Life & Work with Sherri Hanna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Hanna.

Hi Sherri, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I drew before I could write, played in the mud, and whacked away at anything that I could form into a sculptural object. My arts education began at home with my mother, who was a musician and visual artist. and continued in high school and college.

After an extended life detour to work with horses and raise a family, I earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Visual Art Education at the University of Kansas. I’ve also done graduate study at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

I was a visual art educator at Olathe East High School for 18 years, teaching Ceramics, Jewelry/Metals, Sculpture, and Commercial Art. I am now retired from teaching and enjoy the luxury of working in my home studios on a broad range of projects and ideas that have been incubating and evolving throughout my life.

I keep busy producing ceramics and jewelry pieces for the First Art Gallery of Olathe, Eclectics Gift Gallery, Lucy’s Corner at the Lumberyard Arts Center, and regional arts and crafts shows and festivals such as the Smoky Hill River Festival and Art Westport.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey has been an uphill climb! After a stint in college during which I could not decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, I left before I graduated to open a shop in Lawrence, Kansas called the Hodge Podge. I also began working seriously with horses and spent a good deal of time on the road rodeoing.

I married, raised two wonderful children, and worked at a variety of interesting jobs until I eventually decided to return to school as a non-traditional student and finish my teaching degree. Working two jobs while also maintaining a full academic schedule was challenging, but I was finally able to begin my career as a Visual Art Educator in the Olathe Unified School District.

Now that I’m retired, I’m able to focus entirely on producing my own artwork.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I began my artistic journey creating two-dimensional artwork, but transitioned into textiles and then ceramics and metals. My true passion has always been in three-dimensional work.

Today I focus on functional and sculptural ceramics and individually crafted jewelry pieces. At the jeweler’s bench, I work most often with copper and silver, semi-precious stones, natural materials, and found or repurposed objects. I create ceramic objects in high-fire porcelain and raku clay bodies.

One of the best things about making pottery is to create a work of art that’s also useful. The objects that we use daily should inspire us, soothe us, and satisfy us with functionality, grace, and beauty. I love throwing, so anything done on the potter’s wheel is a favorite. I take particular pride and care with the “pulled” handles that I put on my mugs.

Creating a comfortable, well-balanced, and visually appealing handle is especially satisfying. I also pay attention to the rim of the vessel so that the thickness doesn’t create an unintentional “dribble” mug!

I experiment with interesting surface textures, carving in “leather hard” porcelain and making sculptural alterations to thrown forms. I mix my own glazes and am especially proud of the broad palette of sophisticated yet subtle glazes on my work.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the diversity of opportunity throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area for artists and craftspeople who are willing to work at promoting themselves. I do not like how difficult that can be! “Getting the word out” is challenging, especially with the demise of most print media.

Taking care of the business of promoting oneself detracts from the time available to create new work.

Contact Info:

• Email: sherrihanna@embarqmail.com
• Website: SherriHanna.com
• Facebook: Prairie Visions on FB