I recently interviewed Sharon Bloom of Sharon Bloom Designs. She does great ceramics with neat Halloween scenes and imagery that are evocative of Vintage Halloween. You can check out her Etsy Shop and also she has a Blog.
VH: How did you become interested in Ceramics?
SB: My background is in painting and one day I met another artist that became a good friend. She was a potter and encouraged me to try making some pins out of clay. At that time, I was not familiar with the medium. So, with rolling pin in hand and a block of clay I made my first cut out pins. They were thick and blocky and once in a while a customer will show me a pin from those early days, still intact and happily loved. Since then, I have branched out into painted plates and sculptural work.
SB: My background is in painting and one day I met another artist that became a good friend. She was a potter and encouraged me to try making some pins out of clay. At that time, I was not familiar with the medium. So, with rolling pin in hand and a block of clay I made my first cut out pins. They were thick and blocky and once in a while a customer will show me a pin from those early days, still intact and happily loved. Since then, I have branched out into painted plates and sculptural work.
VH: What defines your style?
SB: I like to create a mix of a what I call a retro vintage Halloween style with my own twist. I love the old imagery from the paper decorations and find myself pouring over collector books and my own finds for inspiration. I want my style to evoke a sense of nostalgia, yet have appeal in the modern world.
VH: Tell us what inspires you to create?
SB: At this time of year, black and orange. A a lot of it! Halloween is my favorite holiday and season. I get really excited when I begin to see Halloween decorations popping up in the stores and driving by local pumpkin patches and seeing those little orange globes. Most days, I have a never endings flow of ideas that just seem to continue to cascade out of me. I am fortunate to have a fertile imagination that is stimulated by the world around me. Colors, pattern, and texture are a big part of that idea factory.
VH: Do you have a favorite Halloween memory from childhood?
SB: Sitting in our little kitchen nook in my childhood home and anxiously peeking out of the shuttered windows to see if it was dark enough to go trick-or-treating. It seemed like forever for the sky to darken on Halloween Eve. I loved running through my neighborhood with my older brother, without parents when we were older, and the freedom I felt on that night.
VH: What is your favorite Halloween theme?
SB: I love jack-o-lantern themes the most. Anything pumpkin really catches my eye and warms my heart. Although I am an avid cat lover, and have many black cat themed pieces in my own collection, the pumpkins win hands down. There are so many expressive Halloween pieces with pumpkin faces.
SB: Sitting in our little kitchen nook in my childhood home and anxiously peeking out of the shuttered windows to see if it was dark enough to go trick-or-treating. It seemed like forever for the sky to darken on Halloween Eve. I loved running through my neighborhood with my older brother, without parents when we were older, and the freedom I felt on that night.
VH: What is your favorite Halloween theme?
SB: I love jack-o-lantern themes the most. Anything pumpkin really catches my eye and warms my heart. Although I am an avid cat lover, and have many black cat themed pieces in my own collection, the pumpkins win hands down. There are so many expressive Halloween pieces with pumpkin faces.
Some of Sharon's Vintage Halloween Collectibles
Jenn:)
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