Savanna is a southern gal from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she grew up behind the counter of her parents’ retail store filled with local art, imported furniture, home decor, and more. After finishing her BFA in Ceramics and Painting from Louisiana State University, she moved from cajun country to the Rocky Mountains of Carbondale, CO where she was an Artist in Residence at the Carbondale Clay Center 2017-2019. Transitioning from Artist in Residence to Marketing & Communications Manager, Savanna spent 3 years working with Carbondale Clay Center in efforts to expand the organization's reach, programs, and impact on the local and ceramic communities. Currently, she is focused on her studio practice at Studio for Arts & Works in Carbondale, CO where she continues to investigate the power of multiples, explore material combinations, and develop a language of mark-making.
Pulling from my background in painting and drawing, my current work focuses on the power of multiples: pattern, rhythm, and repetition. Ranging from sculptures and installations made from copious amounts of ceramic parts to embellished functional ware, my exploration is centered on components as marks. All together, the multitude of "marks" make up a drawing or mural through physical pattern and surface design.
CURRICULUM
VITAE
EDUCATION
2012 - 2017
Louisiana State University
BFA Studio Art, Concentrations: Ceramics & Painting
Minor: Sculpture
Magna cum Laude
2014 - 2015
University of Hawaii at Manoa
National Student Exchange Program
2013
Santa Reparata International School of Art
Study Abroad: Printmaking in Florence
TEACHING
2021
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Handbuilt: Adult Intermediate Clay
Private Lessons
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2020
Adult Handbuilding
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Family Clay Play
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Private Lessons
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2019
Adult Intermediate Clay
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Clay for Beginners
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Kids Hand-building & Wheel Throwing
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2018
Kids Hand-building & Wheel Throwing
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2017
Away From the Wheel: Adult Hand-building
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Kids Wheel Throwing
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2021 - present
Gallery Committee Chair
Carbondale Arts Gallery Committee, CO
2020 - present
Creative Council Member
Carbondale Creative District, CO
2020
Anderson Ranch Art Center
Attendee: Conversations on Clay virtual workshop
Feb 2019-Dec 2021
Marketing & Communications Manager
Carbondale Clay Center, CO
2019 - present
MudTies Collective Member
2018
Anderson Ranch Art Center
Attendee: Tyler Lotz's workshop
Object Design: Ceramics, Hand & Machine
2017
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts
educational assistant/work-study program
Attendee:
Sunshine Cobb’s workshop Hand-building Fundamentals
Shane Darwent & Andrew Saftel’s workshop Mining for Place
Lauren Gallaspy's workshop Poetics of Surface
Penland School of Crafts
work-study program
Attendee: Lynn Batchelder's workshop Jewelry + Drawing
Anderson Ranch Art Center
Attendee: Gabriela Salazar's workshop Material & Metaphor
Attendee: 51st annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference
Co-Vice President of Louisiana State University’s Ceramic Arts Student Association (CASA)
2016 - present
Member of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)
2016 - 2017
Louisiana State University Painter’s League: Secretary
2016
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts
educational assistant/work-study program
Attendee:
Courtney Cerruti's workshop Image Transfers & Mixed Media
Lauren Kussro's workshop Playing with Paper
Penland School of Crafts
work-study program
Attendee: Justin Rothshank's workshop Decals & Data
2015 - 2017
Member: Ceramic Arts Student Association (CASA),
Louisiana State University
2014 - 2015
Member: Clay Club,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
AWARDS
2018
Anderson Ranch Scholarship for Object Design: Ceramics, Hand & Machine Workshop
2017
Anderson Ranch Scholarship for Material & Metaphor workshop
Tiger Athletic Foundation Award, based on faculty nomination
2016
Miriam Garic Barranger Scholarship
Tiger Athletic Foundation Award, based on faculty nomination
2015
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Distinguished Scholarship for the Arts
Miriam Garic Barranger Scholarship
2014
Louisiana State University Sculpture Department Scholarship
2013
Travel Scholarship for study abroad program “Printmaking in Florence”
2012
Baton Rouge Gallery award to study with local painter Diane Hansen
RESIDENCIES
2017 - 2019
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
EXHIBITIONS
2023
Old Thompsen Barn Holiday Market
River Valley Ranch, Carbondale, CO
Deck the Walls, group exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Interdependence, group exhibition
SeeSaw Gallery, Denver, Co
Summer Pop Up, group exhibition
Harvey Preston Gallery, Aspen, CO
52nd Annual Mountain Fair, art fair
Carbondale, CO
Old Thompsen Barn Summer Market
River Valley Ranch, Carbondale, CO
SAW (Studio for Arts + Works), group exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, Co
Mudties PopUp Show
Homemaker's Bar, NCECA 2023, Cincinnati, OH
Annual Valley Visual, juried exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
2022
Deck the Walls, group exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Old Thompsen Barn Holiday Market
River Valley Ranch, Carbondale, CO
Voices, group collaborative exhibition
Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO
51st Annual Mountain Fair, art fair
Carbondale, CO
Mudties PopUp Online Show
Online, in conjunction with NCECA 2022
Annual Valley Visual, juried exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
2021
Deck the Walls, group exhibition
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Annual Cup Auction Donation
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
A Thankful Pop-up, group show
Bath Provisions, Carbondale, CO
Settings Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center, CO
Shared Earth, Group Exhibition
Colorado Mountain College Aspen Gallery, CO
Pairings Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2020
Pairings Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Settings: Limited Edition
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
22nd Annual Cup Auction
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2019
21st Annual Cup Auction
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center pop-up location, Carbondale, CO
Holiday Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Maker Queens Group Pop-up
Batch, Carbondale, CO
Tacos on Plates
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Interwoven: Fiber + Clay Group Exhibition
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Ellipsis Resident Artist Solo Exhibition
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Linear // Planar Dual Exhibition with Stephanie Seguin
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Pairings Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Mutual Makers Group Exhibition
Colorado Mountain College Aspen Gallery
2018
Holiday Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
20th Annual Cup Auction
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center pop-up location, Carbondale, CO
Throwdown Hoedown
Donation for Annual Fundraiser
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Clay National XIII: Out of the Mold
Group Exhibition, juried by John & Andrea Gill
Carbondale Clay Center, CO
Tiny Art Show
Group Exhibition, juried by Johanna Mueller
R2 Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Paralleled Pastiche Resident Artist Dual Exhibition
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Pairings Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
2017
Holiday Invitational
Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
Annual Cup Auction Donation
Carbondale Clay Center pop-up location, Carbondale, CO
Foundational Dwellings Solo Thesis Showcase
Firehouse Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
BFA Group Showcase
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
LSU Discover Day Juried Exhibition
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
2016
Painter’s League Group Showcase
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
White Light Night Annual Art Festival
Studio C, Baton Rouge, LA
2015
Light Fantastic: 30th Annual Louisiana Art and Science Museum Gala
30 local artists invited by Auction Co-Chairperson for principle fundraising
Baton Rouge, LA
White Light Night Annual Art Festival
Studio C, Baton Rouge, LA
Uncommon Thread Wearable Art Show, International Juried Showcase
Baton Rouge, LA
2014
Work selected for the University Medical Center
New Orleans, LA
2013
White Light Night Annual Art Festival
Studio C, Baton Rouge, LA
Highland Nights Annual Arts Festival
The Stockade, Baton Rouge, LA
2012
Real Life Experience
Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA