Arabia’s trademark. This clay gave colleagues working at Arabia more possibilities than the previous stoneware had given, because it was so durable and easy to work with. It also challenged ceramists outside Arabia to search for new and better masses, which would not pale when set against Salmenhaara’s clay (Hawkins Opie 13).

The postwar years were years of freedom for artists at Arabia; the war had broken old traditions in ceramics and everyone was keen on trying something new. The outcome of these years was first evaluated internationally at the Milan Triennial of 1951, where Finland’s success in ceramics as well as in other industrial arts surprised everybody (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 9). Her bowls and tall asymmetrical bottles brought Salmenhaara a silver medal. In the Triennial of 1954, she developed these themes further and received a diplôme d’honneur. Salmenhaara used glazes that borrowed their colors from Finnish nature: shades of brown and gray from tree bark, yellows and oranges from fall leaves, flecked gray from Finnish granite, and transparent greens and bright blues from lakes and lakesides.

At this point many people already regarded Salmenhaara as a ceramist of the highest level (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 9-10). In later Triennials she won a Grand Prix (1957) and a gold medal (1960), thus winning prizes in every Triennial held while she worked at Arabia (Hellman, Kyllikki 133). In addition to these awards, Salmenhaara received a Pro Finlandia medal in 1961 (Aav, Apparent). Salmenhaara is counted as one of those artists who made the previously unknown Finnish industrial arts famous in the 1950s (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67). Finland’s success in the Triennials further helped bring Finnish industrial arts into public notice.

New Ideas from the States

In 1956, Salmenhaara spent seven months touring the United States with the help of an ASLA-Fulbright scholarship (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67). Salmenhaara herself said that what she most gained from the trip was the ability to see herself through a stranger’s eyes (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 12), to learn to laugh at herself, and to be less critical towards her own work (Leppänen, Kyllikki 67).

Bowl (1959). This stoneware bowl is glazed only partially, which was typical of Salmenhaara’s work. Sometimes she splashed or poured glaze on the surface, sometimes she wiped some glaze off. Image source: www.finnishdesign.fi

Meeting the renowned Native American ceramist Maria Martinez in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, strengthened Salmenhaara’s belief in the importance of clay as a material. For Native Americans, clay symbolizes fertility – even the birth of the world – and therefore it must not be hurt, e.g. by cutting it. It must be allowed to speak its own primitive language. This standpoint showed in Salmenhaara’s work as a purposeful lack of finish: her works were ready as soon as they were taken off the potter’s wheel. Even clay itself became more primitive in its nature, because Salmenhaara mixed stoneware with chamotte fragments, which made the texture more coarse-grained and varying.

Salmenhaara’s works now had a certain kind of a primitive strength (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 12-13). This heavy, dramatic, and sometimes even disfigured pottery anticipated the trend of the next decade, namely ceramics becoming heavier and rougher (Leppänen, Kyllikki 68). In fact, particularly in the late 1950s Salmenhaara was the means through which new ideas, such as those of Martinez, reached Finland (Aav, Apparent).

Until her trip to the United States in 1956, Salmenhaara had concentrated on art ceramics only, in part to defy Finnish ceramics critics who appreciated utility ware⁴ in ceramics, and in part because she was working at Arabia’s Art Department. However, her trip changed this. She became convinced of the importance of functionality, and began to emphasize usability and the real need for a piece to be made (Leppänen, Kyllikki 68). Meeting Marguerite Wildenhain, a ceramist schooled in Bauhaus, further supported this idea. (Hawkins Opie 14). Bauhaus is a school of design which is noted especially for its program that synthesized technology, craftsmanship, and design aesthetics. This ideology is seen later in Salmenhaara’s teaching.

After returning to Finland and Arabia, Salmenhaara experimented with glazes and clay masses on small works. Soon she was ready to move on to large sculptural works. At the end of the 1950s, Finnish industrial art critics were pleased to see that artists were moving from austere works to softer forms, earthly lushness, and warm colors. This change was also visible in Salmenhaara’s works. Her work showed a synthesis between the abstract expressionism she found in the US and the old tradition of pottery. These different ideas melted into a harmonious whole – Salmenhaara’s own modern style (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 13-14).

Salmenhaara’s Praised Touch

What differentiated Salmenhaara from her colleagues was her emphasis on technical skill and understanding of material. According to Marianne Aav, Salmenhaara had only one goal in her work: to understand the properties of clay. Salmenhaara further explained that the material must be respected and allowed to express itself in its own idiom (Aav, Apparent). ”Clay will serve you humbly if you understand its properties and know how to make use of them,” she said (quoted in Apparent). Salmenhaara also said that a piece is only half one’s own work if one makes, say, an eggcup, fires it in an electric kiln and uses ready glazes with the intention of making something pretty. Instead, making a piece there is a real need for, using a self-made glaze, and, ideally, firing the piece in a wood-burning kiln should be aimed at (Salmenhaara, Unohdettu I 19-20). This reflects her thought that ceramists should know all the steps in making pottery.

In Kyllikki Salmenhaara. The Apparent Ease of a Master Hand, Marianne Aav describes Salmenhaara’s skill as follows:

She attained a freedom to which few of us can ever aspire, which comes only through complete mastery of a technique. It is only then that an object can come into being as if of itself, that the hand which is in complete control of a technique can give birth to an object at precisely the same moment that the idea of it begins to form in the mind.

Salmenhaara as a Teacher

At the Other End of the Earth

In the beginning of the 1960s Salmenhaara was offered a chance to teach in Taiwan. The Ceramic Trading Institute was about to be set up in Taipei, and it was looking for a senior teacher (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 14). They wanted Salmenhaara to launch instruction in ceramics and act as a consultant to invigorate the Taiwanese ceramics industry, which had deteriorated badly during the Japanese occupation (Aav, Apparent). Salmenhaara seized the opportunity, and in July 1961 she arrived in Taipei (Leppänen, Kyllikki 69). But why did she give up her flourishing career in Finland?

The answer is simple. She did not choose to give up her career as a ceramist; rather, due to a traumatic accident, she had to. A rusty razor blade that had somehow gotten into some clay cut Salmenhaara’s hand while she was working at her potter’s wheel. The accident and inflammations that followed made it hard for her to work, and put throwing⁵ out of the question for several years (Leppänen, Kyllikki 69; Hawkins Opie 14; Yli-Viikari 86). Although she eventually recovered enough to continue her work, her hand was permanently injured, and she was never again able to work full-time (Hawkins Opie 14).

Salmenhaara founded her teaching in Taiwan on familiarizing the students with different materials and techniques. She did not want to offer artistic models, but tried to take into account the country’s traditions and domestic materials in order to develop and support the Taiwanese ceramics industry. Salmenhaara said there was no room for her own work there. Instead, she could see the results of her thoughts in her students’ work (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 14-15). She extended her stay even though Arabia wanted her back – at that time there was a great demand for her pottery (Leppänen, Kyllikki 70).

Finch and Elenius – Salmenhaara’s Predecessors

From the very beginning, higher level ceramics education in Finland has been characterized by a chain of strong teachers. First there was A.W. Finch, who is now called “the father of Finnish ceramic art.” He was a Belgian-British painter and ceramist who started ceramics instruction at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and practically in all of Finland, when he began teaching in 1902. Before Finch, ceramics tuition had mostly been about porcelain painting. Finch’s goal was to develop his students’ aesthetic sense of form by having them practice throwing. He wanted his students to become art ceramists who would be capable of independent work. Finch worked as a teacher for nearly 30 years, and his significance to Finnish art ceramics can hardly be underestimated (Keramiikkataiteen 229).

Finch was followed by one of his students, Elsa Elenius, who became the senior teacher after Finch’s death in 1930. She continued Finch’s principles of good taste and a controlled sense of form, but increased the technical demands. Elenius retired in 1962, having taught for 32 years (Keramiikkataiteen 229-230). Salmenhaara, a student of Elenius’, says that Elenius encouraged her students to search for pure and strong forms. Elenius and her students used only ready-made glazes and clay masses, with which the risk of failure was small. The smallness of the risk led to both the students’ and Elenius’ works being large – so few works broke that the loss of material was not a problem (Salmenhaara, Pääpiirteet 11).

Following Elenius at the University of Art and Design Helsinki: Reforms in Instruction

In the fall of 1962 Elsa Elenius fell ill. Kaj Franck, the university’s artistic director, a noted designer, and a friend of Salmenhaara’s, wrote Salmenhaara of her condition and said that her position might become vacant. Franck thought Salmenhaara would be the right person to restructure the university’s ceramics program, even though he knew it would not be easy because of insufficient resources. Salmenhaara decided to apply for the post after receiving encouragement from several friends. In addition to Franck’s recommendation, other well-known designers also recommended Salmenhaara for the position. She was appointed to the newly established post of Lecturer in Ceramics in July 1963 (Leppänen, Kyllikki 70).

As Franck had predicted, a lack of money, cramped spaces, and worn out equipment were problems which forced Salmenhaara to start from almost scratch. She changed the curriculum at one go to make it correspond better to her ideas of teaching and the limitations of space and equipment. Using Finland’s indigenous red clay became obligatory. To Salmenhaara, its cheapness, availability, and suitability for many techniques were reason enough, but she also appreciated its iron-bearing nature, because mixing red clay into other clay masses and glazes gave them new colors. She aimed at breathing new life into the now almost-forgotten red clay and studying its properties. She believed that only a thorough understanding of clay can produce good works – design alone was not enough. The ability of artists to realize their ideas would be haphazard if the artists did not know how clay and glazes acted during drying and firing (Leppänen, Kyllikki 71-72).

Another change was introducing new subjects into the curriculum. The making of plaster casts; mass production methods; calculating, planning, and making glazes; and plastic as a raw material and aid material in making ceramics were the new subjects that were either introduced or about to be introduced soon. These subjects reflected Salmenhaara’s transition from art ceramics to utility ware, and it was in fact just the stress on utility ware and industrial design that she was praised for as a teacher in the beginning. It did not mean that she neglected studio ceramics, not at all. She thought it was important as well and aimed at a more wide-ranging and inclusive curriculum which would give her students more choice when starting their careers. However, she saw the growing importance of industrial design, and her emphasis on that made her different from A.W. Finch and Elsa Elenius, the previous ceramics teachers at the University (Leppänen, Kyllikki 72-73).

Salmenhaara also introduced the practice of choosing assistant teachers from students who would soon be graduating or had just graduated. Appointing assistant teachers was a way of offering post-graduate education that resembled the training of journeymen, and was also her way of supporting talented students, creating jobs, and getting more help in teaching. Assistants’ salaries were smaller than those of part-time teachers, but after three years assistants could then qualify as teachers. When the number of assistants grew in the 70s, assistants started teaching those special fields in which they showed particular aptitude, and the small range of ceramics specialists began to rapidly increase (Leppänen, Kyllikki 76-78).

Students saw Salmenhaara as a remarkably strong, active, and inspiring teacher, who was much more enthusiastic than their former teachers. She was an authority figure, and liked keeping it that way. Her authority combined with her strong personality made many students want to follow in her footsteps. Students saw Salmenhaara as a pure ceramist, one who placed great emphasis on making things herself and on caring about how her students would turn out. Everyone worked hard and efficiently despite inadequate conditions; studying was comprehensive and intensive. Salmenhaara turned deficiencies in facilities into the ideal state of working: elementary conditions brought out the advantages of primitive methods. To Salmenhaara, it was almost a good thing that the university did not have new equipment or even electric kilns, because by working in elementary conditions students would learn to make everything from the beginning instead of relying on tools or machines to do the work for them. The ideal state for Salmenhaara was the mastery of craft, and learning the craft was the advantage of primitive methods. She believed that when ceramics is a way of life rather than a profession, one will find ways to work regardless of conditions – outward circumstances are not an obstacle if the will to create and the trust in clay are strong enough (Leppänen, Kyllikki 71-73).

Understanding the Properties of Materials

When Salmenhaara began teaching in 1963, her approach was surprisingly similar to the one she used in her last years of teaching, which goes to show how well she had thought everything through even before she began teaching. She believed that ceramics tuition should be grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the properties of materials and how they act in different stages of the process of making ceramics, and the key to this was red clay. Following this, she began teaching the properties of materials from the beginning, and supplemented the theory lessons with hands-on research (Yli-Viikari 87). The foundation of Salmenhaara’s tuition was familiarizing students thoroughly with materials and techniques. In her opinion, it was important to first get to know the materials as such, and only after knowing how they act in firing could students move on to combining different sides of ceramics (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 15).

Despite her carefully-thought approach, it took a decade for Salmenhaara’s pedagogical goal to mature and her instruction to reach its final form. In the 1970s, it became clear that industry could not provide enough jobs for new ceramists who were fresh from the university. Salmenhaara thus encouraged her students to start up their own workshops, and to make it easier for them to do this, she expanded the basic studies by emphasizing subjects which would be important in the workshops. Chemistry and the teaching of materials were highlighted in the curriculum, for example, because it was important that future ceramists be able to make their own clay masses and glazes (Hellman, Pienten 53). These workshops were the first to show a reconciliation between design and craft, because workshop ceramists both designed their work and produced it.

In the academic year 1964-65, a diploma work was introduced to the requirements of the Ceramics Section. In 1965, the diploma work consisted of experiments with clay masses and glazes, especially with glazes, as at that time red clay was living its renaissance. The focus was on chemical reactions, on understanding how certain substances react in firing or when combined, instead of aesthetic aspects. Based on their experiments, every final year student produced a tile that showed their results and wrote a report on the substances they had used and the firing process. Afterwards, students copied each other’s formulas and results to gain more professional knowledge and to avoid creating trade secrets. In 1966, a design aspect was added to the diploma work. The first diploma works were strictly supervised and resembled more a final exam than a modern Master’s Thesis, but once again they show Salmenhaara’s emphasis on understanding the material (Leppänen, Kyllikki 71-72).

Artist Professor Salmenhaara: Concentrating on Her Own Work

In 1970, Salmenhaara’s determined work to create a new view of ceramics and to raise a new generation of ceramists received recognition when she was appointed to be an Artist Professor for three years along with writer Tuomas Anhava and movie director Risto Jarva. They were the first three to be appointed Artist Professors by the Finnish Central Arts Council, which operates under the Ministry of Education. Artist Professors are artists who are considered particularly competent on the basis of their earlier works. The focus of the professorship is to practice one’s own artistic work and thus develop one’s field. The appointment of a movie director and a ceramist in addition to a writer was a sign that the concept of culture had widened – “high culture” in Finland had never before included such contemporary art forms. Movies and design were now considered to be “proper” culture (Leppänen, Kyllikki 78).

The professorship would have enabled Salmenhaara to detach completely from teaching and concentrate fully on her own art. However, Salmenhaara thought that her most important task was to keep up the continuity of ceramics instruction, and said she could not just give up what she had begun. Instead, she took leave of absence from teaching, appointed her own student and former assistant Airi Hortling to be her deputy as a senior teacher, and took responsibility for the content of teaching and administrative duties. By choosing Hortling, Salmenhaara ensured that no outsider would take her place and change the curriculum (Leppänen, Kyllikki 78).

Despite being the high honor that it was, Salmenhaara experienced her professorship partly as a wearisome responsibility, because it kept her from teaching. However, it gave her a chance to finish writing the ceramics handbook Keramiikka: Massat, työtavat, lasitukset, which was the first textbook on ceramics written in Finnish. It was quite an accomplishment, since although university-level ceramics education had existed for approximately 70 years in Finland, no Finnish-language textbooks were available. Salmenhaara’s book was also revolutionary because it included recipes for clay masses and glazes and information on how they act in different temperatures. She also had time to write articles and give interviews in which she expressed her ideology, as well as study the development of Finnish ceramics tuition to better understand choices made by her predecessors (Leppänen, Kyllikki 79).

“Art Cannot Be Taught”

Salmenhaara’s educational philosophy is all about knowing and respecting the material. Even though she considered ceramic art as her art form, she did not see herself as being fit to train artists. For her, being an artist meant a kind of higher mastery that could be reached without concentrating on “art”. Salmenhaara felt that art cannot be taught. Raw materials, methods, and tools could be taught. Salmenhaara saw ceramics as handicraft, and remarked that she would be horrified if all her students became artists: she trained ceramists, not "art ceramists." To be precise, she trained craftspeople. But behind this is the idea that art emerges from craftsmanship or the understanding of material; but “art” itself is never the objective of a ceramist (Leppänen, Kyllikki 80-81).

The Last Years: Fighting Cancer

Salmenhaara’s work, experiments, and teaching was well-known abroad. She received several offers to teach and lecture in the US, Canada, and Japan, among others, as well as numerous requests by ceramists in other countries to be accepted as her student (Aav, Taideteollisuusmuseon 16). Salmenhaara made another visit to the US in 1976, when she taught for four months in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, whose ceramics program is one of the highest ranked in the US. She wrote to her deputy Tapio Yli-Viikari that all they needed at the University of Art and Design Helsinki was more room and equipment, otherwise they were heading in the right direction. To her surprise, she was extremely popular at Alfred University, and had no time for her own work. She felt fully employed with teaching, but also tired (Leppänen, Kyllikki 88).

It turned out that the tiredness was caused by cancer, diagnosed after her return to Finland. Her sickness resulted in a new burst of creativity, which shows in her last works, Letters or Wraps. At this point she was too weak for anything other than rolling⁶, so she let the clay speak for itself (Leppänen, Kyllikki 89). These last works are Salmenhaara’s quiet message, a message a ceramist can understand (Yli-Viikari 97). Salmenhaara passed away in July 1981, having worked until the end (Leppänen, Kyllikki 89).

Letters (1979, 1980). The artless, almost monumental form of the Letters shows a simplification, a profound peace only an attentive viewer can truly understand. Image source: www.finnishdesign.fi

Salmenhaara’s Legacy to Finnish Ceramics

After Salmenhaara: The Uncertain 1980s

Salmenhaara’s position as a senior teacher was filled in 1982 by Henrik Gröhn. Five years later, in 1987, Gröhn was followed by Tapio Yli-Viikari. Salmenhaara’s period had been founded on modernism; functionality, clear forms, and clay’s power of expression were what she had aimed for. Her charismatic personality, enthusiasm, and authority kept these values alive, and a new trend broke loose only after her time. This new trend was self-expression, reflecting a postmodernism which made everything possible. Less emphasis was put on clay and glazes, since they were no longer considered to be ends in themselves (Leppänen, Salmenhaaran 92-96).

It was no wonder the Ceramics Section’s atmosphere in the early 80s was uncertain. The content and aim of instruction often seemed contradictory. People partly wanted to hold onto the old and familiar, and partly wanted to change Salmenhaara’s methods and reach towards something new and exciting. However, these changes did not always go hand in hand with Salmenhaara’s traditions, which led to a curriculum that sometimes contradicted itself. The values of ceramics began to diversify, although the overlapping of different generations and styles sometimes resulted in friction. There also seemed to be a conflict between ceramic art and utility ware which divided students and teachers alike (Leppänen, Salmenhaaran 94-95).

Salmenhaara’s Importance to Finnish Ceramics

Kyllikki Salmenhaara’s most important achievements have been passed on in her teaching. In her redesign of ceramics education she introduced many completely new things, just as she had done in her own work. Both her art ceramic work and her utility ware are much appreciated today, but she is most remembered because of her personality. Salmenhaara has been said to be a difficult, demanding, and unyielding person, but, according to Jennifer Hawkins Opie, deputy curator of the Department of Ceramics and Glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and curator of the exhibition Scandinavian Ceramics & Glass in the 20th century, what this really says is that everyone who knew her truly looked up to her (14). She is not called “the mythical figure of Finnish ceramics” for nothing – she earned the respect of others with her dedication to her work and the perfection of her skill, which gave her a freedom few other ceramists can ever reach.

If one were to mention the single most significant thing Salmenhaara taught, it would be the importance of understanding one’s material. She executed this principle in all her work, both as a ceramist and as a teacher, and thus revolutionized the occupational image of ceramists. Knowledge of material is still taught at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and as long as it is considered important for ceramists to know their material, Salmenhaara’s legacy will live on.

Another significant achievement was undoubtedly the reconciliation between industrial design and craft. Before this reconciliation, those who designed a product and those who made it were often separate people. This went against Salmenhaara’s view of design arising from craft and the material itself. Salmenhaara glued together the romanticized and old-fashioned view of craft and the idealized and vague concept of design by teaching her students both craftsmanship and skills needed in industrial design. Today they are no longer thought of as separate from each other.

Salmenhaara also launched a major change in the structure of the ceramics industry. Traditionally, there were large factories such as Arabia and then small one-person businesses which mainly concentrated on unique specimens. Large factories did not have enough jobs, and unique specimens did not necessarily make a living. Salmenhaara saw that there was no choice which would give ceramists both a guaranteed job and a more steady income. She therefore revised the curriculum to help her students set up workshops with limited production to create an in-between possibility.

She also predicted an eventual change in the university’s structure. At her time, studies lasted for four years; before she introduced the assistant teacher system, there was no way to continue studying ceramics in Finland. Salmenhaara gave her students a chance to further develop their skills; in today’s system it is possible to go as far as a doctorate in art. She also made studying ceramics more university-like by adding theory to the studies and including a diploma work in the requirements.

All in all, Salmenhaara influenced almost every aspect of ceramics either as a ceramist or as a teacher. In that sense, she fully deserves to be called “the mythical figure of Finnish ceramics.”

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1. Both the words “ceramist” and “ceramicist” are used to refer to a person who makes ceramic products or works of art.

2. The name of the University of Art and Design Helsinki has changed several times during the years. Previous names have included the Central School of Arts and Crafts, the Institute of Industrial Arts, and the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. For clarity’s sake, the university’s current official name will be used throughout the text.

3. Chamotte is a type of ceramic material that is first fired and then crushed. It is added to clay to improve clay’s characteristics, e.g. to reduce the risk of a work cracking.

4. Utility ware refers to pottery that is intended for use, as distinct from art ceramics that is intended more for decorative purposes. Utility ware includes, for example, plates and cups.

5. “Throwing” is a ceramics term that means forming or shaping on a potter’s wheel.

6. “Rolling” means pressing, spreading, smoothing, or leveling clay with a rolling pin just like dough is rolled out.

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Works Cited

• Aav, Marianne. Kyllikki Salmenhaara. The Apparent Ease of a Master Hand. Function Form Finland 2 (1986).

• - - -. Kyllikki Salmenhaara 1915 – 1981. Taideteollisuusmuseon julkaisu 20. Helsinki, 1986.

• Hawkins Opie, Jennifer. Suomalaisen taidekeramiikan jäljillä. Taidekeramiikka Suomessa. Ed. Åsa Hellman. Keuruu: Otava, 2004. 9-18.

• Hellman, Åsa. Pienten keramiikkapajojen synty. Taidekeramiikka Suomessa. Ed. Åsa Hellman. Keuruu: Otava, 2004. 49-57.

• - - -. Kyllikki Salmenhaara – saven kuningatar. Taidekeramiikka Suomessa. Ed. Åsa Hellman. Keuruu: Otava, 2004. 132-133.

• Kalha, Harri. The Making of the Finnish Potter. Ruukuntekijästä multimediataiteilijaan. Ed. Harri Kalha. Jyväskylä: Gummerus, 1996. 124-129.

• Keramiikkataiteen vastaavat opettajat. Ruukun runoutta ja materiaalin mystiikkaa. Ed. Helena Leppänen. Hollola: Taideteollinen korkeakoulu, 2003. 229-232.

• Leppänen, Helena. Kyllikki Salmenhaaran aika 1963 – 1981. Ruukuntekijästä multimediataiteilijaan. Ed. Harri Kalha. Jyväskylä: Gummerus, 1996. 67-89.

• - - -. Salmenhaaran jälkeen. Ruukuntekijästä multimediataiteilijaan. Ed. Harri Kalha. Jyväskylä: Gummerus, 1996. 90-103.

• Salmenhaara, Kyllikki. Keramiikka: Massat, lasitukset, työtavat. Keuruu: Otava, 1983.

• - - -. Unohdettu savi I. Kotiteollisuus 5 (1971): 18-21.

• - - -. Unohdettu savi II. Kotiteollisuus 6 (1971): 14-17.

• - - -. Unohdettu savi III. Kotiteollisuus 1 (1972): 8-11.

• - - -. Pääpiirteet Suomen keramiikkataiteen koulutuksen synnystä ja vaiheista nykypäivään. Kotiteollisuus 2 (1972): 10-13.

• Yli-Viikari, Tapio. Unohdetun saven puolustaja. Kyllikki Salmenhaara opettajana ja vaikuttajana. Ruukun runoutta ja materiaalin mystiikkaa. Ed. Helena Leppänen. Hollola: Taideteollinen korkeakoulu, 2003. 82-97.

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Last Updated 24 April 2010