Spending the first part of her childhood in California, Erin moved to Georgia in the mid
nineties where she later attended Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Through the support of her wonderful family, husband, and daughter, she completed her
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2011 with a concentration in ceramics and photography.
After which, Erin quickly settled into her rural home and studio in Fairmount, Georgia.
Using her skills for carving into raw clay, Erin Kay Spangler decided on a career path in
ceramics. Surrounding herself daily with her design inspirations (from the nature of her rural
home and love for symbols) she transfers her carvings free hand without the use of
templates. As often seen throughout Southwestern American Indian Art, Erin exposes the
clay by removing the glaze over her carvings, further extenuating the detail while also bringing
to the light the beauty in the raw material.
In the fall of 2013, Erin had the honor of being a demonstrating artist at the 2nd
annual TAP into clay conference in Marietta, Georgia, where she was able to share her carving into
clay skills with others. Over the last year, she has also enjoyed traveling to local schools
teaching others about ceramics . Erin hopes to continue to share her talent with others while
also pursuing her career as an artist.
With wheel throwing, I begin a multiple step process in which I transform raw clay into a functional piece of art. My work brings to light the simple beauty of a hand gesture through the carvings left permanently in the clay's surface. Approaching each piece of pottery as if it were a blank canvas, I free hand carve designs without the use of templates. Heavily inspired by nature and symbols found in American Indian Art, as well as many different cultures across the world, I create my designs. These patterns are only further enhanced when the glaze is removed and left in the crevasses of the carvings... where we then return to the natural elegance of the unearthed raw clay.