Handmade ceramics
100% Brazilian
Cocoa Collection - Fruits from the Earth
This collection was born from a trip to Itacaré-BA, where I got to know the plantations up close and the strength of those who live from cocoa farming. Impacted by the devaluation of the harvest and the vulnerability of the producers in face of African competition, I found in ceramics a way to represent this contrast between the richness of the fruit and the reality of those who cultivate it.
To highlight its intense colors, textures, and organic forms, I created the molds and gave rise to the collection. A tribute to the knowledge, work, and richness of the Brazilian people, whose fertile land needs to be recognized, preserved, and celebrated.
Cactus Collection
During a 5,000-kilometer trip along the São Francisco River, I passed through "Serra da Capivara". It was there that I learned a story that stayed with me: during times of drought, parents would run their hands up and down the thorns of cacti, reproducing for their children the sound of a rain they had never known.
From this memory, the Cactus Collection was born. Hand-modeled in terracotta ceramic, the collection translates, in forms, textures and material, the landscape of the Sertão region and the delicacy of a story in which even the sound of rain needs to be preserved.
Paths Collection
"Paths" is a series of pieces constructed from intersecting and transforming lines. Each path represents the choices, encounters, detours, and new beginnings that are part of our journey. No path is straight, no path is the same as another, but all contribute to the construction of our story.
These are the paths that life leads us to cross.
Sculptures
In creating sculptures, I follow a more intuitive modeling approach.
Some pieces emerge more organically, others more geometrically. In all of them, I continue my search for textures, volumes, and empty spaces.
I also like how the firing process affects the pieces. Even in an electric kiln, where the process seems controlled, the fire transforms the glazes and, often, even the shape itself.
Handmade in the heart of the Atlantic Forest.
Juçara Palm Collection
A sculpture that carries a piece of Brazil and the Atlantic Forest within it.
The Juçara palm tree is endangered. And both it and the Green-billed Toucan are native to this forest.
As a way of representing the region where I live, the nature that surrounds me, and the richness of our country, I hand-modeled this vase with an organic design, natural texture, and a finish that highlights our biome. More than a work of art, it is history, craftsmanship, and territory.
Capybara Collection
I have a special fondness for capybaras and the serenity they convey. Native to South America and so present in the Brazilian landscape, they inspire this ceramic collection.
Here, I set aside their natural colors and freely transform them: designs and colors give each piece its own identity, turning its familiar shape into a decorative object full of personality.
An affectionate and humorous interpretation of an animal that, for me, represents calmness, simplicity, and lightness.
Custom Projects
In addition to my own collections, I develop ceramic pieces for special projects, gifts, and small, personalized series.
Fairs and exhibitions
MERCIA MARIA - ORIGINAL CERAMICS
The studio
Mércia Maria - Original Ceramics is a studio located in Mairiporã/SP. Since 2012, it has been developing decorative and utilitarian pieces inspired by Brazilian biodiversity.
Handcrafted, their collections highlight reliefs, textures, and organic forms, combining traditional techniques with contemporary design. An original ceramic brand offering products with a Brazilian identity, high quality, and exclusivity. Production in small batches made to order.
Brazilian Identity
The collections are inspired by the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest and native Brazilian species.
The Juçara Palm Collection, for example, highlights an endangered species and its environmental importance, combining it with the Green-billed Toucan, which represents Brazilian fauna in a contemporary ceramic interpretation.
The Cocoa Collection translates the fruit of this species—a Brazilian icon—into original shapes, reliefs, and textures.
Design
The development of unique reliefs, textures, and graphic designs gives her creations a distinctive identity. It integrates utilitarian function, decorative value, and contemporary language.
Sustainability
The studio reuses and recycles 100% of ceramic waste, both clay and glazes.
Avoid using plastic, prioritizing packaging made with dye-free paper that has a lower environmental impact.
Innovation
The studio combines different construction techniques, such as coiling, slabs and extrusion, creating original works.
Transforms elements of Brazilian flora and fauna using ceramics, through unique reliefs and textures.
And develops its own processes to reproduce these reliefs in small series, preserving the manual and artisanal character of each production.
