Emily Schneider

I come into the studio and sit down at my table feeling lost as to where to start. I get out a bag of clay and start cutting off hunks. I roll them into thick coils and start stacking them up into a cylindrical shape. I continue by pushing the clay with my fist to make interesting wedges and holes and indentation. Once the indentations are there I want to accentuate them, so I pinch up the clay to increase the texture. The pinch marks become interesting so I pinch more and more, outside, then inside. The final result looks like a lost alien world, floral, underwater coral in appearance.

My work stems from how play can influence creativity. Much of my inspiration stems from childhood and nature, those imagined worlds and the things that live within them. I strive to keep my work fresh, raw, textural, and provoking the need for storytelling.

I embrace the material I have to work with, trying to play with what the studio provides me with. I enjoy the different textures of clay (soft, gritty, firm), the different textures of glazes (runny, thick, dried), and adding other textures (fine and coarse sands). Each material directs my play in a new way and in turn directs my work. 

Emily’s work explores how play can influence creativity. Nature and childhood are strong themes within her work. Emily earned her BSc in biology (Trent University, 2001), she worked for scientific publications and took up ceramics in her spare time. She is a mother to three children, and after her third daughter was born, she redefined her career by returning to school to study ceramic art, earning her BFA (Sheridan College, 2018).

Emily’s work has been exhibited at the Gardiner Museum (April 2018), and Sheridan College Gallery (January 2018, May 2018)

Emily won the William and Mary Corcoran Award for Outstanding Achievement (2018), the Outstanding Achievement Award twice (Sheridan College, 2015, 2016) and the Technical Achievement Award (2017).

An artist-educator, Emily has taught ceramics at Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Centre (2015) and Creative Insights (2017). Emily is now the owner and operator of Beyond the Bowl Pottery Studio.

Teaching

2019 - Current,  Owner/Operator of Beyond the Bowl Pottery Studio

2017 Ceramics Teacher, Creative Insights

2015 Clay Artist, Holland Bloorivew Children’s Rehabilitation Centre

Awards

2018 William and Mary Corcoran Award for Outstanding Achievement 

2017 Outstanding Technical Achievement, Fusion Glass

2016 Outstanding Achievement Award, Mississauga Potters Guild

2015 Outstanding Achievement Award, Mississauga Potters Guild

Exhibitions

2018 Breakthrough, Fusion, Waterloo, Ontario

2018 Make / Ready, Sheridan College Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

2018 Ab ovo, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario

2017 Shelter, Collaborative Installation, Sheridan College

2017 Mobility, Collaborative Installation, Sheridan College

2016 Light, Collaborative Installation, Sheridan College

2015 Food for Thought, Collaborative Installation, Sheridan College

Education

2018 BA, Crafts and Design, Ceramics (Sheridan College)

2001 BSc, Biology (Trent University)

Email: emilyschneiderceramics@gmail.com