Manuel Persa’s work in sustainable craft and biomaterials stems from a strong technical background and a deep interest in materials and process.
With a foundation in design, his practice evolved significantly after relocating to a rural area in northern Spain. There, he began integrating traditional techniques with research into organic materials, developing a hands-on, process-oriented approach that connects making with sustainability and long-term wellbeing.
“My artistic and craft practice at ARBIO was born from a vital need to connect with nature. Living in a rural environment like the Redes Natural Park not only offers me inspiration, but has taught me to observe natural rhythms, to live with a slower sense of time, and to understand that creation, like the growth of a mushroom or the falling of leaves, requires patience and attention. This constant contact with the organic has brought me a kind of balance that goes beyond work: it’s a way of being in the world, more attentive, more grounded.”
This organic connection is not just a source of inspiration, but an active part of his process, a relationship of care and responsiveness to materials, change, and time:
“Working with biomaterials derived from organic waste forces me to listen to what each material needs. Slow drying, humidity changes, subtle transformations… Everything requires constant presence, and in that care I also find a space for pause and meditation. In contrast to a world that pushes us to produce without rest, these processes bring me back to calm. They invite me to slow down and observe. Sometimes I feel that the material shapes me too.”
What drives his making isn’t just the pursuit of aesthetics, but a deep, physiological need for exploration and inquiry:
“Creativity, understood as continuous exploration, is an almost physiological need in my daily life. It’s not just about inventing new forms, but about inhabiting questions: how does nature build? What structures does it offer us as models? What waste can we re-signify? This search keeps me active, alert, but also helps me channel emotions, digest uncertainty, give shape, both literal and symbolic to what I often don’t know how to name.”
At the heart of Manuel’s work is the belief that craft can be a form of care, one that supports both individual and collective wellbeing. This is especially evident in the workshops he leads, where people reconnect with the essential through hands-on making:
“Yes, I believe that craftsmanship can be a therapeutic and reconnective tool, not only on an individual level, but also a communal one. In the workshops I lead, I see how touching the material, getting your hands dirty, building something from scratch has a transformative effect. It connects us to the essential, to what is human. In my case, there have been difficult moments when going back to the studio, even just to sand a piece or mix ingredients, was what kept me grounded. That minimal, almost invisible gesture brought me back to earth.”
For Manuel, making is a daily practice of attention, balance and care, a way to stay rooted in a fast-moving world:
“For me, creating is a way of caring. Caring for what’s inside and also for what surrounds me. And I believe that this, in itself, is already a form of health.”
His work at ARBIO stands as a quiet alternative to speed, noise and overproduction. It reminds us that wellbeing can be built through slow, intentional creation… with our hands, with natural materials, and with time.
