Maria Paz Mejía, artist and founder of Unu Papel Studio

María Paz Mejía Villena is a ceramic artist and educator based in Lima, Peru. Her practice focuses on an organic, paper-based ceramic technique, developed from recycled materials and inspired by ancestral ceremonial ceramics from Peru, particularly pre-Columbian iconography and ritual forms. The process is slow, tactile, and grounding, many of her workshop participants experience it as a moment of presence and material connection, while also learning a versatile and expressive construction method that can be applied to both sculptural and functional forms.

Maria runs a studio in Lima where she works and teaches. She reached out to me, offering a collaboration during your upcoming travels to Europe. I was thrilled since I saw a lot of overlaps between our work and approach - both prioritising process, community, and meaningful engagement with a natural material,

Today I am very happy introduce you to Maria and her work. In June 2026 you will get a chance to meet her in person, as she will be teaching a paper clay workshop in the HANDFUL studio in Berlin.

What was the first thing you touched this morning after you woke up?

A book of affirmations. Spiritual grounding is important to me. Small rituals create clarity before entering the studio. Creation, for me, is not separate from inner work.

What makes working with paper maché so special?

For me, paper is not a surface, it is a second life. I do not build in layers. I dissolve the paper into pulp, returning it almost to a primordial state. With simple ingredients like flour paste, cornstarch, salt and a domestic blender, discarded sheets become a malleable mass, similar to clay yet fundamentally different.

Paper pulp has no elasticity. It does not stretch; it asks to be compressed. It requires pressure, insistence, care. You must knead it, compact it, listen to when it becomes dense enough to stand.  That act of compression feels symbolic: fragility becoming strength through touch.

What inspired you to work with paper instead of materials like clay, wood or fabric?

In Lima, recycling systems are still fragile. There is abundance of waste and very little awareness of its potential. I was moved by the idea of self-managing my own material and transforming what was overlooked into something enduring. Paper became both medium and statement.

When someone acquires one of our vessels or lamps and tells us they never see paper as “trash” again, that is the real transformation. The object changes perception. And perception is where ecological consciousness begins.

What is the biggest difference to working with clay and what are the similarities?

Clay stretches; paper resists. Clay holds elasticity and memory of the earth. Paper pulp holds fibers and air. It must be kneaded deeply before it can be shaped. Compression is essential. I mostly work with steel tools rather than wooden ones. The gestures are closer to carving than to traditional paper maché layering. Yet in both clay and paper, the most important tool is the hand. Both materials demand patience, drying time, and respect for their internal rhythms.

How does your creative process look like? What tools do you use?

The process begins long before sculpting. I start with collecting paper, blending it, draining it, kneading it until it reaches the right consistency. Preparation is part of a ritual. Conceptually, our work is rooted in Peru, especially the sea. I am deeply inspired by marine ecosystems: corals, barnacles, coastal textures shaped by salt and wind. Forms emerge intuitively, almost as if they grow rather than being constructed. The studio becomes a space of shared energy, where my pieces evolve alongside those of students and collaborators.

Which of your projects has the biggest meaning for you?

The coral series holds my heart. For years, I have been creating vessels inspired by marine life with corals, barnacles, organic clusters that resemble living formations. They are my way of returning to the Pacific coastline. Our studio is called Unu, which in Quechua refers to the water cycle with melting snow from the Andes becoming rivers, ocean, vapor, clouds, rain, and snow again. That cyclical transformation mirrors both the material and the philosophy behind the work. Paper becomes pulp. Pulp becomes vessel. Vessel becomes meaning.

What makes your workshops special and what are you aiming for when teaching?

Working with paper pulp is new for almost everyone. That creates a beautiful equality: we all begin from zero. There is no rigid structure. Each participant develops their piece at their own rhythm. We accompany rather than instruct. What I aim for is confidence and the understanding that nothing is irreversible. Paper allows correction, reworking, healing. In that sense, the material itself becomes a teacher.

How does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day begins slowly with freshly brewed coffee, me opening the studio and preparing the space to receive others. There is laughter, conversation, shared silence. Students work at their own pace while I move between my own sculptures and their processes. Sometimes we join forces for larger commissions. It is less a schedule and more a rhythm.

Can you draw a sketch of a vessel inspired by the energy of Lima?

I imagine a vessel that grows like clustered barnacles on a coastal rock. Uneven, textured, almost breathing. Lima carries a quiet intensity with grey skies, salt in the air, a city facing the Pacific. The surface would feel weathered, but inside there would be warmth. Like the city itself: subtle, resilient, deeply alive.

What else would you like to share?

Paper cannot truly be ruined. It can always return to pulp. It can always begin again.

That is what moves me most - the possibility of repair. In a time of excess and speed, choosing a material that insists on patience, compression, and care feels almost radical. Working with paper is an act of tenderness and of resistance.

Find Maria online:

Website: https://unutaller.my.canva.site/

Instagram: @unu_papel

Book her workshop in the HANDFUL store.

Thank you Maria for taking the time to answer my questions. I am very much looking forward to welcoming you to my studio and inviting the Berlin community to explore your practice.