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Molly Melican, better known as Ginklet, is a young emerging ceramic artist from Australia, who specialises in creating one-of-a-kind colored monsters. She creates unique, handmade ceramic pieces that often feature whimsical and quirky designs. These ceramics include art pieces, vases, mirrors, candle holder and other functional items, each imbued with distinctive personalities and characteristics.

Ginklet releases new pieces regularly and offers a limited number of commissions from time to time.

Melican’s creations are known for their playful and imaginative style, often depicting creatures with a blend of endearing and eccentric traits.

Her Instagram is followed by nearly 90K fans of her art, and her works have been featured in various contemporary galleries. Molly has an incredible talent for bringing devilish charm to everyday objects.

Introduce yourself and share with us your personal creative journey?

My name is Molly Melican, and I started making ceramic creatures in 2019 as a hobby, which (thankfully) slowly turned into my full-time job. However, my creative journey technically started when I was a child. I grew up with a pencil or marker perpetually in my hand.

How did the name “Ginklet” come about and what does it mean?

When I decided to make an Instagram dedicated to my art, I knew I wanted the name to not allude to/mean anything else. Therefore, the word needed to be entirely made up. It occurred to me that my reddit username had been a made-up word I had thought of on the spot some years ago, so I decided to adopt my reddit username as my art page name. Which naturally became my business name. I think the word Ginklet is quite perfect for what I do. It’s short and punchy and somehow fits the aesthetic of what I create.

I’ve never been entirely happy with referring to my characters as monsters or creatures. They’ve always felt like something slightly adjacent to that. Calling them Ginklets puts them in their own category entirely. I had never actually thought of using the term Ginklet as a noun like this until some of my followers started calling my creatures Ginklets. I love it because it gives my creatures their own special category while also incorporating the name of my art business.

Can you describe the process of bringing one of your ceramic monsters to life, from concept to completion?

The first step to the process is hand building the piece. I’m a bit unorthodox and never do any brainstorm sketching before hand-building (unless it’s a commission). Hand-building time varies, depending on the size of the piece I’m making. For a larger piece, hand-building may take up to 3 hours.

The piece then needs to dry slowly, until there is no moisture left inside the clay. To dry them out slowly, I wrap them in glad wrap and over 2 weeks slowly loosen the wrap. If they dry too fast, they crack.

Once the piece is dry, it goes into what’s called a bisque firing. This is to make the clay body ready for glazing. This firing reaches 1000c inside the kiln and usually goes for about 16 hours.

Once the kiln is cool enough to open, I take my Ginklet out and glaze him with underglaze, followed by clear glaze (so he comes out nice and shiny).

The piece then enters its final firing – glaze firing. I fire my pieces to about 1100c.

Once the kiln is cool enough to open, I take my finished Ginklet out and photograph him against my pink backdrop, so he is ready to list on my website for sale.

The whole process from start to finish is usually about 4 weeks.

How do you come up with the designs and personalities for each monster?

I come up with the designs as I go. I begin making a piece and decide on the fly what features it’s going to have, and this usually depends on my mood. Sometimes I make cuter, softer looking Ginklets, and other times I make more evil, toothy looking Ginklets donning balaclavas. The personality of the Ginklet is naturally determined by the look of it. I used to enjoy writing captions on my posts about their personalities. I’d like to get back to doing this.

Ginklet’s sculptures, photos from Stormy Pyeatte.

I imagine that all your creations are like children to you, and it’s difficult to pick a favorite. However, is there a particular monster among your creations that holds a special place in your heart?

They genuinely do feel like my children sometimes. Although I do find very little issue with selling them online for money, so perhaps I won’t go as far as calling them my children.

If I had to choose a favourite, I think it would be the two headed green piece I made for my exhibition at Beinart Gallery called Percy and Patricia. I just feel like it really embodies what I want Ginklet to be and feel like in every way. It is the first pinned post on my Instagram, if you’d like to lay eyes on the two headed beast.

How would you describe your art in a few words?

Like if Krumm from Ahh!! Real Monsters had a baby with a random punk who lived in Melbourne throughout the 80’s.

Traditions and cultural experiences shape each artist’s vision. What has influenced you the most?

My art is really inspired by the general nostalgia I feel for my childhood, specifically the cartoons from the 90’s and early 2000’s. The bright colours, the chunky imaginative creatures, the strange nightmarish undertones you couldn’t quite put your finger on (I’m looking at you H.R. Pufnstuf).

But in a more meaningful way than just aesthetic inspiration from that era, I want my art to encapsulate the fun and silliness of what being a child was like. Things naturally become more serious as we get older, but I’ve been committed to never feeling too untethered from the joy, humour and general vibrancy of what being a child was like, and I hope my art can bring that feeling back for other people who view it.

Can you share any memorable reactions or feedback you’ve received from people who have seen your ceramic monsters?

Really anyone who has taken the time to message me or tell me they love my art or find it fun. Whenever I hear that it has resonated with anyone I am filled with joy.

You release drops of new pieces every few weeks. Have you ever faced a creative block? And what is your source of inspiration?

The last 6 months have been a little difficult in terms of getting into the rhythm of making art. I think this speaks to the fact that it is now my job, and therefore completely tied to my income. I’ve always made art because it brings me joy, but the pressure of making art to live has been a double-edged sword.

I’m luckily never short of ideas, but have been considering a change in direction in terms of medium. I’m looking forward to working with polymer clay again (I used this medium for a while back in 2021). I like the look of polymer clay, as it makes pieces look more like toys/figurines. I’d also like to start making Ginkets as plush toys.

What are your future plans for conquering the art world and expanding the monster universe?

As stated above, I’d love to start delving into other mediums. I have been making my Ginklets out of my bedroom for the last two years, which I must admit has affected the creative juices flowing. This November my partner and I are moving into a place of our own, and our main priority is having a designated studio. Even though it is such a simple thing, having a space that exists only to create in is so important, and once I have this space, I think the world of Ginklet is going to level up big time.