PRESS
AMY SANTOFERRARO AT FIREWORKS STUDIO, CARDIFF
Posted: 06.11.08 by Wales Arts International
International ceramic artist Amy Santoferraro will shortly be coming to the end of her 2-month residency at Fireworks studio in Cardiff. Supported by Wales Arts International, Amy has been working alongside some of Wales’ most eminent ceramic artists based at Fireworks.
Working primarily with images of animals, Amy spent her time in Wales exploring myth and legend after being inspired by the folklore-themed work of Welsh ceramic artist Catrin Howell who recently returned from her residency in The Clay Studio, Philadelphia where Amy is a resident artist and gallery assistant. Amy’s practice displays her aptitude for sculpturework in a variety of different materials including wood and glass, and her imagination for the new and the old; when describing her method she says:
“I rowdily rummage through thrift stores and flea markets like toy boxes tearing through objects whose usefulness has been exhausted and awaits deliverance to a new imagined life. I carefully handpick objects that are familiar or boast a degree of promise and beauty to me. I relentlessly tinker with objects ceramicly until they fit and work in a way that is very mine”.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Amy earned her B.A.E (Art Education) and her B.F.A (Ceramics) from The Ohio State University In 2004. She has been a Summer Resident and Studio Manger at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine and she spent a year at Louisiana State University as a Special Student and employee of Southern Pottery Equipment and Supplies. Amy also spent a year as a Resident Artist at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts teaching hand-building and mold-making to children and adults in classroom and workshop settings. Her work is exhibited and housed in permanent and private collections both nationally and internationally.
During her residency here in Wales she has been presenting talks for students and the public at Glamorgan University as well at Cardiff School of Art & Design, which was well received. Her work produced on the residency will be a solo exhibition at Llantarnam Grange Art Centre in Cwmbran in January 2009.