Local potter Sara LaRosa

Oh boy do I love local artists, and I have a particularly soft spot for potters, since I've been elbow deep in clay a few times myself over the years.  Sara LaRosa, a very talented ceramicist, has recently moved here from the northeast, and I had the privilege of interviewing her for this blog.  We're also doing a work exchange- pottery for woodworking!- but that's another story.  Here are the main points of her story:

Sara threw her first pot in high school, as part of a broadly-focused Crafts class.  She tried hand-building techniques in addition to wheel-work, and she credits her early teachers as major influences.  For a while, she was quite interested in photography too, but this waned somewhat and she has since turned her full attention to pottery.  Sara is captivated by the entire process- everything from preparing clay and making pots to constructing and firing large-scale kilns.  Her experiences at the Community College of Rhode Island were very exciting:  "It was just breath-taking to be part of a community of great potters.  I want to do that all the time!"

Once she starts talking, Sara's enthusiasm shines through:  "I like making functional work.  I really love the idea of building something that people will use every day.  There's something really special about using something that is handmade, and knowing that it came from someone an not something.  And I like providing people with that, and helping people feel that too.  I'm into anything functional, really: tea sets, dinner ware, whatever people need.  Nothing would make me happier than having my own studio.  Just going out there to make pots for hours and hours."

Sara's next steps involve going back to school to finish a degree and avail herself of the excellent resources that the University of Utah offers to ceramicists.  I think, after our conversation, that she will thrive in a setting filled with other creative people who are similarly motivated.  

If you have a minute- and I know you do, if you've read this far!- please check out Sara's new website:

http://saralarosa.weebly.com/

If you'd like to contact Sara directly, you may email her at  larosa.sara@yahoo.com