“First of all, I don’t think that you’re really working on making art if you’re making things that you know about already. It has to be that you’re always discovering something. You can’t have a life as an artist and know what you’re going to do.”

Arlene Shechet creates her sculptures… that are uniquely hers… out of different materials. Not wanting to be pigeonholed, she uses clay, porcelain, glass, and found objects, among others.

Many artists and connoisseurs see a very divided line between arts and crafts, as if a “craft” is somehow lesser. Not Shechet.

As a sculptor, she has expertise in many different media. Before she used ceramics, she used glass. One of her earlier exhibitions even included weaving. She calls herself a “walking craft show.” Really, what is not crafted, she asks.

Since artists make things with their hands, it shouldn’t matter what difference does the materials used make?

She says that one of the reasons she started using clay was because it was not considered a proper art material, but she saw opportunities.

“If you work on the margins, it’s not crowded there. It just feels weird and wonderful like, “Oh I’m going to make this thing and I’m making it out of this material you have no respect for. Eat it. Watch. I’m going to do something good.”

c. 2020

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