Dirt, as Mary Douglas describes, is “matter out of place.” With mud as our medium, our hands are often dirty– clay beneath fingernails, crusted on our cuticles. Whether we dig our clay from local deposits or buy it pre-mixed in a bag, we are involved in processes of dirt-extraction. 

Through this Studio Session we will consider matter in place– geographically, spatially, within or without the landscape– as we examine the effects of earthly removal. How does clay transform when it is taken out of place? Through open conversation and place-based experimentation we will develop dialogue between place, matter, and maker. 

E. Saffronia Downing works with wild clay to map material residues across time and place. She received her BA in Studio Art from Hampshire College and her MFA in Ceramics from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Downing forages local material to create site-specific installation and sculpture. Downing is the recipient of awards and residencies such as the Lunder Institute of American Art, Oxbow School of Art Fellowship, and ACRE Residency. Her work has recently been featured in exhibitions at Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center, Chicago, Illinois; SPACE, Portland, Maine; Bad Water, Knoxville, Tennessee. Downing is the co-creator of the digital publication Viral Ecologies. She is currently a teaching fellow at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

This session took place in May 2023.