Amy Sarner Williams

"I am a professional artist, living and working in Philadelphia PA. I spent almost my entire career in the field of ceramic art–teaching, creating and exhibiting.

[ . . . ] I have always been drawn to the use of natural materials in my artistic practice. While quarantining at my family's cabin in the mountains of western Maine in 2020, without access to clay and kilns, I began a new phase of artistic exploration. My new works are collages created with birch bark found on our property and on walks in the idyllic Maine woods. The quality of birch bark has always intrigued me, with its myriad peelable layers unveiling a hidden array of colors, textures and patterns. I collect the bark (from the ground, not from live trees) and prepare it through a lengthy process of soaking, peeling into layers, flattening, and cutting. This new body of work builds on my earlier clay work, inspired by the splendor of the natural world. The bark of the birch tree enables me to create collages of mystical and enchanting beauty, capturing the spirit of the ever-changing landscape. Recently, I have expanded the scope of this work into more abstract compositions. These new works play with depth and space, color and texture. They are environments to explore, passageways to enter, mazes to lose oneself in."