Artist: Sara Truman
Sara Truman, FLORIDA
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ARTIST STATEMENT
My current investigations in clay are a direct relation to my own daily rituals. A handmade mug for coffee in the morning, a tumbler for water throughout the day, and a voluminous tea bowl for tea in the evening. As vessel maker these utilitarian objects keep me excitedly making to find my next favorite one in a series. I believe the more voluptuous the form the better for both containment and consumption. I create these larger forms to give me a grander surface to address with my surface decoration. These blank canvases lined up on my table beacon to be attended. Inspired by abstract expressionist paintings of the 1950’s and 60’s I lay my colors out in front of me working intuitively across several pieces at a time. Using underglazes as paint I layer washes of color to build a history of mark making on the surface. After several of these layers are built up I use a scrafitto tool to carve back through the slip and reveal small lines of the dark clay body. After glazing I brush each one with a thin coat of lithium wash in certain areas to reveal more through the layers of slip and underglaze. When finished I send them out into the world for someone else’s daily ritual to experience.
EDUCATION
2009-2012 Master’s of Fine Arts, Ceramics, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
2008-2009 Post-Baccalaureate Studies, Ceramics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
1999-2007 Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, Ceramics and Painting, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2014-present Art Instructor, Ceramics and Art 1, Gainesville High School, Gainesville, Florida
2013-2014 Visiting Instructor, Ceramics and Drawing, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, Florida
2012-2013 Adjunct Instructor, Ceramics and Printmaking, Doane College, Lincoln, Nebraska
2010-2011 Ceramics Instructor, Beginning Ceramics, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
2009-2010 Teaching Assistant, for Matt Long, Beginning Ceramics, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
OTHER TEACHING EXPERIENCE (SELECTED)
2016-present Owner, Studio T/M Pottery and Clay, Gainesville, Florida, Adult Community Clay Classes
2014-2015 Ceramics Instructor, The Art Alley, Gainesville, Florida, Adult Community Clay Classes
Visiting Artist, Lecture and Demonstration, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida
2012-2013 Ceramics Instructor, The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska,
Children’s classes, adult classes, and private lessons.
2011 Visiting Artist, Lecture and Demonstration in conjunction with show, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky
2009-2010 Ceramics Instructor, Ceramics: Mixed Construction, Summer Leisure Course, The University of Florida.
PROFFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2016 Studio Assistant, Lisa Naples, Weeklong class, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
2012-2013 Resident Artist, The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln Nebraska.
2012 Clay and Materials Technician, Graduate Assistantship, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi.
2011 Glaze Technician, Graduate Assistantship, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi.
2010 Teaching Assistant, Children’s Classes, Summer Sessions, Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, Asheville, North Carolina.
Studio Assistant, Jerilyn Virden, Bakersville, North Carolina.
Studio Assistant, Bandana Pottery, Bandana, North Carolina.
2009-2010 Kiln Technician, Graduate Assistantship, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi.
Studio Assistant, Nan Smith Studios, Gainesville, Florida.
2008-2009 Internship, Charlie Cummings Online Gallery, Gainesville, Florida.
2007-2008 Director and Co-Founder, Retrograde Studios, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
2006 Teaching Assistant, for Tom Bartel, Beginning Ceramics, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Folsom Gallery, The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE, Luminous Harvest
2012 Gallery 130, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Liminal Space Sara Truman MFA Thesis Exhibition
2011 Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Family Valentine
JURIED AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2017 CLAY AKAR, Iowa City, IA, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist
Savannah Clay Community, Savannah, GA, SIP, juried by Kimberly Riner and Keith Smith
Companion Gallery, Humbolt, TN, Last Call II, juried by Jen Allen
MWSU Art Gallery, Saint Joseph, MO, Off the Table: Clay for the Wall, juried by Margaret Bohls
LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE, 40 for 40, invited by Bri Murphy
2016 Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL, CUP: The Intimate Object X, invited artist
CAP Arts, Jacksonville, FL, Narrative Works, Invited by Tiffany Whitfield Leach
2015 Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL, CUP: The Intimate Object XI, invited artist
Centered Earth Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, KC Clay Guild Teabowl 2015 National, juried by Lisa Orr.
Maverick Potter, Salida, Colorado, Maverick Potter Invitational, invited by Eva Champagne
4Most Gallery & Studio, Gainesville, Florida, Post Baccs are Back! curated by Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph
The Morean Arts Center, 7 In 7 Out Invitational, curated by Melissa Yungbluth
2014 Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL, CUP: The Intimate Object X, invited artist
LH Horton, Jr. Gallery, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA, Visions in Clay, juried by Garth Johnson
2013 The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska, Wrappable Holiday Invitational, invited by Susan Stark-Johnson, LUX Gallery Director
The Local, Goshen, Indiana, The Cup: An Interpreted Object, Juror: Dick Lehman, Studio Potter, Elkhart, Indiana
2012 The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska, Wrappable Holiday Invitational, invited by Stephanie Leach Vendetti, LUX Gallery Director
The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska, Lux Center for the Arts’ Fourth Annual National Juried Cup Show, Juror: Gail Kendall, Professor Emeritus University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Baltimore Clayworks Main Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, Daily Companions, Jurors: Linda Christianson, Studio Potter, Minnesota, and John Wilson, Baltimore, Maryland.
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Exhibition Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 8 Fluid Oz. National Juried Cup Show 2012, Juror: Kristen Kieffer, Studio Potter, Worcester, Massachusetts.
2011 Starbrick Gallery, Nelsonville, Ohio, Starbrick Clay National Cup Show 2011, Juror: Kristen Kieffer, Studio Potter, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Gallery 130, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Summer Student Juried Show, Juror: Cliff Tresner, Associate Professor of Art, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, Louisiana
The LUX Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska, Lux Center for the Arts’ Third Annual National Juried Cup Show, Juror: Julia Galloway, Department of Art Chair, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
2010 Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale Colorado, Pairings: Invitational Cup Show, invited by Kelly McKibben, Studio Potter, Bozeman, Montana
Gallery 130, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Summer Student Juried Show, Juror: John Salvest and Les Christensen
2008 The Focus Gallery, The University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Currents: Contemporary Florida Ceramics, Juror: Holly Hanessian, Assistant Professor, Florida State University, NCECA Exhibitions Director
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Gallery 130, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Passages: Exhibit of The University of Mississippi Art Department Graduate Students
2011 Northwest Mississippi Art Gallery, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Senatobia, Mississippi, Ole Miss Graduate Student Exhibition
Gallery 130, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Baker’s Dozen; Exhibit of The University of Mississippi Art Department Graduate Students
2009 The Gallery at Ustler Hall, Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, The University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Ceramic 6 Pack
2008 The Public Theatre of Kentucky, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Retrograders on Parade
AWARDS
2009 Work Study Scholarship, Penland School of Arts and Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
2008 Work Study Scholarship, Penland School of Arts and Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
2007 Student Travel Grant, Awarded for travel to Louisville, Kentucky for NCECA Conference by the Dean’s Office, Western Kentucky University
2006 Student Travel Grant, Awarded for travel to SOFA Chicago (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art), The Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois, by the Dean’s Office, Western Kentucky University
Student Travel Grant, Awarded for travel to Portland, Oregon for NCECA Conference by the Dean’s Office, Western Kentucky University