Loaira Pérez

Raposiñas

Ceramicist

©Loaira Pérez

Courtesy of Fundación Pública Artesanía de Galicia©Eduardo Armada

©Loaira Pérez

Ceramics from the countryside

Loaira uses 3D printers, PLA and plaster moulds to make her pieces
She uses warps, sheets of clay and stoneware
She is inspired by the environment, the people, and the idiosyncrasies of Galicia

Loaira Pérez studied design at the Mestre Mateo Art School in Santiago de Compostela, painting conservation at The Higher School of Cultural Assets, Conservation and Restoration of Galicia, and fine arts at the University of Vigo. She later completed a master's degree in ceramics at the Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea in Bilbao, where she learned techniques with renowned artisans. With this impressive training, she decided to return to her rural roots. In 2019, thanks to an entrepreneurship grant, she transformed the garage of her grandmother's house in Lomba, Galicia, into her workshop. Since then, she creates pieces of subtle shapes, primitive decorations, and a stony feel. "We work to embellish everyday life sustainably," she says, convinced that, after difficult times, the best is yet to come for artisans and their trade.

Interview

Courtesy of Fundación Pública Artesanía de Galicia©Eduardo Armada

Courtesy of Fundación Pública Artesanía de Galicia©Eduardo Armada

How would you define what you do?: We design from concepts, for example the sea and the coast; rain and drought; the local and the global; memory. Our ceramic firings imitate geological processes – we mix mineral compounds and fire them in the kiln at high temperatures. We want the relationship with our pieces to be a visual and, above all, a tactile experience.
What do you consider your skills?: We are known for approaching projects conceptually: combining design, 3D-printing, plaster mould making and handmade glazing. Sometimes we distort the pieces by hand to produce organic shapes. We make lacquers from raw materials: quartz, kaolin, ashes and piles of earth – meaning our objects are sustainable and natural.
How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?: We make pieces from the Galician tradition that we reinterpret in our own way by combining different features from other cultures. We innovate through a semi-industrialised production process, which involves 3D prototyping and mass production of pieces using plaster moulds.
Could your trade be at risk of disappearing?: Potentially. But we demonstrate that as a small group of rural women producers we can stand on our own two feet. We manage with what we have, without much freedom. We want to reach the maximum of our capacity, working to do what we like and what we can do.

Loaira Pérez is a rising star: she began her career in 2019 and she started teaching in 2019