About Maria
Maria’s early creative training and work was in graphic design at a time when the industry was changing from drawing boards to computers. As her work became more computer based she realised she missed using her hands and making things, that realisation led her to ceramics, initially experimenting in a shed in the garden, but later to an MA in ceramic design at Bath Spa University. Since graduating she has exhibited nationally and internationally and now works from her studio in Frome.
Inspired by mid-century design and the minimal aesthetics of artists such as Carl Andre, Donald Judd and Richard Serra, she uses line, colour and form in her pieces to explore themes to do with connections and relationships, boundaries and divisions, and differences and likenesses.
Her work as a graphic designer is a major influence - the qualities of material, techniques and even some tools have come with her into working in clay. The precision she learned when creating artwork on a drawing board combined with the organic nature of clay is the basis of the way she works in clay today. An important part of her process involves painstakingly scraping and sanding the work at various stages to create the clean lines and balanced forms of her pieces. Her ceramic surfaces are matt areas of saturated colour and are inspired by the qualities of the papers she used to specify to printers. And paper is often the starting point for new ideas, making card and paper maquettes before moving onto experimenting in clay.
Education
2007 MA in Ceramic Design, Bath Spa University College
1986 BA(hons) Graphic Design, University West England
Awards
2008/9 Crafts Council Development Award
2008 Emerging Makers Scheme – Artsmatrix and Crafts Council
Exhibitions and Events
2018 Oxford Ceramics Fair
2017
Colour Connections (Maria Wojdat & Sara Moorhouse)- Contemporary Ceramics Centre
Cornucopia - Jaggedart, London
Hepworth Wakefield - work in conjunction with Howard Hodgkin exhibition
Ceramics in the City - Geffrye Museum
Christmas Shows - Gallery Nine, Bath. Arundel Contemporary, Arundel.
2016
London Art Fair (represented by Jaggedart),
Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Showcase,
Bevere Gallery - Christmas Show
2015
Ceramic Art London,
@Collective, Scotland,
Made London,
Snug Gallery - Winter Show
Jaggedart - Winter Show,
Contemporary Ceramics Centre - Winter Show
2014
Voir et Percevoir – Galerie du Don – France,
Featured Maker (February) – Bevere Gallery - Worcester
Christmas Exhibitions at Gallery Nine, Bath; The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle and Smith's Row, Bury St Edmunds
2013
Ceramic Art London, ‘Here Comes the Sun’
Leeds City Art Gallery, Winter Show
1 Church St Gallery – Bucks
2012
Made 12, Brighton,
Fired Art, Rye Art Gallery
2011
Ceramic Art London
Rye Art Gallery Summer Show
Fiesta, Leach Gallery, St Ives
2010
Ceramic Art London;
Exchange – Craft in the Bay, Cardiff
Autumn Show, The Biscuit Factory
Christmas Shows, Gallery Nine, Bath; The Black Swan, Frome.
2009
Ceramic Art London
Bluecoat, Liverpool
Craft Focus – Dundee Contemporary Arts
Members Showcase, Devon Guild
‘Colour’ – Craft2Eu, Hamburg
2008
Designer Crafts at the Mall, London
Open Arts Competition Exhibition,
Black Swan Gallery, Frome
Carpe Diem, Devon Guild
Mid-Century Modern, London
Views from the Hill, the Studio Gallery, Somerset.
2007
New Designers, London
The Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey.
Publications
Interiors; Elle Decoration; Elle Decoration (Polish Edition)
La Ceramica in Italia e nel Mondo; House and Garden
Ceramics Monthly; Sunday Times Home
Architectural Digest
The Trend Bible,
Ceramic Review
Memberships
Professional Member Craft Potters Association