Sharon Brush

I have always been drawn to objects whose history is written upon their surface: The river rock worn smooth from centuries of tumult; the bleached, chewed bone found on the desert floor; the bare-bones landscape of the American southwest. These objects speak to me of transformation, growth, and the inevitability of change. In my latest body of work, I am using visual metaphor to describe these processes. The pieces appear to have lived a life, and they carry the marks of their experiences. They have twisted, bent, divided and come together as they’ve been altered by the forces they’ve encountered. As I build each sculpture, I’m thinking of all the course corrections, miss-steps, new opportunities and potential offered to almost every life---human and otherwise. I’ve created a visual vocabulary to describe these transformative experiences: The pointed elements describe new paths appearing; the rounded knobs and spheres describe areas of pure potential, often appearing in unexpected places; each bend and curve represents a map of the choices made---some leading to dead ends, while others lead to greater possibilities. I work to infuse each piece with rhythm, flow, and reverberation. When finished, I need them to speak to me like a musical composition. Intrigued by contrasts, I move from slow, sweeping curves to staccato points and ridges, from enclosed space to open passage. By using an almost monochromatic palette, I keep the emphasis on the form of the piece.

I’ve always had a fascination with beautifully crafted, handmade objects. I remember taking numerous books out of the library as a teenager that focused on pre-industrial, pre-mass production cultures from around the globe. I would pour over the photographs, mesmerized by the beauty of the objects, tools, architecture, clothing, jewelry---all made by the very people using them. I saw how there was immense power in something individually crafted with love, care, and deep intention. I took my first ceramics class when I was 14 years old and continued taking clay classes throughout junior high and high school. Even at that early age, I felt a strong connection to the material and the creative process My fascination with pre-industrial cultures led me to begin college as an Anthropology major, but I soon found that I was spending all my time in the clay studio. I changed my major to Fine Arts and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics. Later, I received my Master of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in ceramics as well. I’ve been a professional ceramic artist for 40 years now. A couple of times along the way, I’ve experimented with other media, but there’s no other material that has the versatility of clay. If you develop the skills, you can do anything with it. I go out to my studio every day, still completely excited by the possibilities clay offers me.

3-D, Ceramics, Sculpture