Joaquín Martínez holding a freshly thrown stoneware piece
Story

Learn by doing

Ceramics is a craft that has been with me for most of my life and has profoundly shaped my path. It influenced my decision to study Industrial Design, the way I understand product design, and the project I'm building today: dedicating myself fully to this craft.

Working with clay has taught me the value of turning an idea into a tangible object. Along the way I've learned to understand materials, develop my skills, and accept mistakes as part of learning. Ceramics is where I connect best with my creativity — it's where I enter my flow state.

Joaquín Martínez centering clay on the studio's wheel
In the studio, centering clay on the wheel.
Day to day

Today the studio has a sizeable group of students, and that means not just teaching but also organizing schedules, payments, materials and firings — always trying to keep the warmth and closeness I want the studio to have. The other challenge is splitting my time between teaching, my own production, and constantly working to sharpen my own skills: different things that demand a lot of organization, but that also feed into each other and make me better at each one.

Since age 5

The first years in ceramics

It was always part of my life: over time, that hobby turned into the dream of making a living from this craft.

2014

Pontificia Universidad Católica

Fine Arts.

2015–2020

Universidad Diego Portales

Design, Industrial Design major — professional degree.

Experimental

Ceramics + 3D printing

A crossover between digital design and ceramic practice: an open-source 3D printer adapted to print in ceramic paste, later fired with traditional firings.

2022–2023

ELISAVA Barcelona

Master's in Sustainable Design — professional degree.

Joaquín Martínez shaping a stoneware piece on the wheel
Shaping a piece on the studio's wheel.
Teaching

Teaching, unplanned

It crossed my path without being sought and opened up a whole new world. Today it's one of the parts of my work I enjoy most: passing on what I know to my students.

Today · 3 years

Taller Jota Cerámicas

Utilitarian and one-off pieces in stoneware, classes for all levels and commissioned work, at Darío Urzúa 2035, Providencia.

Stoneware mugs with speckled blue glaze
Studio

See the studio's work

A portfolio of bowls, plates, mugs and experimental pieces in stoneware.

See the work