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.
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.
Some of Sharon's Vintage Halloween Collectibles
Jenn:)
