Teresa De La Pisa

Metal sculptor

When metalwork is life changing

Teresa feels nature is an inexhaustible source of ideas
She works with bronze, copper, aluminium, alpaca silver and brass
She also uses sea urchins, wood and hand-blown glass

Madrid-born Teresa De La Pisa studied fashion design and worked as a head designer for six years. In 2008, when she was interviewing for a new position at a big international fashion brand, she started modelling a long wire, creating a poem for her husband, which she displayed on a wall. “And boom, my life changed! Several home interior designers and clients started to call me and in my first years as an artist I had three magazine covers. That is how I started and I have never stopped.” Teresa lives and works in Madrid, and spends her free time at Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, which is another important source of inspiration for her work.

Interview

What does your technique involve?: It is similar to the repujado technique [a method of embossing] that is used on leather. Depending on the effect I am looking for, I cut the metal with scissors and bang it with pliers in different shapes and sizes. It’s a very natural technique, very prehistoric.
Do you teach your technique to apprentices?: I have tried, but I realised that it is very difficult to obtain the result I want. But I like to teach this technique in classes: the people who come to my courses really enjoy themselves, it’s a very emotional workshop.
Does your environment inspire you to create?: I love the weather in Spain. It gives me great vitality to enjoy nature around me. Equally, I have lived in colder climates where I found working indoors very enjoyable, relaxed and good for concentration. I start with an idea and I develop it while I work.
Do you collaborate with other artisans?: Yes, for example the glass I use in some of my creations is made by master glassblowers in Murano. I tell them the shape and colour and they make the glass. It’s not an easy process, but the result is amazing.

Teresa De La Pisa is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2008