ceramics
Antonia Maria
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, thank you firstly for asking me to do this interview. I’m Antonia, a ceramicist and space designer based in a small village close to Nantes (France) at the moment. Since the end of 2021, I have been supervising initiation workshops and courses in pottery wheel throwing and hand-building for a wide audience. It enriches my approach to the material and reinforces my passion for transmission, through the different skills of the craft. At the same time, I founded my studio at the beginning of this year and I am still looking for forms and nuances for my next productions and collaborations.
Could you tell us more about your craft and how it has evolved over the years?
My approach to clay has changed a lot recently, especially when I've been on my own in my studio trying out bigger weights of clay. I've always liked big vases to put pretty flowers in, so I'm making all sorts to see which curve suits me best. And I think I've found the one I like, a slender, open shape to accommodate many long stems. Shaping is not enough to result in a piece, the rest is always more complex when it comes to applying a glaze on a larger size. And I am learning this part to have a conclusive result. I have also been doing some research into glazes around materials I picked up during a walk in Normandy, or on holiday in Brittany where I collected some pieces of pink granite. When I have time, I open my logbook and write down each of my experiments so that I don't forget them.
Can you take us through your process? Do you have a favourite part of the creation process?
The creative process varies according to the materials I use and the techniques I associate with them. Before everything, I´ll start researching. I think that the first part is one of my favourites, because the research allows me to concretise a thought and put it in shape with some tools. Drawing is a very important stage for me, as it projects me into a perception that keeps evolving throughout the process. The last part is often the one I dread the most, but it gives me a satisfaction that I can't even describe; it's almost like a sacred thing. It's hard to make a piece the way you imagine it, but what counts in the end is to have learned and to move forward thanks to the mistakes. It’s an endless personal quest that never stops growing.
Tell us more about the decision to create your own palette of glazes.
Simply because I like to take the time to make my own recipes, to understand and analyse the materials I use, to know where they come from, and to work on my patience because research requires a lot of time and investment. It’s pleasant to create and invent new textures, discover new nuances, to mix materials with uncertainty. It's an exciting part and one that continues to expand my personal study.
We know that you have studied space design. How has this experience influenced your approach to ceramics?
I had the chance to discover the world of work during my two years of study in space design. This apprenticeship period in a company forged me and allowed me to take stock of my personal and professional desires. I realised that modelling spaces or objects in 3D on a screen wasn’t fulfilling, so I decided to turn towards a more manual and concrete profession. The material of clay was already following me during my architectural projects, so it was like a piece of evidence. I trusted my instinct and today, many elements enrich me and allow me to go toward what makes sense for me: the value of know-how.
What and who inspires you?
Many things inspire me in my daily life, like the texture of a fig picked from my parent's garden, the rays of light resting on my hands after a long day of work, a rock I left on the corner of my studio table, my partner's latest book 'I Am the Performative Object', the song 'Falaise' by Floating Points which I can't get enough of. Simple things surround me and I think that's enough for me.
We know that you are running ceramic workshops and are involved in various community projects with children and people with disabilities. Can you tell us more about these experiences and the importance of developing strong bonds through teaching, especially within these communities?
When I graduated in ceramics, I quickly joined an association not far from my home, which was a community of potters. I started to give my first wheel-throwing and hand-building classes to a wide audience and it was then that I understood that it is fundamental to transmit. I finally understood the importance of the words and gestures that my turning teacher, Pierre Brêteau, could use. As well as all the craftsmen who have surrounded me these last few months and who have shared with me their knowledge and skills related to the art crafts. Each exchange has deeply nourished my approach to the material and especially to others.
This sharing has allowed me to move forward with confidence and to pass on the different practices that I have been taught. Making people aware of materials also means bringing them a new dimension through touch, imprint, and memory. These many shared memories impregnate a form of communion with our fellow human beings and our descendants, which is quite strong when you think about it. I have developed a real passion for the classes and couldn't do without them. The bonds are strong with each individual, and the feedback is always positive and I am already very grateful for that.
Do you believe that crafts can lead to social change, particularly concerning sustainability and ecological behaviours?
I see craftsmanship as an essential resource, part of our culture, which shouldn’t be neglected in the future. It’s not trivial to educate the body and its perceptions. The body is a creative and metamorphic entity. Gestures, our gestures, are constitutive elements of our human condition, a natural refuge to liberate ourselves and gain plenitude. Craftsmanship is a wealth that can save us and that must be sustained for as long as we can, starting by passing it on. It can therefore lead to a social and ecological change in sustainability, as it represents a territory of exploration and learning within communities uniting technique and thought as well as gesture and word. The need to replace the things of this world more and more quickly doesn’t establish the values of respect and preservation. To consume without thinking, to devour without savouring, as it were, our houses, our furniture, and our cars, doesn’t reflect our true relationship with objects.
This pattern is not sustainable and can only be changed if we profoundly transform our relationship with objects. We shouldn’t simply take care of nature, which is a new way of divinizing it and fantasizing ourselves — perhaps above all, we must rediscover a relationship other than a consuming one with the objects in our daily lives, that is to say, a relationship other than one that devours their durability. Hence the need to rethink our relationship to objects and to recognise them as a symbolic and ethical value.
What upcoming projects make you excited right now?
I am honoured to be able to exhibit some pieces at Mira, a lively space in the heart of Nantes. A temporary exhibition is planned for the beginning of November and will highlight the local clay of Le Fuilet. I am also looking for a community workshop to share my knowledge and give some courses in Berlin, as I would like to move back there. So, if you manage to read this interview, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a proposal, I would be very grateful.
Where and how can people engage more with your work?
Instagram: @studio_antoniamaria Website: studioantoniamaria.com Mail: hello@studioantoniamaria.com
All pictures belong to Antonia
