amanda straeffer

Duration: december 2020-february 2021

Amanda Straeffer is an Indiana native and resident artist for three months at New Harmony Clay Project. She hopes to continue growing her skill and knowledge of ceramics. During her time in New Harmony, she will refine her thrown forms, carving techniques and pattern layouts. Amanda also plans to test casting slips and create plaster molds of her best vase forms. Pursuing this, she will explore carving on slip cast forms and compare those with hand-thrown ones to see which path is best for her to continue for the future.

quick facts

How many years have you been working as a clay artist? I have been working in clay for 4 years

What is your main clay body that you currently use? Little Loafers from Highwater Clays

What is the primary method you use for building your work? Wheel throwing.

What is your favorite studio tool? A red rubber rib for forming curves on vases.

Do you have any future clay wishes or dreams? I wish to open my own home studio in the future.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is made to capture a moment or feeling of the places that I have observed so that the viewer can also experience that specific location. My current collected works include imagery of the ocean, as it has been a vital source of inspiration. These include a range of vases with wave carved designs to platters that depicting scenes from the Atlantic coastline. Through the use of cut-outs, relief, and decal imagery, I hope to evoke a sense of wonder and appreciation of what's hidden under the waves.

 My current work extends from literal to representational to connect with a diverse audience while also maintaining the continuity of my overall theme—nature and the elements of water and land, and how they interact with each other. I am inspired by Annie Quigley and her use of cut outs to depict nature in a more organic way rather than geometric. While my work has used some variation of this technique in the past, it has evolved from static geometry into more natural designs depicting waves along the tops of vases and bowls. Although there is an organic feel around the top of the pieces, there is still a slight geometric presence within the shapes of the wave, drawing a reference from my past work.

 Through the use of original photographs from cities I have travelled, I use laser decals to explore the cut outs on my forms to manipulate how light interacts with positive and negative space. I print decals that focus largely on how architecture relates to the ocean. The ocean has always been a source of inspiration and intrigue on how large buildings can be built so close to the ocean and be structurally sound. I want to evoke that sense of wonder through my work.

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: fort branch, Indiana, USA      

Amanda Straeffer is a ceramic artist from Indiana and is currently a resident artist at the New Harmony Clay Project. She received a Bachelor of Science in Associated Studies with concentration in Ceramics from the University of Evansville in 2018, and attended the University of Florida as a post baccalaureate in Ceramics the following year. 

Amanda has shown her work locally at Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science and the University of Evansville. In 2017, she won a Merit Award for her work in a juried exhibition, and in 2018, she received the Dorothea Schlechte Award and Merit Award for her ceramic piece “Ancient Pasts.” Amanda’s work is influenced by her travels with friends and family. Her goal for the future is to open her own studio, and share her work with others.