Light floods the studio in Santanyi. Margalida Escalas stands at a large wooden table in the centre of the room and kneads a lump of light-coloured clay, similar to bread dough, before it goes into the kiln. "I first caught the ceramics bug in 1975," Escalas recalls.
At the time, she had spent two weeks in Cambridge. "I had met a group of women there who shared a workshop. One of them had given me lessons on the potter’s wheel," says the ceramic artist. "I remember exactly how fascinated I was by the potter’s wheel," she says with a smile. She was determined to learn and perfect pottery on this wheel. "It took many hours of practice to get there," says the 71-year-old.
Back in Mallorca, however, there were hardly any such machines at the time. "I had a blacksmith in Santa Maria del Cami make me my own potter’s wheel. The machine didn’t have a motor. I had to move a wheel by pushing a pedal, which eventually made the wheel turn in a circle. Although I liked using my whole body to create a work, at some point my back couldn’t take it anymore,’ says Escalas, who switched to an electronic device from then on.
"In my early days, I limited myself to making household items." She points out several bowls, plates and dishes that were all created with her own hands. "Ceramic art was relatively unknown. It was only through the work of Picasso, Miró and Barceló that people realised that clay could be used to create more than just functional objects,"
She had focussed on a series of Mediterranean amphorae. "At some point, these became flatter and more angular, with stronger veins. I increasingly moved away from the purely functional aspect of ceramics. From then on, my works were more aesthetically and creatively motivated.
"And so came the next phase of my work, which moved away from round shapes and for which I was influenced by architecture." Her sculptures incorporate stylistic elements of urban, primitive and Talayotic buildings as well as contemporary urbanism.
Escalas has travelled a lot in her life. "All the impressions I have gathered in the countries I have visited merge into my work in my studio. Be it snapshots of my stays in Laos, New York, Africa, India or Europe. Everything I have seen and experienced merges together. Not only in terms of architecture, but also in terms of landscape." She works purely intuitively, not thinking beforehand about how the piece should look later. This free technique usually works well, but is by no means a guarantee of great works.
The sculptures are of course also recognisable as being from Mallorca. "The colours in particular are reminiscent of the local landscape. I work with a lot of brown and earthy tones, not much green," explains Escalas, who was born near Santanyi and has spent most of her life on the island. "One exception was my short time in Barcelona. I studied psychology there but never finished my degree.
"I’m happy here and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Mallorca was a paradise for a long time. Unfortunately, the paradisiacal spots are becoming fewer and fewer," she says sadly. "I used to be able to go to the beach or a cove with my friends and family whenever I wanted. That’s unthinkable today; everything is full from ten o’clock in the morning. We urgently need changes here, a more sustainable tourism model, less overcrowding. If it’s not already too late for that."
Cooperation with TUI
Support from the tourism industry: the project is sponsored by Europe's leading tourism group Tui and its Tui Care Foundation. The initiative was founded in 2016 with the aim of supporting sustainable projects in the destinations. The foundation focuses on the potential of the tourism sector as a driver of social development, education and prosperity. The Group promotes sustainable tourism in cooperation with local people.