About
I’m Martina, the artisan and designer behind Planina Ceramics. Along with clay, I’m passionate about gardening, books, mountains, wildflowers, traveling, and motorcycles.
I work with stoneware clay, using traditional hand-building techniques like coiling, rolling, and pinching. This method allows me to create soft, tactile, organic forms that I truly enjoy. I work solely with my hands, clay, and simple wooden tools. Each piece I make carries the evidence of the human hand, and I hope this connection to its handmade origin resonates with those who encounter it.
In my work, I strive for sustainability, seeking ways to create thoughtfully while staying engaged as both a lover of beautiful things and an artist.
Each ceramic piece I made is unique because it is handbuilt without using molds or pottery wheel. I am using techniques that existed long before a pottery wheel.
I started Planina Ceramics in 2019 with a studio in the city center. I loved it at first, but over time, I felt drawn to nature. After two years, I moved to the countryside, living in Vallda surrounded by fields and forests. I had a small backyard studio, where life felt slower and more grounded. I embraced a slower pace, focusing on gardening, baking, and making jam from the fruit I grew.
However, after a while, I realized I needed a change. Working alone in my backyard studio left me feeling isolated, so I decided to return to the city to be closer to my ceramic colleagues. Now, working in Gothenburg, Sweden I feel a renewed sense of joy and balance. While I still enjoy nature with long walks in the forest, the connection with other creatives and a proper routine have made all the difference. Planina continues to inspire my creativity, whether it’s with clay, wood, or a camera.
I hope you will love my work as much as I love making it.
Planina means Mountain in Croatian, the language of my roots.
Mountains inspire my hands to shape clay into natural beauty. They’ve taught me to respect nature - its beauty, strength, and unpredictability. Whenever I have a free moment, I escape to the mountains, where I find peace and inspiration.
Never stop learning / Trainings, seminars, memberships and residencies
Member of Konstnärernas Kollektivverkstad Göteborg, Sweden
2023 / Artist residency at Cerdeira - Home for Creativity, Portugal
2022 / Intro to Local Materials Workshop, Studio Alluvium (Mitch Iburg i Zoë Powell)
2022 / Making a rounded teapot from flat slabs, Sage Cortez | Hand + Fire
2022 / Kurinuki, Sage Cortez | Hand + Fire
2022 / Think Global, Dig Local - Atelier NL , Design Talks at Röhsska Museum, Sweden
2022 / Workshop “Tälj med Viggo” - carving various objects from wood, Kulturhuset Kåken, Sweden
2020 / Ceramic apprenticeship - Ravitera, Croatia
Exhibitions
2022 / Kulturnatta, group exhibition at Konstnärernas Kollektivverkstad, Gothenburg, Sweden
2021 / Planina, independent exhibition at Planina Studio, Zagreb, Croatia
2020 / Ona - Women inspired collages and ceramics, Karibu coffee shop, Zagreb, Croatia
Selected press & mentions
