From the earth comes many natural wonders—and sometimes the stuff to produce manmade wonders. Scott Semple works in the latter but dabbles in the former, using clay to create wondrous pieces inspired by nature.
Semple described himself as a ceramic artist, art designer, percussionist, world traveler, and self-inspired ruffian. His work is created locally and collected internationally. He calls the Santa Ynez Valley his home and a little red dairy barn his studio, where he’s mastering his latest fascination with up-scaling pieces.
Semple creates decorative pottery and up-scales it into the 6-foot range. Doing so not only results in stunning works of art, but also creates a new challenge for him: keeping the appropriate proportions as well as keeping in mind the interior or exterior environment the vessel will live in and how well it will fit in with existing home design.
“Up-scaling in ceramics is real tricky, and everything is so fragile and heavy at the same time,” he explained.
Semple is set to show how he does it at an exhibition of his work at Imagine Winery Tasting Room and Art Gallery in Santa Ynez.
He said his work pairs well with the venue: “The merging of wine and clay—we have a 30,000-year history as clay being the container for wine.”
Along those lines, Semple has also produced some amphoras, which he said were surprisingly complex to create. But the grandest piece will be produced on site in full view of the public.
Semple will use two potter’s wheels and several pounds of clay to produce a monumental vase over the course of two days. It’s something that usually takes him three or four days to produce.
The massive scale of his work has set him apart from others in his field. His work has been in such prestigious collections as the Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons, and as well as a number of celebrity collections.
While up-scaling is something he’s evolved into doing, a love for the work has been in his life since high school.
“It was one of those classes in high school where people would come out of class with muddy pants and clay in their hair, and I just wanted to do that,” he said.
For someone like Semple, who has such a deep connection with nature, clay was a perfect fit.
“Most of my work comes directly as a response from the natural world and my participation in it and my role in it,” he said.
He also likes to use natural materials when producing his pieces. He often uses feathers, horsehair, coconut rind, and even beach tar to surface his work.
He added that many times he’ll get back from being around the ocean or river, and then he’ll produce something that leaves him wondering where the inspiration came from.
“That’s when you realize you’re just a cog in the wheel of momentum,” he said.
Sometimes Arts Editor Shelly Cone doesn’t know who writes her stories. She takes the credit anyway. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 15-22, 2010.