Sandra McKenzie Schmitt
For more than five decades my artistic vision has been to create works of art that are beautiful, decorative, works that people will want to live with, love and enjoy. My style combines functional pottery with figurative sculpture and has been influenced by my upbringing in a small Illinois town.
My academic career included an undergraduate degree in the arts, a master's degree from the University of lowa in intaglio printmaking, where I studied with the legendary Mauricio Lasansky. Later, I pursued an M.F.A. in ceramic sculpture at Bradley University where I broadened my skills in bronze, stone carving and metal fabrication.
After completing a master's degree at the University of lowa, I moved to NYC where I spent nearly thirty years producing architecturally themed ceramic sculptures and taught high school art for five of those years in New Jersey.
I ventured into gallery ownership with my husband and fellow artist. For ten years we operated a gallery in Frenchtown, New Jersey.
Throughout my time in NYC and New Jersey, I was invited to exhibit my artwork in many national shows, such as the American Craft Council Show, the Lincoln Center Crafts Show, The Rosen Show in Philadelphia and many fine art fairs and galleries nationwide. I also participated in the International invitational exhibition of nativity scenes in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
While living in NYC, I had the distinct privilege of selling a casserole dish, adorned with pigs, to Julia Child. That casserole dish is now part of Julia Child's recreated kitchen on display at the Smithsonian.
I returned to the Midwest in 1994 and continued to produce both functional and decorative ceramic work, with the themes of architecture, and animals, inspired by my rural upbringing and figurative sculptures reflecting my social interactions with real people.
Life influenced my art. After spending time visiting predominately Black churches on the south end of Peoria, I developed a series of figurative sculptures, reflecting the strong, exuberant, well- dressed, women I met.
While the people I depict reflect some of the social and cultural issues of our time, the animals are intentionally designed to convey personality and humor.
My passion is to create artwork which brings as much joy to the public, as it brings me, to produce it. Although I no longer sell pieces directly to the public, my work is represented in several galleries.
Work by Sandra McKenzie Schmitt
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