Spring Fling the month of May in Cannon Beach. See my work at Imprint Gallery. www.imprintgallery.com/sara-swink.html

Concentrated exploration of vocabulary and style using simple exercises in collage, doodling and clay. For all levels—set aside what you know or what you don’t know about technique. Learn a methodology for mining the riches of the unconscious for image vocabulary and artistic style. Hear what people have said: click on 2-Day Workshop in the menu on your left.
Need more info? Contact me at sara.swink@gmail.com or 971-271-0480. Dates for next one tba. Let me know if you’re interested.

A totem is one or more objects that helps tell the story of an individual or group. Totems, like shrines and other empowered objects, are a way to zero in on what inspires you or is meaningful. In this workshop, we will employ exercises such as collage on paper and sketching in clay to collect and play with images, ideas, stories, forms and surfaces that you might want to incorporate. From these source materials, we will develop and design one or more totems to make in clay. You may end up with a number of standalone pieces or pieces and parts for a stacking totem. You are invited to scale your work to a size that best suits your objectives for the week and comfort level, and within that scale, I will provide guidance and instruction in construction. We’ll look at a couple of approaches to stacking totems that are key to the design process. Some handbuilding experience is helpful, but not required.
*July 19–23, 2018, 10 am–4 pm (plus open studio hours) in West Linn
$400 includes materials and bisque firing.*

This workshop will be held at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology on the Oregon coast.
Explore your inner landscape with with focused explorations in collage, doodling and clay. Using inspiration from “Landmarks” author Robert McFarlane and ceramic sculptor Kathy Ruttenberg, we will delve into our connections to earth, sea and sky, first on paper and then in clay. Set aside what you do and don’t know about technique, deepen your relationship with the materials and yourself as an artist, and explore your relationship to the natural world, literally and metaphorically. We begin with nearly a full day of collage, exploring image vocabulary and discussing how to make the most of your creative process. A sequence of doodling exercises invites essential artistic style expressed in the language of line, color and shape. Clay exercises build on what you’ve gathered in 3-dimensional form. We complete and integrate the workshop experience with an image journal. All levels.
August 1–3, 10am to 4pm. Contact Sitka Center for registration. sitkacenter.org

Saturday, Monday and Tuesday Drop in Classes
Ongoing classes provide an opportunity to devote a regularly scheduled time to learning and creating among a small group of like-minded souls in a supportive atmosphere. You will discover and pursue your own image vocabulary, learning ceramic techniques as needed to bring your vision into form. As you focus on your own clay projects, instruction is available in basic hand-building methods, and individualized instruction and feedback provided. Advice on glazing and finishing with alternative materials. Process-oriented exercises, clay tools, a generous selection of glazes, and a range of art materials are always available.
Saturdays, 10 am–12:30 pm.
Mondays and Tuesdays, 1 to 3:30 pm. (Some Mondays are devoted to group projects. Contact me for details. sara.swink@gmail.com or 971-271-0480.
$135 for 4 classes includes clay, glazes and firing. Use them anytime.
($35/one class includes materials and firing; $13.50/hr studio time)

Maker Mondays
Some Monday classes are devoted learning and practicing hand-building skills while making animals and other group projects.
Mondays, 1 to 3:30 pm. Ongoing. $135 for 4 classes includes clay, glazes and firing.

Portland Open Studios October 13 & 14, 20 & 21. Special preview at my studio Friday, October 12, noon to 5pm. Sally Squire joins me once again this year, which is my 13th consecutive!
The printed Tour Guide will be an insert in Portland Monthly Magazine. It hits news stands Sept 26. Or get the app. Visit portlandopenstudios.com for all info about the tour.

in October 2018

My piece, Storyteller, was featured in this ad that ran in Willamette Week to promote the Sitka Art Invitational, held in November. The SAI event is one of my favorite shows, featuring the highest quality works by over 140 local artists. It happens the first weekend of November. Read about it here: www.sitkacenter.com/4-1-12.html

My piece "Domestic Production" appears in Ceramic Sculpture: Making Faces, Lark Crafts Books, 2014

500 Figures in Clay Volume 2, Lark Crafts Books, 2014 features "Tiger Buddha"

One of my pieces, "Don't Feed the Hand That Bites You" is featured in Humor in Craft by Brigitte Martin, Schiffer Publishing. Available through amazon.com.

"Contemporary Wildlife Art", Schiffer Publishing, May 2015 features three of my pieces.

"Art Themes: Choices in Art Learning & Making", a textbook scheduled for publication by Indiana University Press in 2016