FRANCISCO JOSÉ MONTALBÁN RODRÍGUEZ

He works in a small workshop in his house, near Águilas (Murcia). There come to learn some young friends who surprise him with their creativity and their new passion for pottery. The philosophy of its ceramics is simple: to follow the tradition and history of clay and glazes with the utmost fidelity, to be consistent with nature and with clay and not to adulterate the creative processes under any excuse. In his workshop there is not a single mold, everything is manual work (kneading, turning, biscuit, enamelling...) The 99% of his pieces come out of the lathe, caressed by his hands. The turning of the bases is for this craftsman a mark of quality as long as it is carried out manually. It does not seek to produce quantity but to create a piece that tells its story when it is in other hands. Of course, its pieces are numbered since they are all really unique and unrepeatable pieces, that is their great value, if they have it. All the pieces that come out of his workshop ( Urcilla ) bear the stamp ( U ) printed in bas-relief that certifies that each work is exclusive and personal and has left the hands of the craftsman. The enamels that he applies to his works are made by him and are the result of hours and hours of testing and dozens of samples. None of the colors that appear in his pieces belong to any specific commercial catalogue, they are all the result of his own formulas. As an admirer of oriental culture, he also makes some pieces with the Japanese Raku technique. Here chance plays with fire, smoke and oxides and generates works of incredible beauty and color.