BiographySandy Blain is Professor Emeritus - Ceramics, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Director Emeritus - Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN. Her background includes a B.S. in Art Education from Northern Illinois University, and an M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As a practicing artist, her clay pieces have been seen in juried and invitational exhibitions throughout the country with reviews and photographs in media publications and catalogs. After moving to Arizona, Sandy set-up a ceramic studio working with stoneware functional forms. Manipulated and assembled handbuilt forms are impressed with found objects or a carved printmaking linoleum, serving as metaphors for the impact one has on their surroundings. The relief surfaces reveal a personal narrative. Underglazes and glazes are applied to the surface of the pieces through brushing and spraying. Sandy is an adjunct faculty member at the Mesa Arts Center having taught handbuilding since 2005. She has recently served as a board member of the Ceramic Research Center, Arizona State University and hosts an annual studio tour weekend. She also serves on the advisory council at the Shemer Art Center, Phoenix. She continues to serve as a workshop leader with emphasis primarily on handbuilding, and a consultant to various arts organizations.