Marie-Isabelle Mariey

Ceramic artist, Art woodturner

Inspired by the arts and sciences since childhood, Marie-Isabelle initially turned toward a scientific career, in which she worked for nearly thirty years.

In 2015, the opportunity for a career change allowed her to fully express her artistic side by engaging in working with clay and wood.

Self-taught at first, she later enhanced her skills through quality training with recognized professionals, notably at CNIFOP for ceramics and at the Aiguines School of Artistic Woodturning, for example…

Increasingly passionate, she now creates unique pieces in clay or wood, often combining materials. She has been a member of the Ateliers d’Art de France since 2017.

Marie-Isabelle draws inspiration from wildlife to craft her works. She immerses herself in photos, studies the details, and then dives in and carves directly into the material: “During the first moments of working, the block of raw clay looks like nothing… then suddenly I feel the animal almost come to life in my hands.”

For firing, Marie-Isabelle prefers the East Asian technique called ‘raku,’ which involves creating a thermal shock after the second firing to crackle the surface of the glaze, then smoking the piece to deeply deposit black soot into all the crevices. She also uses the ‘naked raku’ technique, where the raw piece is patiently prepared and polished so that the vitrified glaze can later be removed to reveal the original stoneware after all the cleaning stages.

For several years, Marie-Isabelle has also taken up TIG welding to create her own steel bases, and more recently, bronze casting. This allows her to add metalwork as a new skill to her repertoire.

She participates in dozens of prestigious trade shows to exhibit her pieces, from Biarritz (64) to Vallauris (06), passing through Martres-Tolosane (31), Saint-Leu-la-Forêt (95), and even to Switzerland in Morges or La Sarraz. It is always a pleasure to introduce and explain her work to new enthusiasts!!!

In order to get an idea of her work, you can just have a look at her portfolio (here) and if you wish to acquire some pieces she could ship to you, you may visit this website (https://mariey-ceramique-bois.sumupstore.com/) designed for this purpose.

If you are more interested in large sculptures, you will need to meet Marie-Isabelle at her workshop or during an exhibition –> see here