Her forms are simple, yet organic, her palette is rich and warm, but it is her patterns that I am continually drawn to – they are abstract, and yet they are at times reminiscent of landscape, plantlife, mid-century motifs, and even expressionist paintings. Attention to detail is her hallmark – hence it comes as no surprise that she is quite particular about her workspace. It “has to be very VERY clean and tidy. Everyday and always, otherwise I find it is distracting and cannot work.”

She uses the slip cast method to create her forms, and prefers to leave the outer surface of her forms matt. “Having been a graphic designer for years my eye goes straight for the pattern in the everyday environment and this is how I get the ideas for my decoration. I might see something in 3D and come up with a 2D design and vice versa. I see pattern in everything. I am mostly interested in intricate designs and detailed patterns inspired by nature, ancient civilizations and classical art movements. For me decoration starts from a dot that forms into a line, straight or curved.”

 

Maria grew up in Greece, surrounded by family with a deep appreciation for art in its many forms – her dad was in the advertising business from the 70s, and her mother was a piano teacher.

“My mom and my grandmother always kept me occupied with some sort of art whether that was tiny sculptures out of polymer clay, drawings, etchings, collage or even sewing. But I remember a specific day very clearly. It was summer holidays (I must have been 5yo) and we were at our holiday house in the hills with family friends. One of the dads dug some mud from the back yard and turned it into cheap terracotta clay for us kids to play with. I remember sitting and looking at the lump of clay not knowing what to do. Everyone else had done their bit and were starting to lose interest. But then I just started making and poking and sculpting and ended up with something that resembles the head of The Scream by Edvard Munch. I still have that piece unfired but safe and bubble wrapped. I always refer to that day when I am not sure what to do with a piece of work. I just stop asking questions and start working on the piece by trusting my instinct.”

She came to ceramics again much later, more or less by chance, when she started work in a  local ceramics shop.

“When my parents moved from the capital city to one of the islands of Greece, I jumped at the opportunity to follow them into a less complicated life style. However, being on an island that relied on tourism for only 5 months per year didn’t leave me with much choice when looking for a job. I found a job as a retail assistant in a shop that sold local ceramics. When one of their production assistants got sick I was asked to help with production as well. Soon I replaced the hours in the shop with more hours in the studio and 2 years later I was decorating their main dinnerware range.”

 

 

Maria moved to Australia, arriving in Adelaide in 2007, and decided to undertake ceramics at TAFE. She also enrolled in all the porcelain workshops she could at the Jam Factory, eventually applying for and receiving a Jam Factory associateship.

 

 

Although she has participated in quite a hefty number of exhibitions, she told me she always feels incredibly deflated after a solo show.  “You put your heart and soul into an exhibition and its concept, which might have taken a full, long and intense year. Finding yourself empty after a show is when the insecurity creeps in and you start fearing about ‘what comes next’. I always find that scary. I think patience in oneself is most helpful but faith from fellow artists/friends who are willing to talk and analyze new elements and concepts on a daily basis has been invaluable.”

 

 

She cites Australian ceramicist Robin Best as a wonderful mentor, who has “set a very high standard for me to try and reach sometime in the future”, and Klaus Gutowski, a fellow Jam Factory resident, as another wonderful everyday influence, for his skills and his teaching.

Maria sets the bars high. “Art is a combination of skill, talent, uniqueness and beauty. If something I make does not meet all four criteria and is not pretty enough for me to put in my own house, then it is not pretty enough to go in a gallery.”

 

 

You can find more of Maria’s work on her Facebook page here, and on her own website mariachatzinikolaki.com.au.