Sarah Conti

“As my practice brings together more ideas, perhaps too many, the freedom of stepping outside the studio to be embraced by the natural world at Township10 was intoxicating. Often relegated to basements and industrial spaces, ceramic studios aren’t known for their beauty and closeness to nature. With my work’s emphasis on the relationship with the earth, I was so grateful for this proximity. Cacophonies of birds all day and laying in the clover in the evenings as the lightning bugs come out and the honey bees tuck in for the night are things I will always hold dear.

My time at Township10 was a change of space and pace that helped me to to think about my work differently and how I wanted it to interact with the world. My time at T10 was a turning point for my work where I began tying in social issues with environmental ones. I want to focus on how interconnected these problems are and getting to do that in an area that is surrounded by nature and has a complicated history with equality and human rights was deeply informative.

I am so grateful for the experience and for Township’s ties to Oregon College of Art and Craft, a community I felt so fortunate to experience before it vanished, as a way of keeping the thoughtfulness, emphasis on craft and community centered spirit alive that OCAC was known for.

Even amidst a pandemic the foundational thread of community was paramount at Township10. Time spent in the studio was informed by time spent harvesting from the garden, cooking in the kitchen, and gathering around the table, and the conversations borne from that time together. I am so grateful for spaces for artists of all walks to come together. As I grow in my practice the importance of community and communication in the art world is invaluable, I am so grateful to have experienced this place and cannot wait to return.”