Meet Sam! She’s a potter and ceramic artist with a gorgeous speckled and smooth style.
How did you get started?
I started working in Clay in college. I have a BFA in Painting and Photo but had always been down to the wheel. I opted to take a free elective, and then took another and another, and before you knew it I was working in a studio as a tech after college. I love making wares that people use in their every day lives!
Where in Austin do you go for inspiration?
I love all the green spaces in austin. I have a blue green color palette that I have never been able to escape. Austin feeds that all year round. In the spring we have the wild flowers, in the summer everything is green and lush and in the fall and winter a lot of the creeks and rivers give a cool blue landscape that I love to photograph.
Who are your favorite Austin artists/makers?
I love all my fellow ceramic artists here in town. I feel like we all look out for one another and respect each others styles. It truly is a great community for people in our line of work! If I had to choose some favorites well there always my lovely studio mate Eliana Bernard and of course there is my mentor Keith Kreeger.
What do you love about this city?
I love that its always changing. There’s always a new restaurant to check out or a new bar to go to! I love that there is so much green space integrated into the city scape as well.
What drives your creative process?
I feel pretty listless if I am not creating. I have to make work so I can keep my head on straight sometimes. I strive to make functional work that people would enjoy using everyday, but will also hold on to throughout their lives.
What’s the toughest part of your work?
I always have a hard time saying goodbye to a finished order. I get nervous about shipping it off to a new place, but in a way thats also what makes my job exciting!
What advice would you give someone just starting out in your line of work?
Never stop trying! I have had so many things go array in this path, everything from work exploding in the kiln to pretty much rebuilding a kiln from scratch. There will always be something that goes differently then planned, but that’s half the fun.
Thanks Sam! You can find her at SettleCeramics.com and on Instagram @settle_ceramics.