From Painting to Printmaking to Pottery and more

Nancy H. Craemer has been living, breathing, and creating art all of her life. She met artistic success early in her career, selling her first piece when she was 13 and painting her first commissioned mural at age 14. In high school, she took art classes at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, and then received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Design Architecture and Art, and Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Massachusetts.

Today, her work expands and transcends the usual notion of pottery. Environment boxes are the centerpiece of her product line. Small and larger boxes with tiny hand-built, three dimensional animals or people rest on top of the lids in idealized natural or fantasy settings, making them into minuscule menageries.

Nancy feels closeness to clay with its limitless opportunities, pliable nature and sensual being. Her creations are decorative, humorous, and fun and represent some of the most grin-inducing art forms you can imagine.

Nancy continues to hone her ceramic skills. Her designs begin on paper. After sketching the basic idea, Nancy builds a model out of paper to make sure the piece will work and will not be stressed at any point. The first clay model can take a week or more to get it just right. Nancy uses stoneware or white clay mixed according to her own formula. She also includes millefiori, a technique composed of colored clay assembled vertically, layer by layer, and then sliced like bread with each cross section yielding the same design.

Recently, Nancy has been moved by her seaside home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to produce a series of marine inspired shell sculptures, wreaths, and garlands. Many of the materials for her pieces have been collected during her long walks along the New England shoreline. Nancy’s botanical creations swarm with life. Her starfish hug pieces of driftwood while scallop shells wave to pieces of beach glass.