Cassie Hansen

Melbourne-based Cassie Hansen divides her time between magazine editor and ceramic artist.

Words: Hande Renshaw | Photography: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

‘There’s a language to my work now – you’ll notice certain shapes, forms and gestures repeated and altered as time goes on.’ Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

Cassie Hansen works from her sweet little backyard studio at home in Kyneton. Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

Around four years ago, Cassie Hansen enrolled in a beginner’s pottery wheel course after craving a creative outlet from her full-time role as editor of interior magazine, Artichoke.

A reprieve from her desk bound job, Cassie instantly discovered creating pieces with clay was her calling. ‘As soon as I touched the clay, I loved it. I think it unearthed something that was dormant in me – this need to get my hands dirty, to make,’ she says.

Cassie was instantly hooked. ‘I remember looking around at the messy studio, and thinking “I want to be here all the time.” It has been such a long time since I’d learnt a new skill or got my hands dirty, that my brain just felt so engaged – it was learning something new, something with motor skills, something I was really bad at, but I knew I really liked it.’

After the short course was complete Cassie took the plunge, cut down to part-time with her job and enrolled in a one-year ceramic course at the School of Clay and Art (SOCA).

Today, through many hours of practice and perseverance, Cassie has since taught herself many other skills including making glaze recipes, glaze experimentation, kiln firing and handbuilding.

‘My role as editor of the interior design magazine, Artichoke exposes me to such amazing architecture and design and it seeps into my work.’ Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

Cassie Hansen in her backyard studio in Kyneton. Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

Throwing a vessel on the wheel. Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

“As soon as I touched the clay, I loved it. I think it unearthed something that was really dormant in me, this need to get my hands dirty and to make.”

— Cassie Hansen

Cassie Hansen’s backyard studio in Kyneton. Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

The firing kiln - a fragile process! Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

‘Everyone says that pottery is very meditative, and that is true. Making art is an escape – from the world’s worries, from our own; a way to be in the present and switch off all the noise,’ says Cassie Hansen. Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files

Cassie creates delicate functional ceramic vessels that play with shape and form. Architectural elements consistently seep into her work, absorbed from all those years of covering architecture and interiors.

‘For the past 18 months, I’ve been exploring the cylinder form, and how certain geometries and forms turn a simple cylinder into a tower or built form you might see in some fanciful city. There’s a language to my work now – you’ll notice certain shapes, forms and gestures repeated and altered as time goes on.’

Since the pandemic, Cassie has started exploring handbuilding, a shift away from making pieces on the wheel.

‘Every now and then I’ll jump back on the wheel and make some of my jug forms with big, dramatic handles. I’m sure I’ll get back there soon, but for now I’m still drawn to handbuilding… and it’s also a lot less messier than the wheel.’

When prompted about her proudest achievement so far, Cassie recalls when she first started her own studio and made a little list of goals. That list included having her own solo show and also being stocked in a few of her favourite galleries.

This year, all those dreams came true. ‘Even now, I’m not sure I’ve fully celebrated mentally, what with lockdowns and pandemics taking up my mental load! But my February solo show at Michael Reid in Sydney was a real pinch-me moment – even though I couldn’t get there in person to see it due to lockdowns.’

Cassie has also recently been approached by Stockroom Gallery in Kyneton, Curatorial+Co in Sydney and more recently Modern Times in Melbourne for her work. So many incredible pinch me moments!

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CASSIE HANSEN