An engineering approach
- Paula originally trained as a civil engineer
- She learned the craft from Emilia Guimeráns and Miguel Vázquez
- Her pieces reflect her skills for abstraction and spatial vision
After graduating as a civil engineer from the University of A Coruña, completing a master's degree in Transport and Sustainable Development at Imperial College London and working for seven years designing engineering structures, Paula decided to devote herself entirely to ceramics. "I realised that this craft allowed me to express myself by applying my knowledge as an engineer and bringing a new perspective to it". In 2015 she moved to Vigo in Galicia and set up Ojea Studio, where she creates ceramics that play with the viewer's point of view and combine precision and irregularity, accuracy and imperfection. She draws inspiration from the coastal environment, shipyards, port cranes and the fishing activities of the Rías Baixas, the region where she lives, and from engineering and architectural works such as skyscrapers, bridges and metal structures.
INTERVIEW
Ceramic materials allow me to make by hand almost any geometry I can conceive, with infinite possibilities of finishes, textures and colours. In addition, ceramics gives us an emotional component related to working with our hands in contact with the clay.
Galicia has a long tradition of ceramics but many workshops have been lost in the province of Pontevedra. Thanks to the teaching and dissemination work of internationally renowned local masters such as Emilia Guimeráns and Miguel Vázquez, today there is an important community of potters in Vigo.
I express tradition by using classical ceramic techniques and through the uniqueness of the traces I leave on each piece. I innovate through my designs that are nourished by my own vision and the digital techniques I use from the world of engineering.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism awarded me the 2019 National Crafts Award in the Product Category. When I decided to change my profession, I took a risky decision. The official recognition of my work encouraged me to continue evolving.
