Maria-Luise Bodirsky completed her state exams (in visual arts, German and psychology) which she did at the "college of Education" (Pädagogischen Hochschule) in Freiburg. After that Bodirsky continued her studies in painting and sculptural figures. She also attended various seminars and courses with internationally renowned artists and professors. In 1986, she founded her own ceramic studio in Oberrotweil next to Kaiserstuhl. 

Since then, she has created an extensive range of sculptural works, with her central theme being the human development, vulnerability, transience and beauty. Her preferred working material is clay, which she uses to build and model her work with. She burns her objects in the atelier electric oven, but has also used the simplest traditional firing techniques such as wood-fired earth pits. However, she also lets selected works be cast in bronze, iron or aluminium.