Sara Budzik
Trying to change the world, one snail at a time…
Channelling my love and respect for nature through clay. I am standing up for the underdogs, the less loved organisms on the planet, by raising their pedestal! I want to encourage people to see the precious beauty in all living things, no matter how annoying or insignificant they seem to us. To reconnect people to their child-like awe and wonder. To encourage more empathy and start a shift away from speciesism.
My affinity for clay grew through my teaching career and when I decided to return to making art there was really only one choice – clay. I take a wabi-sabi approach to production, embracing and utilising imperfections. I mostly sculpt around newspaper formers using pre-textured slabs. The ability to touch and handle the work is important to me, to enable a connection to the work that exists beyond the visual. I like to bring textures and imprints from fabrics into my surfaces to create a softness and as a nod to my maternal lineage. I often then develop the impressionistic style through a painterly approach to decorating using layers of coloured slip, underglaze, oxides and accents of glaze here and there.