Anna Valenti

Bio

Anna Valenti is a ceramic artist born in New York. She received a BA and ceramics post-baccalaureate studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a MFA from the Maine College of Art. She has exhibited her work nationally and her research is in fiber clay bodies. Anna currently teaches ceramics at Naropa University and Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.

Artist Statement

Weaving is a catalyst for connection, it ties people together through relationships, communities, and offers a sense of home. The weaving of baskets and the building of gathering spaces are two crafts handed down to me through my mother's and granny's way of life. I utilize traditional Italian and Lithuanian weaving patterns to create intimately and large-scaled ceramic sculptures. I am interested in the ways woven structures draw a parallel between bonds of empathy and the connectivity of fiber clay. 

Weaving takes many individual parts to exist as a whole. The Herringbone pattern traces back to ancient Italy and began as an interlocking roadway that absorbed the pressure of traveling feet. I use the herringbone weaving pattern as a metaphor for stability. 

Fibers are added to clay bodies to improve tensile strength for building and dry strength for handling. In a soft state, clay and fiber memory parallel one another. Impressions are recorded with each touch of the hand. It is in the impressions the material holds and the ways our relationships are formed through gathering spaces and objects that I am most interested in. Through weaving clay vessels, I ask what connects us as humans and how we may foster empathy amongst us all.

exhibitions