Triangle Plate 2, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 11" diameter
Triangle Plate 1, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 9" diameter
Square Plate 4, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 8" x 8"
Square Plate 3, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 8" x 8"
Square Plate 2, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 8" x 8"
Square Plate 1, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 8" x 8"
Oval Tray 2, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 5" x 13"
Oval Tray 1, black stoneware with photo transfer imagery, underglazes and glaze, 5" x 13"
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Self Portrait as Landscape, Birchbark collage on paper, 7" x 13"
Passage 2, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Passage 1, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Simple Landscape, Birchbark collage on paper, 5" x 7"
Grid 2, Birchbark collage on wood panel, oak frame, 6.5" x 12.5"
Grid 1, Birchbark collage on wood panel, oak frame, 8.5" x 10.5"
Flow 2, Birchbark collage on board, oak frame, 6" x 6" x 1"
Flow 1, Birchbark collage on wood panel, oak frame, 6.5" x 12.5"
Homage 7, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Homage 5, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Homage 3, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Homage 1, Birchbark collage on board, 7" x 5" Matted and framed dimensions: 11" x 9"
Duality, Birchbark collage on board, 6" x 6" x 1" Framed dimensions: 9" x 11"
No items found.
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Member Portfolio

Amy Sarner-Williams

Résumé

Artist's Statement

I am a professional artist, living and working in Philadelphia PA. I spent almost my entire career in the field of ceramic art–teaching, creating and exhibiting. In 1994 I joined the development staff at The Clay Studio in Old City Philadelphia. I knew the organization well, having been one of its early resident artists and instructors and later a member of the Board of Directors and Board Chair. In 2001 I became its Executive Director and, during my ten years of leadership, doubled its organizational capacity and increased its financial strength. I left the staff in 2011 to refocus on my family and my personal artistic expression. Still, it is one of the great joys of my life to see The Clay Studio poised to open its brand new, state of the art facility in 2022.
I have always been drawn to the use of natural materials in my artistic practice. While quarantining at my family's cabin in the mountains of western Maine in 2020, without access to clay and kilns, I began a new phase of artistic exploration.
My new works are collages created with birch bark found on our property and on walks in the idyllic Maine woods. The quality of birch bark has always intrigued me, with its myriad peelable layers unveiling a hidden array of colors, textures and patterns. I collect the bark (from the ground, not from live trees) and prepare it through a lengthy process of soaking, peeling into layers, flattening, and cutting. This new body of work builds on my earlier clay work, inspired by the splendor of the natural world. The bark of the birch tree enables me to create collages of mystical and enchanting beauty, capturing the spirit of the ever-changing landscape.
Recently, I have expanded the scope of this work into more abstract compositions. These new works play with depth and space, color and texture. They are environments to explore, passageways to enter, mazes to lose oneself in.

Professional Experience

Professional Artist, 1975 - Present
2019 - 2021
Black Hound Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Studio Artist
2019
International Artists Residency Exchange, Saint Raphael, France
Guest Artist
2014 - 2019
CedarWorks Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Studio Artist
1983 - 1991
American Craft Council Craft Shows, Baltimore and West Springfield
Exhibiting Artist
1986, 1988
Smithsonian Craft Show
Exhibiting Artist
1983, 1986
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show
Exhibiting Artist
1975 - 1983
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Resident Artist
Non-Profit Management
2009 - 2011
President & CEO, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2001 - 2009
Executive Director, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
1994 - 2001
Development Director, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA

Education

1978
Penland School of Crafts, NC
Ceramics Intensive with Robert Turner
1975
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Studio Art
1973
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor of Arts
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
1992
Lighthearted, Visions Craft Gallery, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Light From Within, The Clay Lady, Eagle, PA
1987
Land of Dreams, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
1982
Fields of You, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Two-Person
1993
Peter Craigie/Amy Sarner Williams, Kirkbride Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1992
Amy Sarner Williams/Dale Shuffler, Bedford Gallery, Farmville, VA
1983
Sarner/Ceramics; Baker and Baker/Jewelry, The Retreat, Westlake Village, CA
Group
2021
Works in Wood, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, PA
9th Annual Juried Exhibition, Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Of the Earth, ArtFluent online Gallery, Boston, MA
Landscapes to Explore, Kansas City Stockyards Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Beautiful Possibilities, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor, WI
The Magic of Water, Cape Cod Center of the Arts, Barnstable, MA
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia PA
2020
Unstoppable, Cheltenham Center for the Arts, Cheltenham, PA
Honorable Mention Award
2019
Creative Collective, The Clay Studio at Claytopia, NCECA, Minneapolis, MN
2009
35th Anniversary Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2000
The Alchemy of Raku, Vermont Clay Studio, Waterbury Center, VT
1998
Artful Crafts that Work, Hopkins House Gallery, Haddon Heights, NJ
1992
More Than a Fixture, Houberbocken Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
National Ceramics Invitational, McKinney Gallery, West Chester, PA
1991
In Our Circle, Michener Museum, Doylestown, PA
1990
Revolving Techniques, Michener Museum, Doylestown, PA
1989
American Clay Artists, Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA
National Clay Lines, Northwest Crafts Center, Seattle, WA
1987
Fired With Enthusiasm, Campbell Museum, Camden, NJ
1979
Women Working In Clay, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Selected Panels, Juries and Lectures

2011
International Organizing Committee, 2011 Ceramics Biennale, South Korea
2008 - 2011
Independence Foundation Fellowships in the Arts peer review panel, Visual Arts
2009
NCECA Concurrent Independent Exhibitions, 3-member jury panel for exhibitions during 2010 conference in Philadelphia
2008
International Academy of Ceramics panelist, “Trends and Traditions” IAC conference, Xian, China
University of the Arts, visiting lecturer, Summer MFA program, ceramics
2005 - 2007
Philadelphia Cultural Fund peer review panel, Visual Arts and Media
2006
Fleisher Challenge Exhibitions, juror, Crafts; Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia PA 2006
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, juror
2002
Five County Arts Fund peer review panel, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

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