Simona Colzi
Botanical printing as art and design
With her technique of natural dyes and botanical printing, Simona Colzi creates artistic pieces, paintings and decorative objects, as well as textile designs for kimonos, kaftans and dresses. She uses fabrics as blank canvases on which she prints, paints and dyes to give life to her unique pieces. “My inspiration is nature. The materials I use are plants from Formentera, natural silk and 100% natural fibers recovered from old nightgowns, sheets and bedspreads, to which I give a new life,” she explains.
Her favorite plant for printing is wild fennel and also Thapsia, a plant species endemic to the island. Raised in a family with several generations of textile artisans who have handed down their traditions and passion, Simona has a long career dedicated to artistic textile creation using experimental techniques. In 2018 she discovered botanical printing, redirected her artistic approach, and left behind all synthetic materials. She is currently inventing new colors and preparing for the exhibition that she will hold on September 12 at the Antoni Tur ‘Gabrielet’ Artisan Center.
Ur Calvet
Jewelry with echoes of an ancient world
Ur finds his influences in the ancient world, which he knows in depth thanks to his college studies in archeology. “I am very concerned about ancient cultures, especially Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt and Phoenicia. Not that it’s a direct influence, but I do have a vision of jewelry from that time, large pieces, pieces of power, that have meaning,” explains this designer of handmade and unique jewelry, who says he is mostly self-taught.
He finds inspiration in Formentera itself, and this is reflected in the organic forms of his creations. “The island is a very small place, but it has a very lively nature. Above all, I am inspired by the color of seawater – there is not a single day that this doesn’t surprise me. In color therapy, turquoise blue is a color of magic, innocence and creativity, and I am very connected to that.”
The materials that he uses to design his jewelry are mainly silver and bronzes, which he then oxidizes to create patinas. After years of trial and error, he has achieved the turquoise tones of the sea. “I also work with gold, but for different and exclusive pieces. Oxidations fascinate me, they are pure magic, chemistry.” Currently, he is focusing on summer production so that he can display new jewelry at the markets of Sant Ferran and la Mola.
Jaume Mateu Muntaner
Ceramics inspired by the cosmos
Jaume’s specialty is pictorial and sculptural ceramics, which are born in his drawings and are mainly inspired by the shapes and colors of nature. “Looking at the sky, at the cosmos, fascinates me,” explains this artist from Lleida, who started working with clay at the age of 17, trained at the School of Art and moved to Formentera at the age of 21. He had a gallery here for 26 years at la Mola craft market, where he created the mural with broken tiles in the center of the market, following the technique of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, called Trencadís.
His designs range from commercial pieces with symbolic elements from Ibiza and Formentera, such as the sun, the islands, the moon and lizards, as well as a more personal and creative world embodied in his artistic works. He is currently working on designing murals about the cosmos for an exhibition he plans to hold in Florence in three or four years. “This project is quite a challenge because they are pieces measuring 180 x 180 centimeters and have the added risk of transport due to their fragility and weight.”
Olga López Adzerías
Creativity in looms and ancient techniques
Olga arrived in Formentera twenty years ago, attracted by the Pilar de la Mola Craft Fair. Since then, she has been selling the designs she creates with her pedal loom in her Es Cap de Barbaria workshop. While she first started creating tapestries, she then made a foray into the world of looms, at first making shawls and scarves, and then traveling to Morocco to learn how to make carpets and applying these techniques to other smaller designs, such as cases and cushions. “My inspiration is almost always nature and one of my influences is Morocco, especially the women who make carpets. But this winter I was in Chauen, the place where men work with looms,” explains the craftswoman.
For her designs, she also uses other materials such as hemp yarn, wool, linen, cotton and felt. What’s more, she uses techniques such as kumihimo, a form of traditional Japanese braiding that is used to create everything from a belt to the cord for a jewel.
Every summer, this craftswoman also opens the doors of her workshop to visitors, demonstrating the “discovery of an infinite and diverse textile world with ancient looms and techniques, fresh and resistant yarns, and warm and soft wools, where inspiration and quality are paramount”.
