Clay, one of earth’s core materials and an artistic medium since ancient times, is lifted into the 21st century with Sandy Bachmann’s ceramic sculpture exhibit at Gallery 14. Her works, and those of watercolor artist Sarah Houghlum, are on display at the downtown gallery through Sept. 4.
Sometimes whimsical, occasionally poignant, all of Bachmann’s skillfully made pieces in the exhibit were created with an oceanic flair.
“Clay is so fluid, I can pour it, carve it, paint it, form it, sculpt it and create anything my imagination can dream up. Clay is magical to me,” says Bachmann with exuberance.
“I enjoy painting and drawing, but working with clay is so much more. It allows me to include drawing and painting onto the clay surface. So it is the best of all worlds.”
The tactile, malleable medium becomes an extension of Bachmann herself, leading to unique artworks.
Her humorous imagination is evident with her octopi sculpture series, where the detailed arms of eye-catching figures look alive; seemingly ready to coil around the viewer. In her “Octopus Jug,” the sea animal rests atop the opening, its eight appendages surrounding the entire vessel, including its handle. The implication, it seems, is ‘This is mine. You can’t have it.’
“The Art of Aging” invokes a more somber tone; suggestive of a body whose physical being is transforming, aging. Blooming flowers of clay, dying blossoms with frail petals, and open and cracked shells are attached to the body. Inscribed atop the piece is a poem by Bachmann: “You are a flower blooming each year, growing perfectly imperfect petals, each has a story of their own.”
Speaking of stories, she shares that the name for her home studio, Toes in Clay, began soon after she met her husband on Long Island. Upon their second meeting, he had forgotten that her name was Sandy, so she prompted him by saying, “What do you think of at the beach?”
His response was sand squishing between his toes.
“He paused, then asked incredulously, ‘Toes’? From then on he introduced me as Toes, and he’s been calling me Toes ever since. It would stand to reason that I would name my little pottery studio Toes In Clay.”
She further explains how a lizard became the mascot of the studio.
“One morning I came into the studio and there was a lizard sitting inside a mug that was in the process of drying. I started calling him Charlie,” says Bachmann.
“I decided to sculpt a lizard on the side of a vase that I had just finished the day before. It gave the vase life and having a mascot for my studio a touch of whimsy.”
Another fun twist relates to her “Homeward Bound” sculpture, a sensuously curved vessel with attached barnacles and carefully etched timeworn lines depicting sea currents. Spreading across the piece is one of her signature octopi, ready to plop inside his home.
Bachmann says her fascination with this particular marine life began with the book “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt and watching – four times – the Craig Foster documentary “My Octopus Teacher.”
“An octopus has three hearts and nine brains; so clever and intelligent. Their form flows and curves giving me the opportunity to create many sculpted poses,” says Bachmann.
“I ate octopus once, but I will never eat it again. I respect and care about this sea animal.”
When creating her pieces, Bachmann explains that the early stage is the most delicate time of the process. After the raw clay figure has been formed and is completely bone-dry, it goes into the kiln for the first 28-hour fire – 14 hours for firing and 14 hours for cooling. During that time, she crosses her fingers that it will emerge whole and undamaged.
The next decision is how to glaze the piece.
“This is where I might tend to procrastinate. I call it glaze analysis paralysis. There are so many ways to finish a clay piece,” she explains.
“There are commercial glazes; I don’t have to make my own. Should I paint it and which color?
Carve before the second painting? Layered glazes? Maybe I’ll stain it or paint stripes. It can become a conundrum,” she adds with a laugh.
She says most glazes need to be applied in three layers, which can be daunting if the sculpture has a lot of details. When there are eight octopus tentacles going around a vase, it means a lot of careful brush strokes, on the octopus, the vase and other embellishments. After glazing, the piece returns to the kiln for the second fire.
Bachmann says art has always been a part of her life. She aspired to become an art teacher as a profession and, after such careers as graphic design, faux finishing and office accounting, she eventually became a public-school art teacher, teaching for 18 years in Broward and Indian River counties.
She previously served as an executive board member for the Broward Art Education Association, is currently a member of the Vero Beach Art Club, and has taught at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. Bachmann has received awards at the VBAC Art by the Sea and New Dimensions shows and exhibits her work at the seasonal VBAC Art in the Park shows at Humiston Park.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
