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Queen of Clay Towering above Norway’s picturesque landscape stands the Jotunheimen mountain range, a formation laden with glaciers, clear blue lakes and rocky terrain that was carved over millions of years as ice slowly crept across the land. It was here, as a college exchange student, that ceramist Patricia Sannit says she had the first of several awe-inspiring moments that have affected her artwork, which consists mostly of sculpture, vessels and tiles. “When you’re on one of those mountains, it’s a life-changing event.” She describes as especially inspirational finding spots where orange lichen grew on granite: “It must be the contrast of colors and textures, fragility and mass. It is amazingly beautiful, and I have always considered that image of visual contrast some sort of touchstone, a vibrating image that I regularly see in my mind’s eye.” Over the years Sannit has had other such experiences, including a visit to the area where Lucy, the skeletal remains of a female hominid, was discovered in Ethiopia, and excavating primitive figurative pieces at an archaeological site in Jordan. Sannit views these moments as examples of history and culture that supersede societal differences and language barriers to help connect people to the Earth. Their influences can be seen in her handcrafted sculpture, where clay is displayed in its natural red, beige and gray tones and accented with simple geometric patterns. “I feel like I’m recapitulating design from culture to culture to draw a line of continuity,” explains this Master of the Southwest. Sannit believes that, like her, most artists draw inspiration from their life experiences. “You absorb everything you look at. There are so many things in the world that you ‘swallow’ and it comes back out.” The Ohio native says she has always been artistic, and recalls winning an award for a watercolor in the first grade. Drawn to pottery as a girl, she later studied ceramics and Scandinavian studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Sannit received her master of fine arts degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and moved to Phoenix a decade ago. Explaining that she finds inspiration in the geology of the Southwest, the artist notes that such definitive desert shapes as rock formations and sculptural cacti now influence her designs. In addition to being represented by Udinotti Gallery in Scottsdale, Sannit exhibits her work nationally; it will be showcased this year in galleries in San Francisco and Philadelphia. Her creations are widely sought by collectors. Tana Smidt, a Phoenix-area resident, has six of Sannit’s pieces as well as a set of dinnerware. She notes that each piece reflects the artist’s “heart and soul.” Heather S. Lineberry, senior curator and interim director of Arizona State University Museum, admires Sannit for her commitment to the art community as well as for her talent. She points out the artist’s ability to conceptually relate her interests through various media, including sculpture and vessels, and such elements as design and patinas. “Together they [Sannit’s pieces] make a compelling and focused body of work that transcends time periods and cultures in its exploration of basic human concerns,” she says. “We can all relate to the emotion conveyed in her sculptures or the essential patterns that decorate her hand-built vessels.” Sannit’s current work consists of large sculpture and vessels displaying basic geometric shapes, including circles, squares and triangles. She comments that structure is an integral part of her ceramics, adding, “I’m much more interested in form, which is, I think, why clay appeals to me.” Strips of clay are placed on top of each other, reminiscent of the Earth’s layers, and the fired piece is covered in a black wash to bring out its texture. Upon close inspection, a viewer can see imperfections—color striations and various grooves and compositions within the clay. For Sannit, these incongruities are necessary aspects of her art. Like the Earth, “you need the flaw,” she says. “Our beauty is in our vulnerability.”
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