Sandra Byers

Sandra Byers works in porcelain, creating tiny sculptures that echo natural forms and textures. They bring to mind the sort of treasures one might pocket on a weekend hike: shells and bones, nuts and mushrooms, wasp’s nests, honeycomb, flower buds and feathers. Byers’s precise, clean forms conjure, rather than mimic, these natural forms, seeking their essence. While small enough to fit in your hand, they are imbued with a powerful tension. Although Byers’s pieces might be equally impressive on a larger scale, their intimate size creates a strikingly emotional impact. Byers appreciates porcelain for its strength, delicacy, and translucence. Like shells and flower petals, porcelain “comes to life in the sunlight,” she says.

Byers shares a studio in Rock Springs, Wisconsin, with her husband, Winthrop Byers. Her work is included in the collection of the Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin; University of Iowa; and Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Duluth. Her work has been shown at the Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC; the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center, Madison, Wisconsin; and the Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.