Isabel San Martín

PLAART

Ceramicist

©PLAART

©Ana Gomez QOSEN

Clean-cut lines and elegance

Isabel worked at Nic Collin’s ceramic studio on a Leonardo Da Vinci residency scholarship
Her work was commissioned by the Thyssen shop for The Occult in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections exhibition, Madrid 2023
She collaborates with gastronomy stylists and photographers

Isabel San Martín’s functional creations readily invite the touch, with fine finishes that stem from a masterful use of material and simple designs. Her approach to ceramics is based on modelling and sculpture. Isabel studied Fine Arts at Complutense University of Madrid, Pottery and Ceramic Design at Francisco Alcántara Art School and Moncloa Ceramic School in Madrid. She opened PLAART, her atelier, in 2018 on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, where she draws inspiration from surrounding nature. Isabel combines stoneware, porcelain and terracotta to produce bowls, platters and plates through hand modelling, pottery lathe, casting techniques and a controlled enamel and firing finish. Her creations aim to bring a sense of elegant containment into everyday life.

Interview

©Elisa Tcach TCACH FOTOGRAFIAS

©PLAART

What part of your creative process do you enjoy the most?: I value the spatial sense I have about matter. I approach modelling as a summing up in the sculpting process. The moment I manage to control and master a technique with security gives me much satisfaction.
Is there a special milestone that you cherish having reached?: Yes, when I joined SACO (Spanish Association of Contemporary Craftmanship), as it represents an opportunity to share and exhibit next to artisans of various crafts and differing perspectives.
What can you share about this exhibiting experience?: I participated in Rasgos Intangibles, a contemporary craftsmanship exhibition organised by SACO and MAZDA for Madrid’s Design Festival 2023. This exhibition raised crafts to artistic levels, and allowed for dialogue with viewers. It offered a glimpse into society’s intangible features.
What themes do you address in your work?: Sustainability, as in my Stones and Geo series, inspired by nature and circular economy. Irony, as in my Bubbles series where fragility and protection are juxtaposed. The honouring of other crafts in my family, as in Ajuares, where textures were drawn from delicate needle knitted patterns.

Isabel San Martín is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2010 and she started teaching in 2022