Slowing Down with Clay: The Story of Martina Geroni
In a world that moves so quickly, Martina Geroni chose to return to the rhythm of her hands.
After years working as an architect between Italy and Mexico, she felt a growing distance from the tactile, human side of creation. Clay became her way back to matter, patience and to herself.
Her ceramics are more than functional pieces: they are quiet invitations to live with intention, to pause and find beauty in simplicity.
ARTISAN STORY:
Slowing Down With Clay
MARTINA GERONI -
In Conversation with Martina
You began as an architect between Italy and Mexico. What made you turn to clay?
“I was in Mexico attending a workshop on adobe (handmade earthen bricks).
Seeing a whole village built by hand with earth and straw struck me deeply. I realized how far architecture had moved away from touch. When I came back to Italy, I felt misaligned. I didn’t want to spend my life in front of a screen. The gap between designing and making was growing inside me. Clay became a way to close it.”
What has working with clay taught you that architecture could not?
“Patience, above all. Clay doesn’t let you rush. If you push it too fast, it cracks. On the wheel, I learned about balance; if I’m unsettled, I can’t center the clay. It demands presence.”
Your work often carries memory, like the bowl you named Angela. Can you tell us about that?
“Angela was my grandmother. I designed a bowl on a stand dedicated to her mascarpone cream. The stand becomes the lid, the bowl sits inverted. It carries her memory, her presence. Every piece I make is infused with who I am and how I feel that day.”
You’ve embraced the Japanese technique of Kurinuki. What does it mean to you?
“With Kurinuki you carve from a block of clay: it’s subtractive, not additive. I tell my students: imagine the block is your emotional weight. As you carve, you lighten it. It’s symbolic of inner work. It helps me sculpt away rigidity.”
If you’d like to dive deeper into this philosophy, we explored it further in The Kurinuki Way: Subtracting to Become
If your ceramics were a woman, who would she be?
“Simple, natural, elegant, maybe dressed in linen. Organic, sophisticated in her own way. Clean lines, thoughtful details.”
A Message for Women Who Dream of Creating
Martina’s journey is also an invitation.
“If you’ve found your talent, live it fully. Set fear aside and lean into courage. Life is short, why spend it doing something that doesn’t light you up? It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.”
For Martina, clay is both a material and a mirror. It’s a reminder that transformation takes time, that cracks can become beauty and that hands carry knowledge the mind sometimes forgets.