Sarah Russell Pottery Glover VT

Sarah Russell is a life-long Vermonter, deeply influenced by the natural world. She cultivated her interest in art through pottery class at U-32 high school in East Montpelier. She furthered her studies in clay at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where she was exposed to all facets of the pottery studio—from glaze chemistry, to raku and reduction firing, to wares production, to sculpture and tile making. In 1994, she returned to Vermont and enrolled in classes at the Vermont Clay Studio, where she was actively involved in the workings of the studio and eventually became the Gallery Manager. It was there that she began to develop ideas about the coffee mug and the simply bowl as the canvas. In the fall of 1999, she set up a small studio in Montpelier, where she experiments with glaze chemistry and refining the thrown form to create functional but funky wares. There is something mysterious about throwing clay. You take a ball of mud, and a bit of water, spin it around on a wheel and use nothing but your hands to make the most simple and useful of forms. It appears that I can defy gravity. A meditation becomes a tangible object. Nothing becomes something. And then, I grace the pot with all kinds of experimental concoctions from my glaze pantry and heat it to extremely high temperatures, and I am then blessed with a beautiful and useable form. (And sometimes I find a molten puddle of glass in the bottom of the kiln.) A potter evolves an intimate understanding of the interplay among the raw elements of nature—of fire, water, earth and air—and is constantly experimenting with them in a quest for their perfect balance. My work reflects this. I use many different clay bodies and am always mixing new glazes. I often leave my pots untrimmed to emphasize the juxtaposition between the rough texture of the raw clay and the smooth sheen of the glazes. I like my pots to have their own personality, so I often make sets or pairs with similar motifs but with different colors or patterning. I see the form as a canvas, as a vehicle for yet another form of expression and so I often make impressions in the clay and explore the multidimensional interplay of textures of the glazes. Each pot is this symphony of elements and is meant to be held, touched, explored and utilized. Handmade pottery enhances the mundane routine of daily life by infusing it with artistic spirit. Sarah was a Featured Artist at Art on Main in October, 2006. To learn more about Sarah, please visit her web site at www.sarahrussellpottery.com