Meet Sam Young | Ceramicist Handled Earth & Art Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Young and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am from out in the sticks of Maryland. I was outdoors a lot as a kid. Most of my days were spent in my family’s pond or hiking the rivers and nearby reservoir. My cousins and I used to make toad houses in the mud, pretend it was make-up or war paint… It only makes sense that I would be covered in clay as an adult. Pottery in particular is something I always found interest in, even then. On hikes we would always be on the lookout for treasure. My favorite thing to find were little pieces of old broken pottery. My family instilled in me to be good to nature so we would always pick up litter as we went but the pottery didn’t feel like trash, it felt special. Surprisingly, I have lived in more urban areas as an adult, Richmond, DC, and Denver. Working with clay and making clay jewelry was a nice way to keep me grounded and connected to my roots. The Earth has always been my friend so I like wearing a piece close to my heart.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am at an exciting part of my artistic journey. I have finally gotten to a point where I am beginning to narrow down the aspects that I love and that are making my works more recognizable.

My Timeless Nature Collection is my work in which I press real ferns into the clay. It feels like making my own fossils. I love nature for its ephemeral ways but with these pendants and dishware I am able to take what would soon decay and make it last. This process takes the plant’s numerous days of growth and sunlight, water and life, and allows it to stand the test of time. Ferns are one of the oldest plant groups on the planet. I feel this collection gives thanks to Mother Nature and our plant brethren that allow life to thrive on Earth as we know it.
The clay pendants in the Stay Present Points of Earth Collection I have been working on really helps keep me grounded. The shape reminds me of a point on a compass rose or the symbol for “you are here” on a map. It is also nice to handle when feeling antsy like that of a worry stone. The raw clay on the back allows for a direct connection to the natural world. The glass used in my works is collected from the street, mostly broken windshields. In this I am cleaning up our public spaces, using what would go to the landfill, and helping to turn negative energy into a positive.

Being a creative definitely has its challenges. I move around a lot. Apartment living is not very conducive to a kiln. This craft takes up a lot of space that I often do not have. There are also so many stages. I would throw pots in my living room or balcony. Then I would need to take it to be fired somewhere, hope it doesn’t break, bring it back, glaze it, hope it doesn’t get messed up again on the drive back to be glaze fired. And sometimes, after all of that, hours and weeks of work, the kiln gods are not nice to you … and they turn out horrible. I learned that at some points I needed to take a break and reevaluate what was doable at the time. Trying to drive 60 mugs back and forth to Leadville was not working. But keeping my hands in the clay and handbuilding smaller pieces was keeping me in my practice and allowed me to explore different avenues. My jewelry and wallhangings stemmed from finding a way around the challenge.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had friends coming out I would try my best to time it out with some music. I would take them to Dillon Amphitheater or 10Mile Music Hall. I am also a water person so we would be paddleboarding Lake Dillon or floating the upper C. I am an art consultant in Breckenridge so I would definitely take them over to Raitman Art Galleries to see our amazing artists. We have a galley on each end of town so we would do a Main St. stroll. We’d stop by Marybgoround to check out Mary Beth’s fresh tie-dyes and my pottery, maybe happy hour at Blue River Bistro. At some point we would stop for a flight at Outer Range.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am very lucky to have friends and family who are huge supporters of my work as well as my success. I have friends that reach out to remind me to order new business cards and others who check in to ask why I’m not making more of the wall hangings they love. I have people that truly enjoy my work but also who know me and help push me to stay on track and for that I am forever grateful. I also have artist friends like Gather and Flow and One Drop Design that are total professional artists that inspire me to level up. The professors at Salisbury University were also a big part of what ignited my flame. The techs there, Sarah and Robbie aka Amused Studio were definitely mentors. They made such beautiful glazes, were so dedicated to their craft and such cool people. I want to give a huge thanks to the town of Silverthorne’s makerspace, ArtSpot. They have an amazing setup with open studios, classes, and a gallery. The world has given me many artist friends that help show me that living a creative’s life is possible.

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