ABOUT SARAH

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Sarah has been working with ceramics for 15 years and with computer aided design for about 8. She received national recognition through an emerging artist award from the National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts in 2019.

 

She received her MFA at the State University of New York at New Paltz and BFA from Alfred University. She completed a post baccalaureate program at Colorado State University, and has participated in numerous residencies and internships across the US.

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Sarah exhibits her work nationally, including at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA; Radius Gallery in Missoula, MT; the Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY; the Page Bond Gallery in Richmond, VA; the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT; the Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz, NY; Pewabic Tile in Detroit, MI; Carbondale Clay Center in Carbondale, CO; and Peekskill Clay Studios in Peekskill, NY.

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She has worked for ceramic studios such as KleinReid, Kala Stein Design, ModCraft Tile, as well as  digital design and fabrication labs at the Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center and Polich Tallix.

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She teaches computer aided design for SUNY New Paltz and is a mother to a growing toddler. Her studio is located in Fishkill, NY, where she creates work for galleries and commissions for residential, healthcare, and hospitality spaces.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

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“I return to the water’s edge to feel my mind empty before me. Water gives form to a swell of intentions, released to drift and find resonance with the tide.”

 

Rippling currents of water and the patterns they create have always moved and intrigued me. Referred to as soft fascinations, movements of this kind give our eyes something to focus on so our mind can wander and rest. My work intends to capture this restorative experience by distilling the patterns of movement into channels for thought.

 

Through a combination of sculptural techniques, digital design, and ceramic chemistry, a dimensional representation of a water or skyscape is created. Ranging in format from single tiles about 12 inches in diameter to larger installations up to 11 feet wide, the final artwork brings the sublime beauty of nature to the site in which it is installed. 

 

My work plays between our cognitive response, what we observe with our eye in these forms, and our visceral response, what we experience internally.  Mirrored images and tessellating patterns create layers in the work. It invites a meandering gaze from the viewer resulting in a soft meditation for the eye, mind and body.

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ABOUT THE PROCESS

 

Sarah begins her process by identifying a landscape and the associated feeling of awe she wishes to recreate. Building a collection of photographs that capture these elements, she uses computer aided design to process a photograph and sketch water and cloudscapes. Sometimes this involves complex pattern making; other times a mirrored image completes a composition. The design is then built into tile forms through virtual sculpting.

 

Final designs are fabricated in the studio by using either a CNC machine to mill foam or a 3D plastic printer, resulting in prototypes and molds that are sculptures of their own. The clay tile is created by pressing clay or pouring liquid clay into the molds. All tiles need several days to air dry.

 

Most tiles go through two kiln firings. The tiles are first bisque-fired to burn off organic materials and water and make them strong for glazing. Custom glazes are created and tested to provide the perfect color and movement across the tile surface, pooling in valleys and reflecting light. Glazes are applied by hand piping or spraying. The tiles are then glaze-fired.

 

Specific hanging hardware is attached to the finished tiles. Hanging templates are created by adjusting the original computer aided design to accommodate for changes due to the fabrication process and finalized for easy installation.

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