Reborn in clay
- María crafts functional ceramic pieces centred on shape and texture
- Her clients include Michelin starred restaurants across Spain
- She transforms her workshop waste into new malleable materials
For María Monasterio ceramics was a personal discovery as well as her family heritage. She learned the craft from her uncle, Pablo Romero, a celebrated ceramicist himself. María has always been drawn to the potter’s wheel and fascinated by functional ceramics. "With pottery I create beautiful everyday objects with a special design, with meaning, a story, a part of me. I love working with clay using my hands as a tool," she says. Since 2019, in addition to the collections she designs for private homes, María creates dinnerware for restaurants across Spain, including Michelin starred establishments such as Kaleja in Málaga, Messina in Marbella, Fusión 19 in the Balearic Islands, and Lasarte in Barcelona. María's recent passion, a collection she calls Renacidas, explores the transformation of discarded scraps into clay-like materials.
Interview
- How would you describe your relationship with clients?
- I am a very creative woman, and good at problem-solving. When I think of a design, I look for the best and most efficient way to bring it to life—how to construct it, which techniques to use. I tend to have a good grasp of what my client is looking for.
- What challenges do you face in your daily work?
- I love having an idea and manually bringing it to life. Sometimes, before I start modelling a new object, I do not know if that piece will turn out as I imagined it. Yet, when I succeed, it brings me great joy and satisfaction.
- How do you approach the design process in your ceramic work?
- For me, designing means addressing a need but always keeping in mind the beauty of the final object. This is where my knowledge and imagination come into play. When a chef asks me for a specific piece, I design it exclusively for the dish it is destined to present. The shape, texture, and decoration of the dish become part of the dining experience.
- Can you describe your project, Renacidas?
- Instead of discarding all the waste generated in the workshop when cleaning surfaces and tools, I collect it. Depending on the temperature in which I process this mix, it can be used as glaze or as modelling clay. The resulting material is fickle to work with and easily cracks, but I value the process of giving discarded materials a new life.
María Monasterio is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2015 and she started teaching in 2019
Where
María Monasterio
