Artist Statement

I create colorful, cartoon-like characters that come to life through the use of sgraffito on a porcelain clay body. Humor is the driving factor for my illustrations. They embody a sense of oddity, crawling around the walls of the clay, and interacting with their findings in dystopian, cyberpunk worlds. Adding in elements like an alien rat tail wrapping around moon rocks creates a delicious depth of field, giving even more layers of information. Aperture, movement, line work, contrast, and color all challenge the way I incorporate two-dimensional printmaking techniques onto a three-dimensional clay surface.

As much as I enjoy these technical fascinations, the discovery of my own emotions while I'm creating is more important. Laughter, joy, and happiness all have a scientifically proven, extraordinary power of healing. For far too long I focused on the negative, and it became a self fulfilling prophecy. My 20 year battle with chronic Lyme disease has taught me that I have a choice in my own happiness, along side of the pain. I use my resilience to promote joy and creation, rather than focusing soley on suffering and loss.

My narrative goal is to create smiles through the use of colorfully whimsical characters in dystopian worlds. Humor is my driving factor, due to my personal experience of having chronic Lyme disease. This quickly developed my motivation to bring joy to each viewer, rather than focusing on work that reminds me of daily suffering. I use my creative platform to bring people hope in the midst of pain. 

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Sarah Anderson is a full time ceramic artist that creates illustrative characters on the surface of clay through the use of sgraffito. Bright colors and exaggerated creatures are obvious statements in her work, creating a uniquely identifiable brand for herself. She graduated from Ball State University as a sculpture major, using multiple mediums to create large scale work. She was the ceramic department chair for a non-profit Art Center for three years before leaving to pursue her own work full time since 2021. Her work has been featured around the nation at multiple galleries and studios, winning awards like the Best Teapot for the Strictly Functional Pottery National at the Lancaster, PA Museum in 2021. Sarah has been featured in many articles and publishers like Ceramics Monthly and Indianapolis Monthly, as well as featured as a demo artist at the Amaco booth during NCECA 2023-25. Sarah now travels and teaches across the country, with the pursuit of opening Dusty Pants Studio - a ceramic studio/residency/art therapy center - along side with Austin Coudriet in Indianapolis, Indiana in the spring of 2026