Susana Gutiérrez Babío

Sweet Sue Ceramics

Ceramicist

©Mercedes Herrán

Served on the table

Ceramicist, Susana, produces tableware for restaurants
Her work is a reflection of two lands: the Basque Country and Valencia
Her pieces seek to project the passion that chefs have for food

From the first time she worked with clay at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Susana Gutiérrez Babío fell in love with the material: its malleability and the ease with which she could register the imprint of the different tools she used and how these tools influenced the final result. Today, her work consists of making high-end tableware for renowned chefs in the Basque Country and their respective restaurants. Her porcelain tableware "screams stories", her utilitarian pieces are vehicles to express and transmit feelings and concerns. They are full of content and narrative. According to her, the key to succeeding in this craft is to have patience, willpower and to never stop learning.

Interview

©Mercedes Herrán

©Mercedes Herrán

How does where you live relate to what you do?: Valencia, and in particular Manises where I trained, has been a land of potters and ceramists since the 13th century. Pottery in this region is very important and is very much part of the collective consciousness. Valencians surround themselves with ceramic items produced locally, in a tradition that goes back many centuries.
What are your influences when it comes to your work?: I don't have a single source of inspiration. I draw inspiration from my memories, from techniques that interest me, from things that happen to me day-to-day, from things that motivate me: I simply open my eyes to the world and let it all come to me.
What are the secrets of your trade?: The technique I use to shape my pieces, porcelain casting using moulds, is generally a technique quite unknown to the public. When I explain the technique, people are usually surprised at how the moulds work and are quite curious.
Do you think your craft is in danger?: Handmade ceramics are experiencing an enormous boom. There are more and more new ceramicists working in this trade and the public is learning to value our work, although there is a lack of pedagogy in teaching people the effort involved in being a craftsman, and why our prices cannot be compared with those of the mass produced industry.

Susana Gutiérrez Babío is a rising star: she began her career in 2017