Maria Ziaka was born in Preveza in 1948. She studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence (1966 – 1970), painting and engraving in England at the Byam Shaw City and the Guilds of London Art School and she took lessons on decoration at Hammersmith – Chelsea (1970 – 1974). In 1983 she was among the founding members of the Greek Printmakers’ Association.

Since 1976, her work has been presented in solo exhibitions in various cities of Greece and in numerous group exhibitions both in Greece and abroad. She has taken part in Pan-Hellenic Exhibitions (1975 and 1987) and, among others, in the Bradford Engraving Biennale (1984), the Ljubljana Biennale (1985), the Fredrikstad Triennial, Norway (1989), etc. In 1985 she won the First Prize of Engraving (House of Letters and Arts). She is a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece and of the group “Printmaking Centre”.