About me

My name is Sarah Whyte, and I am a working artist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My ceramics are mainly stoneware or porcelain, and my paintings are mainly oil or acrylic on canvas, although I try out many new mediums, styles, and techniques.

I attended OCAD University in pursuit of a fine arts degree in drawing and painting, I am a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant, and I love creating things of all types. 
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Art is a part of who you are rather than something you do - many artists could never see themselves pursuing a career in anything else, myself included. I have been making things for as long as I can remember, and I hope to continue doing so for as long as I can.

I sell my ceramic work and drawings and paintings in my Etsy shop as well as at in-person shows. I try to incorporate my painting education into my ceramic work by experimenting with glazes, and I believe that my ceramic work gives me a better grasp on volume and shape while drawing or painting.

​As much as I try to blend the skills of both 2D and 3D art, I really enjoy the contrast between my painting and ceramic. When I want to control every aspect of an image, I paint a detailed painting, and when I want to experiment and play around with colours and designs, I try out a new glaze combination and see what kind of picture the heat of my kiln creates with my guidance. 

 

My Ceramics 

I have had my own home ceramics studio since late 2013, though I have been passionate about ceramics since 2009 when I was first introduced to them. 

I make sculptural and functional ceramics that are both beautiful and durable. My work starts out as a sketch in my sketchbook, and then comes to life with the help of a ball of clay. Most of my ceramics are made on my potter's wheel, sometimes in multiple parts, although some of my pieces are slab-built or sculpted. I add my signature to the bottom, and the pieces then dry for up to two weeks. 

When they're ready, they go into my kiln for a 23 hour bisque fire, which gets them up to 1400 degrees fahrenheit. I unload them from the kiln, glaze them with a brush, and put them back into the kiln, this time to get up to cone 6, or approximately 2232 degrees fahrenheit. All of my ceramics are either stoneware or porcelain with lead-free, food safe glazes, and fired in my electric kiln. 

I try out many different styles and techniques, so all of my work is made with a lot of fun, exploration and love. 

My Painting

I have been painting since I can remember. I love translating a scene in front of me onto canvas in a stylistic interpretation. I mainly paint still life and figure studies. I have a painterly, impasto style to my work. 

I focus mainly on accurately portraying light while at the same time finding the hidden colours that make up the substance of my subject.