A woman sitting on the ground with four dogs around her in an outdoor natural setting with trees and grass in the background. She is wearing a wide-brimmed hat and casual clothing.

Porcelain in the desert

Bianka Groves De La Cruz is a potter in New Mexico and has studied ceramics all over the country. Not just a potter, she’s also taught ceramics at Baltimore Clayworks, Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Santa Fe Clay, and is currently teaching at the University of New Mexico as a graduate student. Her work is thoughtfully functional and completes the elegance of any interior space. The polished compositions of her designs are an ode to the simplistic repetition and studies of minimalist design, architecture, and landscapes. When she’s not making pots out of her backyard home studio, you can find her hiking in the mountains and desert with her dogs.

Working on the wheel with a true porcelain formulated at the University of New Mexico, Bianka’s surface designs are part of an inlay technique similar to tattooing. A pattern is gently carved into the surface of the freshly made unfired pot using acupuncture needles, tattoo needles, or X-acto blades. Once the outline is complete, a black slip is applied to the clay body and sinks into the cut drawings. Most of the excess slip is cleaned away, leaving the inlaid design. Once the pots are fired to about 2350 degrees, the unglazed porcelain is polished to a silky smooth matte finish that feel wonderful to the touch.

Young woman standing outdoors on a sunny day, holding a ceramic bowl, wearing a black and white patterned dress, with trees and blue sky in the background.
A woman with tattoos on her arm, focused on shaping a tall ceramic vase on a pottery wheel in a studio.
A woman smiling next to a large black outdoor oven with a dog standing nearby, surrounded by trees and a stone wall in the background.
A woman with tattoos wearing a black t-shirt and a patterned apron is working on pottery at a pottery studio. She is shaping a bowl on a pottery wheel with various cups and supplies on the workbench in front of her.