As a kid I secretly collected "shoe poison". I kept records of each pair of shoes that helped contribute to my coveted collection of silica gel. Diagrams, dates of purchase, sizes, colors, and materials were all meticulously catalogued in my Holly Hobby notebook. Only my best friends were invited into my top-secret laboratory/closet to view it and hear of my somewhat sinister plans to poison bad guys.
The collection remains my playground. I am fascinated by collections and collected objects. I am amused by the wacky relationships spouted between collectors and their collected objects. I love that any silly lil' olde object can become charged with meaning, history, sentiment, and the authority to tell stories. Collections are spectacularly selfish satisfactions that are classless and limitless. Rich, snooty museum collectors in search of obscure art and unemployed QVC shoppers looking for one more crystal unicorn are essentially doing the same thing as me; strategically collecting objects to organize and make sense of our surroundings through interactions with the material world.
Like every toddler, I play with what I am given. Fascinated by numbers, colors, objects and shiny things. I rowdily rummage through thrift stores and flea markets like toy boxes tearing through objects whose usefulness has been exhausted and awaits deliverance to a new imagined life. I carefully handpick objects that are familiar or boast a degree of promise and beauty to me. I relentlessly tinker with objects ceramicly until they fit and work in a way that is mine. After all, I am the boss of them. I enjoy putting objects and stories together piece by piece and welcome the layers and silly connections that develop from making and thought processes.
Bio:
Amy Santoferraro, born in Akron, Ohio, is the progeny of a carpenter and retailer. She received her M.F.A in Ceramic Art from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, in Alfred, New York in 2012. Amy earned her B.A.E (Art Education) and her B.F.A (Ceramics) from The Ohio State University In 2004. While at Ohio State, Amy was an apprentice and Undergraduate Research Scholar. Amy has been a Summer Resident and Studio Manger at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine and now serves on the advisory board. Amy was a Resident Artist at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, in Gatlinburg Tennessee and a four year Resident Artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Amy was awarded a McKnight Residency Grant for Ceramic Artists in a partnership through the McKnight Foundation and The Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was the Ceramics Area Coordinator and an Assistant Professor of Art at Kansas State University. Amy was the Spring 2017 Visiting Instructor in Residence at Oregon College of Arts and Craft in Portland, Oregon and the Program Manager, MFA Applied Craft and Design (OCAC/PNCA) in Portland, Oregon. Amy is currently the Joan and David Lincoln Visiting Professor at Scripps College and Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.
Instagram: @santoferraro
