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Anna Bailey—Ceramic Artist
Anna Bailey is smart, funny, enthusiastic and just
happens to be one of Greenville’s very talented ceramic
artists. She creates beautiful vases and pottery that
are both personal and functional. Her work is creative,
eye-catching and varies in texture due to her training
in electric, gas, wood and salt kilns. Anna is
originally from Kenly, North Carolina and has loved Art
since she was in elementary school. “It was the one
subject in school that I enjoyed the most and had the
most fun in,” she said.
Anna has called Greenville home since 2000, but when she
started at ECU she didn’t plan on majoring in Art. “I
didn’t know how to make a living in Art. And I still
don’t,” laughs Anna. So she started out as a Psychology
major, but figured out half way through that it wasn’t
her true passion. When Anna did switch to Art, she
thought she would be a painter, since she spent most of
her high school art classes drawing and painting. But
ECU’s excellent program encourages its students to try
many different mediums, and it was during her first
ceramics class that Anna got hooked on clay. “I love
being messy and dirty and making stuff with my hands.
Throwing is what I really fell in love with,” she said.
Anna’s collection includes a lot of great vases that
have personal images painted and carved into them. “I
use things that have happened in my life, like human
forms, organic shapes, things from nature, to represent
what I was going through,” she said. With names like,
“Defining Myself Through Him”, “Discovering My Own
Mortality”, and “Learning To Let Go”, it’s obvious that
Anna’s artwork is a direct reflection of her life and
personal experiences. “Being busy on the wheel is very
therapeutic for me,” she said. One of her favorite
series represents her grandparents, who passed away. She
created a collection of over seven bottles that all bear
an image that represent memories she has of them from
her childhood. Pieces like this are very special to
Anna, but also to her family members and close friends,
in that she has created a kind of heirloom in honor of
their memory.
She says she enjoys making functional pieces as well. “I
love watering my plants with the pitcher I made, eating
cereal out of my own bowls and drinking coffee out of my
own mug.” Anna is the proud owner of an adorable pug
named Fonzi, who eats out of bowls made especially for
him. She has sold a lot of her more functional pieces of
art and gives a lot of them as gifts too because, “I
love knowing they’re going to use it.” Anna says she
feels like she’s a part of their life in a small way and
that is very satisfying for her.
Anna graduated from ECU in 2006 with a BFA in Art with a
concentration in Ceramics, but she’s going back this
fall for her teaching license. She’d like to be an Art
teacher at either the elementary or middle school level,
and continue making ceramic pieces that she could
eventually sell in local shops and galleries. More
pictures of Anna’s amazing work can be found at
www.gvegasmagazine.com and you can email her directly
for commission work at ppfdmt6@aol.com.
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