About

My name is Aura Maribel Pérez. I was born in Guatemala, Central America.

Flowers have always been one of my passions. I remember a beautiful arrangement of maroon gladiolas I made for a contest in school when I was 15. I won 3rd place and that motivated me to continue to play with flowers.

In 2011 I moved to Buenos Aires for work reasons. Soon after arriving I visited an exposition of Ikebana, a Japanese floral art discipline, at the Japanese Gardens in Buenos Aires. There I met Marta Cettour, a Sensei of the Ohara School of Ikebana.

I began to receive classes from her and within a few months she invited me to show my work at an Ikebana exposition celebrating the arrival of Spring at the Cultural Center of the Japanese Embassy.

What does this have to do with pottery?

The ceramic recipients used for Ikebana, imported from Japan, can be both rare and expensive. Marta, my Sensei, suggested that I learn to make my own. It would be nice, she said, if the card under my pieces at the next exposition would say: “Floral arrangement and vase made by the author.”

I was intrigued.

In 2017 I enrolled in the National School of Ceramics in the Bulnes neighborhood of Buenos Aires. I completed their technical degree in Artistic Ceramics. That 3-year journey included lots of clay, more than a little chemistry, an overview of Art History, and lots more.

At the end of 2020, my spouse and I moved to Oregon. I wanted to meet the local potter community and continue learning from them. I enrolled in an Adult Ed class at the local community college and joined the local potters' guild. I had found my tribe!

Moving from my technical studies in Spanish to Adult Ed classes in English has not always been easy. In many ways I have started over. But I'm especially glad to continue discovering within myself the capacity to hand-build and throw unique individual pieces.

As I work, I remember visits to the Central Market in Guatemala City. I always admired the pieces sold there by ceramic artisans from Chinautla, a nearby Mayan town renowned for its red clay pottery.

Now I see their work with different eyes. When I visit Guatemala, I observe how whole families work together, patiently crafting wonderful shapes out of clay with few tools.

My work pays homage to their love for art made of clay.