Histon & Impington-based ceramicist Daniela Stief - Art as a form of therapy

It was a pottery class in Bristol more than 35 years ago that first got Histon & Impington-based artist Daniela Stief interested in ceramics – and she hasn’t looked back since.

She later started selling her work – it’s available to buy in Byard Art on King’s Parade, among other places – and this summer will once again be taking part in Cambridge Open Studios.

“When I came to England in ’89, I went to a pottery evening class,” recalls Daniela, who is originally from Berlin, “and I really liked it.

“So I always went back to pottery evening classes, and eventually I had made enough for myself. Then I found that more and more people liked my ceramics, so I started selling it.

“I don’t use a wheel at all, I only hand-build my pottery, so everything is unique. And last year I started giving some workshops as well.”

Daniela says she crafts “things that make me happy”, adding: “Often people say my items on display make them smile and make them happy as well.”

Many of her colourful and often abstract pieces – such as vases, and cane tops – are animal-related.

“I started with British or European wildlife, and sometimes my sister says, ‘Oh, can you make me a koala for this friend?’,” she notes.

“I make lots of birds and mice and moles and hedgehogs and badgers and foxes... and then I make lots of things for the garden but also plates, mugs and bowls for our own use.”

Daniela says she finds art “therapeutic” and reveals that she has “come to know quite a lot of other artists in the Cambridge area”.

Was she always good at art at school and was it something she always enjoyed?

“Yes,” replies Daniela, who describes her figurative work as “stylised and quite quirky”.

“In Germany I wanted to do pottery, but somehow the evening classes were always full...

“I think evening classes are a really nice way [of getting into art] and it’s a shame that some colleges are now cancelling the evening classes – maybe because they don’t make enough money from them?

“People want to have an experience and make things themselves. For example, yesterday, I gave three workshops at Haddenham Arts Centre and people said they really enjoyed it and they wished they could do it all day!

“They made little houses using slabs of clay and pinch pots which are internally glazed with colourful glass.”

Daniela, who also made the splashback for her and her husband Paul’s kitchen stove, says she sometimes does commissions but mainly makes “things that interest me”.

“At Christmas, influenced by German Christmas decorations, I make lots of porcelain stars and things that you can hang on the tree,” she observes, “memories from my childhood and which my children liked making with me as well...”

Daniela was first contacted by Cambridge BID and Byard Art about doing workshops.

As well as Haddenham Arts Centre, she has also taught students at Newnham College and has given workshops at David Parr House.

She has been part of Cambridge Open Studios since 2006.

“Most of the time I’ve done it here at home,” she explains. “I display it [my work] in front of the garage and, if the weather is good enough, in the front garden as well. So hopefully that invites people.”

Daniela also enjoys seeing the work of other artists, in Histon & Impington and beyond, over the course of Cambridge Open Studios, which this year runs on 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27 July.

For more on Daniela, visit dksceramics.co.uk. Follow her at @danielastief_ceramics on Instagram. For more on Cambridge Open Studios, go to camopenstudios.org.