Marina Anaya

Ceramicist | Madrid, Spain

Recommended by

Tomás Alía

The multitasker

Marina has multiple talents
She opened her first workshop in 1998
Her creations have a deep connection with nature

When asked how she would describe her work, Marina Anaya responded with just one word: “kind”. Perhaps this is why her ceramic pieces are all constructed by hand, without the use of a throw; carefully and kindly crafted. Her Madrid workshop hosts not only her work as a ceramicist, but also her jewellery creations, paintings and engravings. As a child she would entertain working and experimenting using her hands, and becoming an artisan was an organic path to follow, after studying Fine Arts and attending the Moncloa School of Ceramics. Marina is a multitasker, her abilities nourish and inspire one another, her ability is to mingle different elements of each. Her work is executed paying homage to traditional techniques, while innovating in shapes and function. Nature means everything to her, inspires her aesthetic, and she escapes to the woods to learn from it.

Interview

©Marina Anaya

What does ceramic mean to you?: It allows you to have a very direct contact with materials. When I work with clay there is a very deep connection with my body, and I develop a physical bond with each creation. When approaching ceramics I mix shapes, colours, lines, the handiwork and the use of materials determine the result.
What do you enjoy mostly?: I enjoy harmoniously following the cycles of nature and what it has to offer us. I appreciate the process behind making objects. I like my senses to be willing to acknowledge and absorb beauty; I am in love with plants and trees, especially beeches.
What does your depiction of the animal world mean?: Birds have been the recurrent animals in my different disciplines throughout the years. It is because to me they mean and represent freedom, they stand for movement and fragility. And at the same time I have always been impressed by their beauty, their feathers and lightness.
What does well made signify for you?: It is a unique feeling you experience with some of your creations. Because once you have finished them, it is as if they have a harmonious balance between creativity and making.

Marina Anaya is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1998