Sarah May Rogers

Artist Sarah May Rogers is a ceramic sculptor based in Somerset who works exclusively in porcelain. She uses casting, modelling, sculpting and slip work to create complex arrangements of flora and fungi and the human form. Her research draws on the duality of nature to gently heal and nurture whilst also having the ability to be ruthlessly cruel; a metaphor sometimes for our relationships. Contrasting ideas of fragility and strength, vulnerability and containment, preservation and transformation are important as is the critical question of balance and where it lies. Sarah has a first class undergraduate degree in Ceramic and Glass from De Montfort University in Leicester.

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Sarah discovered a love affair with the natural world after her degree when she took a studio at Morden Hall Park, a National Trust park in South London. It was not just the flora that caught her attention, but more importantly it was the subtle and not so subtle forces that ebb and flow through nature and the constant balancing and shifts in energy. Coming from a discipline that included a rigorous study of the various mould making techniques, Sarah started to explore slip dipping with found objects from her walks through the woods; she experimented with a variety of fungi, wildflowers, leaves and fragile twigs using bone china. She now uses porcelain paper clay, primarily because of its strength but also because of its matt white finish once fired. Sarah loves the monochromatic whiteness of porcelain because, she says, it both “absorbs and reflects light like a leaf” allowing her sculptures to exhibit a range of light and shadow.

There is a deep spirituality about Sarah’s work born from a childhood of religious observations and Sunday church services. These grew into a different kind of worship as Sarah matured; the cathedral of nature and its altar of wisdoms and lessons, some gentle and kindly, but some harsh and painful became her new faith. The quiet in the wind, the message in the bird song, the rhythm in the stream; Sarah finds enormous peace communing with the natural world. Her love and respect for the wild feminine spirit of Mother Nature is deeply woven into her work. She refers to Mexican Milagros when we talk about her influences. Milagros means miracle in Spanish; they are small votives used in prayer for divine healing and protection or simply as thanks. Their meaning is usually very personal to the owner; a heart might symbolise emotional or physical healing but also a prayer for romantic love. Sarah’s sculptures, particularly her smaller pieces, are like Milagros; they are imbued with a gentle energy that encourages reflection.

Sarah won the Clephan Scholarship Award whilst at De Montfort University, which recognises and supports outstanding students. She won first prize at Bath Open Art in 2022 and was selected for Evolver’s Top 50 prize in 2023 as well as being awarded a residency at the Museum of Bath at Work in 2024. She exhibits in London and across Somerset.

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