April 2026 Ceramics Demo – Sandy Allie
Ceramics February Ceramics Demonstration
Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 6 p.m.
The Gallery at 48 Natoma in Folsom
Sandy Allie (Coil Built Figurative Vases)
Sandy will demonstrate how she uses the coils of clay to build her female vases. She calls these her “Kore” vases after the formal and static poses of the Archaic Greek Kouroi and Korai statues of the fifth and sixth centuries. Human beings are unique individuals and each of us carry our own stories within. Sandy likes to play with this theme while building the vessels. She begins with a plan and the clay begins to take on its own expression. At that point, her hands must follow. Says Sandy: “I’m a firm believer that the sculptor and the clay have to be in sync – ‘you respect me, and I will respect you.’ I have learned that the hard way.”
Sandy has been studying and practicing art for over 30 years. It began with Art History 101 at Lake Tahoe Community College in 1987. While taking all the necessary classes to achieve an Associate Degree, she found her calling with the human figure and her voice with clay. After earning her degree, she went on to work at the college, first as an instructional aid and later as adjunct faculty and lab instructor for the bronze casting program under David Foster.
While inspired by the fragments of antiquity as well as the masters of the Renaissance, it is not the “classical” ideal Sandy attempts to represent in her work. Rather, she’s looking to convey the introspective and expressive side of humanity. A visitor to her studio once said “I love that each one of your sculptures are unique and have their own personality.” Sandy says this is the highest compliment to her work and believes it can only be achieved by working and studying from life.
Sandy’s favorite medium to work with is clay and even though she has translated some of her clay figures to bronze, she maintains that “terra cotta” is best at expressing the human figure in the most noble and humbling (down-to-earth) way. Clay allows the figure to “breathe.”
Sandy’s studio is open by appointment and also during the El Dorado Hills Studio Tour in May. Please visit her website SandyAllieSculpture.com or write her at sandy.allie.45@gmail.com to be added to her invitation list.
If you have questions about the Ceramics Enrichment Program,
please contact Sandy Hilton, Ceramics Program Chair, Folsom Arts Association.