Sam Sequeira ( They/Them )

Transitioning is allowing yourself to have a part in your own creation. As a trans ceramicist, I cannot help but notice the parallels of clay to ceramic and my current medical transition. My work uses the ceramic vessel to represent my body as I alter and personify it to match my interpretation of my inner self. After my top surgery, I used my pre and post-op chest to begin this exploration of self through vessels. I expand this into queer aesthetics, fashion, and mixed media. Self-expression and gender identity have always been on a spectrum in my eyes, and the vessels mirror that. Vases are wheel thrown and manipulated into a torso shape, then the piece is adorned with clothes, tattoos or patches. The vessels that resemble people are painted with underglaze and oxides in a more illustrative approach to replicate a physical representation of queerness and how we use fashion as a signal to show personal identity. My use of mixed media is new to my work, but is an homage to my textile ancestry and love for accessorizing. The choice of materials felt intuitive at first, but now I understand I am using textiles, wire, and ceramic to act as a trinity of my matriarchal lineage of my grandmother, mother, and myself. My grandmother, a seamstress, and mother, a jeweler, have had a great effect on who I am as a ceramicist, and how I represent myself and craft. Combining wire and textile patches into my ceramic work allows me to acknowledge the women before me and their skills in a way that is true to me and my identity.

Sam Sequeira is a ceramics artist from Houston, Texas. They graduated with a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics as well as an Art History Minor from the University of North Texas. They started working with clay in 2018, and have since exhibited locally and nationally, assisted local artists, and taught workshops. They are currently working and teaching as an Artist in Residence at KC Clay Guild, in Kansas City, Missouri. Sam’s work focuses on self expression as a queer and trans person. Through vessels and surface ornamentation, they narrate how the queer community often marks their own path in life as well as clothing through flagging and alterations. They often reference textiles and DIY elements like patches and cropped clothing. Their work aims to bring insight into their own battles and challenges as a trans person, and the relationship between queer people and clothing. They hope to bring relatability and reassurance to members of their community and a sense of humanity to those outside of it.