Sally Dobbin
Sally Dobbin graduated with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA, 1983), where she produced large, non-functional clay works, taking to the medium as though her work with clay began in another lifetime. She grew to appreciate functional pottery while she worked as a Colonial Williamsburg Reproduction Potter (1984-1990, Williamsburg, VA). Her experiential and kinaesthetic understanding of clay as decorative sculpture and utilitarian tool informs the full-time studio practice she has maintained since she moved to Calgary in 2003.
Dobbin often explores the play between positive and negative decorative space by alternating painted layers of coloured clay slip and shapes cut from newspaper, then peeling off the paper once the slip is dry to leave an impression on the pot. Her terra-cotta pieces, embellished with layers of colourful, painterly slips and glazes and fired at 1950 degrees fahrenheit, blend her love of colour, paint, and shapes with simple, useful forms that are safe and comfortable to use. She has exhibited with the Alberta Craft Council, and at Calgary’s Centennial Gallery and Calyx Distinctive Arts (Calgary, AB).
Dobbin often explores the play between positive and negative decorative space by alternating painted layers of coloured clay slip and shapes cut from newspaper, then peeling off the paper once the slip is dry to leave an impression on the pot. Her terra-cotta pieces, embellished with layers of colourful, painterly slips and glazes and fired at 1950 degrees fahrenheit, blend her love of colour, paint, and shapes with simple, useful forms that are safe and comfortable to use. She has exhibited with the Alberta Craft Council, and at Calgary’s Centennial Gallery and Calyx Distinctive Arts (Calgary, AB).