Shaped by her craft
- Nature fires Margarita's imagination
- She loves focusing on details and immersing herself in her work
- She believes making art is fundamental to human nature
Margarita Ecclesiarchou took her first pottery lessons at a workshop at the University of Aix-en-Provence, France, where she was studying philosophy. She later attended pottery seminars in Paris hosted by ceramicists who, though mostly unknown, were very good at teaching and laid the foundations of her craft. However, when it comes to the majority of her acquired knowledge, Margarita feels she is self-taught. She believes tradition to be the basis of all ceramics, from the ancient to the contemporary. They all offer her inspiration, yet by adding or subtracting some elements, she transforms her own creations into something original, an expression of her personal aesthetic.
Interview
- How did ceramics become your life's work?
- I discovered how happy working with clay made me when, on returning to my homeland, I decided to take the risk and work professionally as a ceramicist, without being sure that I would succeed in this field. Yet things worked out well. My work has helped me during many difficult times in my life.
- What was the first object you made?
- At the beginning I made objects for daily use through which I discovered my personal style. I remember a small teapot which had elements of asymmetry and a special glaze. A big moment was when I discovered porcelain, which at the time was hard to find in Greece, so I was forced to order it from England.
- Do you use any particular technique?
- I use various techniques, but what I love most is the old Japanese Nerikomi technique, which, because it demands a lot of concentration for the creation of the object, makes me forget who I am and become completely devoted to what I am making. This, for me, is happiness and therapeutic calmness.
- How are your creations connected to your homeland?
- Greece has a lot to teach us when it comes to aesthetics. When, from a very young age, we visit its museums and see beautiful objects made of all kinds of materials, I believe that our taste is shaped according to what we see and that is reflected in the objects we create.
Margarita Ecclesiarchou is a master artisan: she began her career in 1982 and she started teaching in 2010
Works
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Margarita Ecclesiarchou
