Sarah Bartolotta

As a ceramic artist, I am working with a medium that effortlessly leads this continuous pattern of creation and destruction due to the uncertainty and relative lack of control with the material. Ceramics appeals to this practice in that there are many steps that must be taken until the work is finished, and each step leaves the work vulnerable to elements outside of my control. At certain stages, I am working so intimately with the clay, whereas at other points I must let go of control and expectations. This echoes the pendulum swing that occurs throughout nature: both on a micro- and macroscopic level in order to maintain homeostasis. This balance is not something that can be targeted and maintained. Rather, natural balance can only occur through averaging constant motions from one end of the spectrum to another. The process of splattering represents instantaneous actions or happenings that occur. In a moment, either planned or unplanned, situations are forever altered. These events cannot be undone: like the staining of ink on a white surface, the mark remains. The wild and exuberant action of splattering the pigment is juxtaposed with the ceremonial act of reconciliation through the circling. Held in a moment of reflection, I am forced to look closer and analyze: The relationship between the minute and cosmic scale, the irrevocable action that was committed, and the outcome that remains. Through obsessive and devoted repetition of the circling process, I am working toward making sense of all that has happened while trying to accept and move past that which I ultimately cannot control. This give and take is something that I have struggle with in my own life. Learning how and when to let go, and how to make peace with what is left. Moving on is part of life, yet it is difficult even under the best of circumstances. In a way, clay has been a study for dealing with loss and disappointment, while the splattering and circling is a way of imprinting my own will on the permanent record, reclaiming a sense of power, even if it is esthetically superficial. I work with the duality of life, flirting between the calculated and the chaos to find balance. Previously, I (somewhat foolishly) believed I wished to exert control over the chaos. This coming from a desperate desire rooted in fear. I am no longer afraid. Instead, the fascination is now in uncovering the pattern of what we refer to as chaos and finding resolution to better understand the world on all levels, internally and externally. I believe in a Law that governs all things and will continue to do so. I am devoted to uncovering this Law through a veneration of details, repetition, and patterns. My reasoning to uncover this blueprint of the world is not to determine the meaning of life, but a desire to live better.
< Shop More Artists < Main Shop


The Filters you have chosen do not return any results. Please modify your filter selection.

Did you Know?

50% of your purchase directly supports the artist, and 50% of your purchase supports the operations of The Clay Studio, a nonprofit that serves 35,000 people, including 2,000 underserved school children, each year.

Learn More about supporting us

Can We Help?

Feel free to contact us Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Naimah Stith, Retail Manager and Gallery Coordinator
naimah@theclaystudio.org | 215-925-3453 x115


Customer service