Karin Hassenberg started out as a scientist and had a brief career as a medical research assistant before changing direction to study ceramics at Camberwell School of Art. There she was taught by leading potters including Lucie Rie, Ian Godfrey and Colin Pearson.
Karin initially made thrown porcelain pots and then turned to hand-built work. She now makes figurative sculptures using stoneware clay, with multiple glazes and fired several times. Her portraits and historical figures are represented clothed, as she enjoys the challenge of creating the detail, textures and colours of fabrics using her knowledge of clay and glazes.
Hassenberg has exhibited her ceramics widely and her sculptures have been shown at the Society of Portrait Sculptors and Royal Society of British Artists. She has also taught at a number of art colleges, schools and given demonstration workshops. Her teaching has contributed to the development and focus of her own work.
