{tac}

Sara Swink

The Arts Center Exhibit(s):

• '9th Around Oregon Annual Exhibition,' October, 2011

Statement:

I make human and animal figures with a psychological stance. Each piece is a container for dreams, fantasies, memories and ideas. Encoded shapes, surfaces, color and facial expression suggest the subtleties and contradictions of what lies just beneath the surface of consciousness. All this is delivered with dash of humor.

The art and dream worlds are interconnected: Both invite the unconscious to become conscious; both rely on a language of symbols open to interpretation, both contain clues about psychological patterns. The receptivity of clay invites this kind of inner exploration and is the perfect vehicle to respond to my longing for symbolic understanding, personal reconciliation and regeneration.

Thus continues a thread of personal narrative that runs through all my ceramics. This has everything to do with my art making process, in which ideas are invited to bubble up from the unconscious, find form in clay, and eventually find understanding through writing and reflection. Though the stories are personal, they are also universal.

My ideas originate from a process methodology that includes collage, doodling on paper and improvising in clay. Most often I coil-build with rough sculpture clays fired to mid-range temperatures. Surface treatments include combinations of cracking slip, oxides, stains and glazes, sometimes finished with gold leaf, waxes and inks.

I have loved clay since childhood, and after leaving it behind for many years, returned first to the potter’s wheel and then to process-oriented sculpture. For a number of years I took private sculpture classes that supported my preference to work with the clay in an introspective way, while at the same time pursuing my academic art education at Foothill College, San Jose State University, and San Francisco State University. I taught at a number of California venues and in my own studio, while participating in regional shows. In 2006, I moved to the Portland area, where I established Clay Circle Studio and continue to show and teach.

I make human and animal forms with a psychological stance, using form, surface, color and facial expression to investigate the imaginal realm of dreams, fantasies and feeling states. The receptivity of clay invites this kind of inner exploration and is the perfect medium to explore the human longing for symbolic understanding and personal regeneration. Most often I coil-build using a gritty, sculpture clay, adding color with layered oxides, underglazes and glazes, and fire to mid-range temperature.

Selected Shows & Awards

• 9th Around Oregon Annual, The Arts Center in Corvallis, juried exhibit, October 2011
• Oregon Clay Sculpture Invitational 2011, Chemeketa Community College, February–March 2011
• Plate It Up 100 Artists Show, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, February 2011
• Featured artist, Hanson Howard Gallery, August 2010
• Featured artist, Guardino Gallery, November 2009
• Exhibiting Artist, Portland Open Studios, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Oregon Potters Association Ceramic Showcase 2009, Best of Show New Members Award
• Progeny, solo exhibit, Beet Gallery, Portland, March 2009
• Solus (Alone) solo exhibit, Buckley Art Center, January 2009
• Lake Oswego Chronicle Invitational, June 2008
• Mirth, 3-person show, Walters Cultural Center, Hillsboro, June 2008
• Featured Window Artist in Guardino Gallery, Portland, September–October 2007
• Artists Repertory Theatre, group show of Portland Open Studios artists, September–October 2007
• Featured Artist at Guardino Gallery, Portland, May–June, 2007
• Oregon Potters Association Ceramic Showcase 2007, Runner Up for Late in Gallery exhibit; Award of Merit for House of Blues in For the Birds exhibit benefitting Habitat for Humanity
• Beaverton Showcase, February 2007, two entries in juried show; Awarded First Place, Sculpture
• CLAY (re)Emerge 2005, July–August 2005 juried show at Red Ink Gallery, San Francisco; Outstanding Mention Award for Juju Box
• California Clay Competition, April–May 2005 juried show at The Artery in Davis, CA
• CCACA/Bay Area Figurative Sculptors, April–May 2004, ClayBodies group show in Davis, CA
• Visions in Clay 2003 juried show at University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA; 2003
• Orchard Valley Ceramics Arts Guild Show at Hakone Gardens, Saratoga, CA, juried exhibit, 2003
• San Jose Art League From Behind the Mask juried com¬petition & exhibit, March–May 2002
• Brainspace Art Studios, Fairfield, CA, 2001 Gallery Opening, featured artist

Affiliations

• Oregon Potters Association, Pacific Northwest Sculptors

Representation

• Guardino Gallery, Portland
• Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland
• 9th Street Gallery, Newport
• Oregon College of Art and Craft Retail Gallery, Portland
• Mariposa Gallery, Albuquerque

Publications

• Humor in Craft, 2011

Education

• San Francisco State University: graduate study in ceramics, 04–05
• San Jose State University: Two years Post-Bacccalaureate study in ceramics/Spatial Arts 02–04
• In 2000, a Japan study trip included classes in ceramics, calligraphy and the art of tea
• 1997–2002 Foothill College, UC Santa Cruz Extension, and private classes in ceramics, art history & creative process methodology
• Art History Scholarship Award, Foothill College, June 2002
• BA, Humanities with Art concentration, New College of California, August 2001; thesis “Understanding and Applying the Creative Process in Visual Arts”
• Certificate in Graphic Design & Visual Communication, UC Santa Cruz Extension, 1994
• 1974 to 1977, University of California at Berkeley; major: Urban/Economic Geography

Teaching Experience

• Creative Process for Ceramic Sculpture, Creative Arts Community at Menucha, August 2011
• Creative Process Workshop, PCC Rock Creek ceramics, February 2011
• Creative Process Workshop, Quest Center for Integrative Health, February 2011
• Clay Circle Studio, workshops and weekly studio classes (Sept 2006 to present)
• Instructor, Portland Community College Community Education, Creative Jumpstart, 2007
• Teaching Assistant, UC Santa Cruz Extension, 04-05
• Teaching Assistant, Foothill College Ceramics, Summer 2003
• Teacher, Palo Alto Art Center, 2001–2002: Artist’s Vocabulary: A Creative Process Workshop
• Teacher, Orchard Valley Ceramics Arts Guild, 2002: Creative Process Workshop
• Instructor, New College of California, 2001: Undergraduate Seminar: Exploring with Creative Process
• Teacher, Mendocino Art Center, 2001: Creative Process Workshop

Visit Sara Swink's website.