Anne Stryke Artist Talk 
Saturday, December 12th 5-7pm

Anne Stryke’s sculptural work emerges from her ongoing investigation of how clay, an organic material, connects humanity, past and present. She is drawn to the rich tradition and flexibility of working with clay, especially since clay has been shaped with human hands for thousands of years. She use layers of engobe slip and oxides that are fired repeatedly in an electric kiln. This process allows her to build up surfaces to create texture and depth of color. Anne Stryke thoroughly enjoy discovering new ways to work with clay form, surface and color. Although clay is the essential ingredient used in her sculptures, she often incorporates welded steel to create simple yet eloquent bases to exhibit her work.

Anne Stryke’s latest series of sculptures, featured at the Abrams Claghorn Gallery, are based on the drawings of 19^th century German biologist, Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel discovered, detailed, drew and named thousands of new species during his life time. But it was specifically Haeckel’s detailed and precise studies of coral, sponges and other simple oceanic life that inspired the base forms of these sculptures. Stryke brought these drawings to life, literally, by adding human characteristics to them, such as heads and faces.

Anne Stryke is a native Californian who has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. She has a Master’s degree in Sculpture and is currently teaching sculpture & ceramics at the Academy of Art University.