The Third Dimension- Pratt Edition

An artist excerpt stemmed from the “Convergence” showing that was exhibited in the Dedo Maranville Gallery at Valdosta State University.

---

   Even from a young age, Sara Pratt was influenced by the natural surroundings where she grew up. The iron-rich clay in the Appalachians was just something that appeared in her daily life. Coming from a large family, creativity, and art was also something that was constantly surrounding her. When her mother was finishing up her Art Education degree at Valdosta State University, one of the classes she took was Ceramics, which was taught by Professor Michael Schmidt. She and her twin sister would go to class with their mother sometimes, which led her to feel so curious and fascinated that a material she grew up playing with could be transfigured into fine art.

Pratt and her twin sister were born in Ocala, Florida. They moved around quite a lot with their mother. Despite all of the moves, living in north Georgia with their maternal grandparents is where Pratt considers her home to be. She said that traveling back and forth between families in Georgia and Florida caused a hectic upbringing for them, but it created who she is today. Her mother is the youngest of ten, so she says that “there was a plethora of artists, good memories, and love to go around”. 

Pratt stated that she is “constantly absorbing things that are happening around her in daily life and that have the potential of influencing her ideas and work”. Working specifically in ceramics, she usually starts by sketching. Creating in the third dimension is just more natural for her and as a result, it represents something more tangible compared to painting or printmaking. For this reason, she continued to focus on Ceramics as a BFA.

“What are the conditions that dictate how rapidly or progressive something or someone evolves into decay?”

Pratt said she was influenced by the idea of impermanence, and its presence in tool degradation, memory, and the decline of her maternal grandfather’s physical and mental state. She expressed that the physical and mental wear Pratt’s grandfather developed with age and from being an artisan, such as his scars, wrinkles, calluses, busted veins, bruises, memory loss, caused her to think about how outside forces can affect the surfaces and structure of a material or object. An ever-pressing question that occupies her research is, “What are the conditions that dictate how rapidly or progressive something or someone evolves into decay?” Mark making, carving, and weathering the clay enables Pratt to push a form toward a more natural influence, such as rusted metal and decaying wood.

 

When Pratt was posed with answering what “art” means to her, she said that there’s not a way for her to really describe the meaning. She said that art can be something physical and not physical—an object or a concept. For her, “art” can be something already existing in nature: mountains, trees, insects, etc. An artist can take natural materials and mediums and create something that expresses their own understanding of their process and work.

“life never lasts as long as one wishes”

Pratt says that “life never lasts as long as one wishes” therefore, she seeks to do and see as much as she can. She has learned not to settle on a lifestyle that doesn’t bring her joy, so she doesn’t plan on sacrificing her practice as a ceramicist for a career that focuses solely on making money. Pratt plans to start up her own studio and produce work to show and share. It’s probable that she will apply for artist residencies, though grad school is something that she does not see in her future. For now, she has decided to keep up her studio practice after graduating and build toward her future as an artist and traveler.

Pratt explained that she struggled with having ideas of what constitutes who is an artist, and whether or not she considered herself one. Although she may struggle to find her voice and artistic expression, she has come to understand that at the very least, she is an artist. Pratt thinks it’s in the way a person views the world and their surroundings. Pratt knows that everyone has a different perspective on life and the values that they keep, and although artists make up a diverse group in the world, they do stand apart in their thinking and ideology. As a result, she wants to be a voice for the things she sees, and express them in her own way as a method of connecting with others through her artistry.

It proves to be true through her works. Growing in class with Pratt has been an interesting journey. At first glance, Pratt is a cool, collected, and a mostly quiet individual. Keeping to herself the majority of the time, it is interesting to note that her artwork does not reflect her attributes. What she creates is such a wild contrast to her demeanor. Using un-unified strokes, impressions, and cuts are surprising aspects of the quality of her works. It is unusual and so satisfying to see someone like Pratt so comfortable with accepting the outcome of whatever may happen to her pieces during the creation process. Watching her become a part of her art and grow within her works is something that does not happen often in the art world. Her adaptations to mistakes and rolling with the punches allows her to create enamoring and undeniably magnificent assemblages.

Shown in Convergence, from the Dedo Maranville Gallery, and within her works, she leaves behind traces of herself. It is intriguing and more personal to see her very own fingerprints within the clay bodies. Having these marks allows the viewer to feel her presence within her pieces and show the exact processes and steps she took to create them. It feels more authentic to know exactly where she held her works and it has the ability to let the viewer see the time that has passed with each piece. In addition to fingerprints, she focuses on firing her works within a soda kiln which take her works more in-depth toward her perspective of art. The soda kiln allows for a more raw and uncensored version of the clay body, which ties back to her thought processes and theme of impermanence.

In many of her pieces, it may be visible that she uses not only clay but also wire and the occasional nail to add to the durable aesthetic and diverseness. She seems to have pulled away from functionality and has started to spread her wings toward ceramics that are more for visual functions only. In her Mapped Decay Series (shown below), she hints at the sculptural aspects of ceramics. She starts to create bases and backings (to hang or suspend her pieces) for her works to show that they are meant for artisanal reasons rather than for physical use. It is a signifier for a new direction that she is taking with her work. Moving into the realm of sculpture compared to functional ceramics, she’s eager to keep experimenting and presenting her work in new ways.

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Karley Hamm is currently enrolled at Valdosta State University. In December 2019, she will be graduating with her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. Her focus revolves around Graphic Design, but has recently found a love for Ceramics. She is excited to experience what life entails and the challenges she will overcome.