by Janelle Kohner
Staff Reporter

Sam Scott, whose work is currently featured in the College
Gallery (located in the 1000 building), has been working with
clay and porcelain for the past 39 years. He was officially intro-
duced to pottery in high school when his mother advised him to
take a pottery class instead of typing. Later, while Scott was
spending time in the ceramics room because of a girl, he was
forced by a teacher to make pottery. Since then, he’s been
thoroughly seduced by the art of clay. Scott went on to have his
work displayed in countless galleries, including the Smithsonian
Institution, and to teach first at Everett Community College, oc-
casionally at the UW and currently at SCC, where he instructs
ceramics classes every Monday and Wednesday night.

                                                                    His display in the College Gallery, “Sam Scott: 36                                                                     years with Clay,” shows work from 1971 when he                                                                     focused on stoneware, in addition to his projects from                                                                     this year, when he worked mostly with porcelain.

                                                                    Two porcelain plates inspired by computers and the                                                                     Mandelbrot set and created this year entitled “Global                                                                     Warning” and “Nation Building” show Scott’s more                                                                     developed political and modern style. The abstract                                                                     designs of tiny computer chips and shooting soldiers                                                                     stamped in black glaze into the white porcelain of                                                                     “Nation Building” send a straightforward message to                                                                     observers about the U.S. occupation of Iraq. “Global Warning” is also engraved with computer chips, with the compounds of greenhouse gases written near a ruler, all in black glaze on the same porcelain white background. According to Scott, the key on each plate is “the key to success, it’s the key to figuring out the problem,” though much of his work can be interpreted in a more literal manner.

Among Scott’s favorite pieces displayed in the gallery is a set of tiles framed by wood that are being displayed here for the first time. “It wasn’t until this year that I realized ‘yeah, I like that’,” he said. “I like it because its indicative of that time and style.”

The 31 years of growth in Scott’s work between his 2007 porcelain plates and 1970s tiles are readily apparent. “The work evolves in a stylistic genre, but then you try something completely different,” Scott stated. His career clearly demonstrates his ability to change with his art and to gain control over the unpredictable variables that sometimes stand in an artist’s way. After observing other artists struggle with mistakes and after so many years of clay crafting behind him, Scott realizes, “the process is an inspiration.”

Scott’s pottery will be displayed in the College Gallery until October 29th and is worth observing for anyone who values a dynamic selection of art.