Maria is a studio potter with a background in Illustration. From her studio based in Edinburgh, she teaches creative workshops and makes functional and sculptural ware, using a potter’s wheel and hand-building techniques.
Maria’s pieces are influenced by how our connection with nature and everyday objects keep us sane and grounded, inviting us to live a slow, simple and yet joyful life.
This results in her work bearing a significant presence of animal and botanical motifs, astrology and organic textures with a rustic and homely feel to them.
Maria was born in the North of Spain and grew up in a little coastal town near Santander. She was always very inspired by the green and rainy landscapes of Cantabria and she found her love for arts and nature early in her life as these were highly promoted in the school where she studied until she was 16 years old.
After graduating from her Bachelors’ degree in Audiovisual Communication, she moved to Scotland where she absolutely fell in love with Edinburgh and Scottish culture. She joined Edinburgh College to study a HND in Illustration, allowing her to experiment and practice with different media and materials.
One day, on her way to climb Arthur’s seat, crossing Abbey Hill she found Mud Station’s old pottery studio and after a beginners class and attending open studio classes, she decided pottery would be her craft. She spent 2 years training as an apprentice with Sylwia and Stephen and then worked as Studio Assistant for Aku Ceramics for another year.
Maria currently has her own studio in Summerhall and she sells her pottery in independent shops and galleries over the UK.