Nickolai Globe

Nickolai was born into a bucket of clay!  He was raised in the family pottery (Lotte Glob) in the Far North West of Scotland. In 1986 worked with the Ceramic artist Erik Nyholm in Denmark. There he worked on large scale architectural ceramics and sculpture. Following Denmark, Nickolai studied traditional production under Tim Holloway where gained discipline in producing traditional, functional, wood fired, stoneware pottery whilst studying ceramics at Southampton University. In 1989 Nickolai moved to Australia where he set up his own studio and produced sculptural ceramics and exhibited widely. During this time he worked closely with Thanakupi - Aboriginal Elder and international renowned ceramic artist. 

Now he has fused himself to The Isle of Harris, where the influence of his ironage nordic bogman ancestors have fluxed his Wabi-sabi pre-occupation to create his archaic works. His new work takes ceramics to the edge of craft, where sculpture and function merge. His high fired stoneware bowls and vessel forms become geological and carry in them a deep reflection of the terrain of the Hebrides.

The work produced in the studio is high fired stoneware, incorporating local minerals and fused glass. His techniques involve firing the ceramic pieces to very high temperatures, transforming the clay to a rock like material and fusing the glass with the clay. The subtle colours are achieved through careful use of metal oxides: cobalt, copper, manganese and iron. These innovative techniques create completely unique results.

The work is vitrified and eternal, like stone. It will last for thousands of years, never fading, just remaining as a fragment of time, movement, energy and thought.