Residency Dispatch
Imaginary Nature
Sara Roberts
Artist-in-Residence
November 14 - December 1, 2023
IMAGINARY NATURE is a series of ceramic sculptures that conjure a world of eccentric animals and beings, an imaginary universe that explores the tactile qualities of various clay bodies and glazes, and portrays animals with more humor than sentiment. Hand-painted porcelain tableware features floating protozoa, paramecia, and other dramatic inhabitants of our micro-biomes in a style akin to comic book heroes and villains.
The work isn’t monumental or grand in size but there is a narrative of scale: the very large to the very small, a garden universe of lowly but dignified creatures, heroic germs, magnified plant textures, and the globes of imaginary planets.
Unlike traditional embroidery which brings attention to precision and skill, Roberts' needlework on plant fiber is an unusual, improvisational form. The stitches are meant to highlight the difference in scale between handwork and the unbelievably intricate and complex structure of plants, even in the decaying matter that plants discard of themselves.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Over the course of her career, multidisciplinary artist Sara Roberts has worked and shown nationally internationally in many mediums; visual, sonic, sculptural and performative. She is currently emeritus after 25 years of teaching interdisciplinary arts at CalArts.
Roberts was a co-founder (with Jordan Biren) of the celebrated Reader's Chorus, an open ensemble of readers with varied backgrounds: musicians, composers, visual artists, film makers, poets - people interested in reading aloud and experimenting with the possibilities of the speaking voice. Roberts is currently a member of the Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre, whose mission is to provide a friendly and nurturing environment for all through the arts, highlighting the richness of our diverse community through programs, exhibitions, workshops, and events.