ZQTL handmade ceramics

by Lene Setzer June 03, 2022

The face behind ZQTL is called Ximena. We became aware of Ximena because her ceramics studio, like www. mit-ton.de is located in Aachen and, in our opinion, produces great and artistic ceramics. Her works have impressed us at least as much as her personal story.

Ximena's home is Mexico, Aachen is her home - and her heart is in ZQTL.

She was born and raised in Mexico and graduated from a German school there. She then moved to Aachen for her studies, where she completed her bachelor's and master's degree in engineering at the RWTH. Originally she wanted to do her doctorate, but she had to end it due to health and personal reasons. Perhaps a twist of fate on her true calling.

To overcome a health and personal crisis, she discovered her passion for clay.

In order to find herself again, Ximena started to express herself creatively: first painting (e.g. watercolors), then knitting and then came the clay. "I had never worked with clay before and as soon as I got my hands on it I knew I couldn't put it down"

So she bought lots of books about pottery, read countless texts, watched various videos on the Internet - the fascination was great.

"In November 2020 I put my own website including a shop online and the feedback was so good that I can now finance my life as an artisan. That makes me very happy!"

We always ask our creative minds the same questions, so we wanted to know from Ximena what she particularly enjoys about working with clay.

"There are many reasons why ceramics inspire me so much"

Ximena loves this ancient craft of molding clay, loam, and earth into practical objects and art.

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"For me, pottery itself is like a meditative process. I take a piece of clay and start to shape it with my hands. In the meantime, I become very calm, all thoughts and worries seem to have slowed down for the moment and I can think about things in peace think."

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Another reason is the many ways to process sound. There are so many techniques and tricks that help to implement an idea. Ximena is enthusiastic about trying them out and always tackling new projects. She enjoys the patience that pottery requires - pottery is a very long process.

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"It usually takes a month from the clay block to the finished piece of ceramics"

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The material changes so much after each firing that when she sips tea from a homemade cup, she sometimes can't believe she made it herself. We can understand that very well and it fascinates us again and again.

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She finds it difficult to answer the question about her favorite pieces.

She often falls in love with her potted flower pots with faces. When she has finished making a "Carnal" he/she always gets a name. Most of the time they are names of friends and family and this often makes it difficult for her to say goodbye to them when they are adopted by someone.

Her absolute favorite is the Seniora Luna (see picture). This night light was one of their first creations and is as beautiful to look at during the day as it is at night. She loves her chin and her satisfied face.

The best way to reach XIMENA is via their website: www.zqtl.de or via Instagram at @zqtl_ceramics . She looks forward to your visits!

ZQTL handmade ceramics

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