Maria Andrade Troya holding finished pot, vase with flowers

Maria Andrade Troya

Resident Potter | Instructor | Mentor | Social Media Strategist

María Andrade Troya (she/her) is a ceramic artist working in Asheville, North Carolina. Originally from Ecuador, she attended UNC Asheville and graduated with a BFA in Printmaking. Afterwards, she did a studio assistantship at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts and pursued a pottery making career.

Maria is the newest Resident Potter to our team and she brings a wealth of knowledge in surface design and business. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. María’s pots revolve around the love of cooking, entertaining, and bringing the joy of gardening into everyday life.

Artist Statement

As a ceramic artist, I am deeply attracted to the reflective relationship between form and function in our homes. For me, pottery is the perfect embodiment of utility and beauty into a handmade pot. I work with a white stoneware clay on the wheel and occasionally alter my pots.  My decorating process include: mishima/inlay drawings, wax resist, slip trailing and carving. I fire in an electric kiln to Cone 6, which allows me to have consistency in my glaze surfaces as well as a wide palette of brilliant and jeweled colors.

Having grown-up in Quito, Ecuador, my influences come from many of the handmade objects that surrounded me throughout my childhood, for example: Andean textiles and embroidery.  As well as the colorful flora of the Andes, where just about everything bloomed year-round. I am also inspired by Persian pottery and 18th/19th century fabrics and wallpapers. My pots also revolve around the love of cooking, baking and bringing the beauty of the garden into everyday life.

Maria Andrade Troya finished pot grouping, blue vines and birds, vertical, Photo by Nicole McConville (www.nicolemcconville.com)
Maria Andrade Troya finished pot grouping, colorful vines, Photo by Nicole McConville (www.nicolemcconville.com)

Connect with Maria on

Maria’s Finished art & work flow

Maria Andrade Troya finished pot, vase with flowers, surface design
Maria Andrade Troya finished pots, teapot, colorful vines and blue vines, Photo by Nicole McConville (www.nicolemcconville.com)
Maria Andrade Troya finished pot grouping, colorful vines, vertical, Photo by Nicole McConville (www.nicolemcconville.com)
Maria Andrade Troya square headshot with finished pots
Maria Andrade Troya finished pot grouping, blue, vertical, Photo by Nicole McConville (www.nicolemcconville.com)

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