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Sam ClarkSam is a storyteller and ceramic artist from Madison, Mississippi. He is passionate about helping other artists to learn more about glazing, different clay mediums, and various techniques to use when building clay sculptures. Promoting art, educating people who enjoy art, and supporting artists is his passion.
In his words: "As children, we see worlds of wonder around every turn, but as we grow older those encounters with joy and playfulness become more difficult to find. Still, the human soul longs for these sacred places. My goal, with the creations I make out of simple clay, is to help open a road back to these places where the heart may be rejuvenated." Website: samclarkart.com | Instagram: @samclarkart | Facebook: Sam Clark Art Though I’d grown up around ceramics throughout my childhood, I loved drawing, and went on to complete graduate work in comic book illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design. Later, however, I rediscovered clay for myself, and it took hold of me in a way it never had before. Though drawing had long been my primary artform, I quickly fell in love with clay as a medium that allowed me to lift my imagined visions from the page into three-dimensional space, giving them a presence and a life in the real world. Through many years of experimentation, I continued to refine techniques in slab-building, sculpture, and pottery. |
From 2006 to 2016, I was the workshop manager at The Mustard Seed, a Christian non-profit with a ceramics program for the special needs community. I was greatly influenced by the childlike joy that filled that workplace. During this time, I began entering juried craft shows, while I continued to develop my style. That style took on more of a playfulness and humor, because I was learning how to play as I worked alongside special needs adults. They are remarkable people, and I admired their ability to take creative risks and celebrate the process.
In 2017, I left The Mustard Seed to begin a new adventure, pursuing my art full time. Since then, I’ve continued seeking to create work that expresses the sense of wonder, playfulness, and joy I learned from my special needs friends, as well embodying my love for the imaginative, fantastic characters from the myths, comic books, and great stories that still captivate and rejuvenate me.
In 2017, I left The Mustard Seed to begin a new adventure, pursuing my art full time. Since then, I’ve continued seeking to create work that expresses the sense of wonder, playfulness, and joy I learned from my special needs friends, as well embodying my love for the imaginative, fantastic characters from the myths, comic books, and great stories that still captivate and rejuvenate me.
