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Astrid Tjalk, born Astrid Hildegard Larsen (May 27 1925 — February 19 2014) was a Danish ceramist and painter.



Early life
Astrid Tjalk was born and raised in the small fishing town Hornbæk on the north coast of Zealand. Her father was of an old Hornbæk-family, while her mother came from Scania in Sweden. From an early age she showed both interest and talent for drawing, and attended the The School of Arts and Crafts i Copenhagen from 1941. Tjalk then worked at Kähler Keramik in the town of Næstved. In 1955 she established her own workshop in Næstved with her husband Tage O. Nielsen, and together they took the surname Tjalk. In 1960 the couple moved both home and workshop to Hornbæk.

Kähler keramikk
When Tjalk joined Kähler at the age of 19 i 1944, she started as a painter of patterns. But as with Signe Steffensen and Elisabeth Ahlmann before her, the job as painter of patterns at Kähler became a starting point for an artistic career of her own. Tjalk demonstrated individuality and ambition early on. At Kähler she was soon allowed to work independently and on her own terms, and was given an atelier to herself. Many of the works Tjalk made at Kähler displayed fish or animals in a stylized visual language, on ceramic vases or trays. She used inventive techniques of painting to create new effects. The ceramic pieces on which she added her decor was often designed by Nils Kähler. According to Peder Rasmussen, the author of the book «Kählers værk», Tjalk in her work displays "a genuine modernistic urge to decorate".

Fyrbo keramikk
In 1955 Tjalk left Kähler, and together with her husband established the workshop Fyrbo keramikk i Næstved. During these years the ceramist Karen Bennicke was an apprentice with Tjalk. Fyrbo keramikk had no other employees but Tjalk and her husband, who both made a living out of Fyrbo keramikk until they retired. In 1960 they moved to Tjalk's hometown Hornbæk, where they continued the business. Gradually, much of the production was directed to smaller products like ceramic jewelry and tiles. In Denmark the production was mainly sold through well established dealers like Magasin du Nord, Illums Bolighus og Den Permanente. But much of the production went for sale in the US, and some to other countries in Northern Europe and to South Africa.

Visual arts
Tjalk continued to draw and paint throughout her life. The town of Hornbæk, with the houses, the harbor and the beach, provided many of her motives. Her oil-paintings has been exhibited, but was rarely offered for sale. She did, however, sell watercolors and drawings, mainly locally in Hornbæk.

Collections and exhibitions
The collection of Danish crafts from the 19th and 20th century at Næstved Museum contains several examples of the early ceramic works of Astrid Tjalk. Tjalk has been included in several prestigious exhibitions in Denmark. In 1955 she took part in Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition with ceramic pieces produced at Kähler keramik. and three years later with oil-paintings. She has also taken part in Kunstnernes Påskeudstilling in Aarhus, Kunstmuseet Sophienholm, Det danske Kunstindustrimuseum and Maison du Danemark in Paris. After Tjalk passed away, a local commemorative exhibition was held in the summer of 2014 in Hornbæk public library.

Litterature
Ane Maria and Annimi Holst Schmidt presented several of Tjalk's early pieces in the book Kähler og Keramikken (2001). In the book Kählers Værk (2002) Peder Rasmussen dedicated a subchapter to Tjalk's work at Kähler. In December 2005 Hornbækegnens historiske forening og lokalhistoriske arkiv published an exclusive issue of the journal Hornbækegnen to Tjalk, by Lohne Kuhlmann.