Saila Milja-Smyly
Biography:
Saila Milja-Smyly is an independent studio ceramicist located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, the owner of Earthenly LLC fine stoneware ceramics brand, an exhibiting artist in a number of Low-country galleries, and a founding member of a regional ceramics guild. Her designs range from jewelry and functional tableware to home and garden accessories and to larger architectural and sculptural works. She also likes to identify functional products that are not commonly made of clay, and enjoys resolving the challenges in translating the function into the ceramic medium. The form of her work accommodates its function, but recognizes and moves beyond customary forms while avoiding formal decorative elements. In addition to stoneware clay, designs may incorporate contrasting materials such as soft leathers and weathered driftwoods.
Inspiration for Saila’s work arises from the interplay of the visual traditions of her Finnish home of origin and the contrasting elements of the rich natural expression of coastal South Carolina, observing textures and patterns in nature and visualizing how ceramics might look if grown in nature like plants or shaped by it like rock formations. For conceptual work, the artistic process is less intentional and the concept often manifests itself after sufficient time of subconscious processing of the question or problem presented together with the technical opportunities and theoretical view points offered by the ceramic process. Her formal training in comparative cultural and religious studies on the one hand, and in public administration and at law on the other hand, are reflected in a rigorous approach to product research and development, as well as in designs that defer to source materials while transcending time and place.
Equal in importance to Saila’s artistic expression is the sustainability of her ceramic arts practice, including a conscientious approach to the use of material resources. To mitigate the burden of materials transportation, she uses stoneware clay from the nearest producer in the Carolinas, and has developed a range of proprietary stoneware glazes that she mixes from raw materials, offering an unlimited palette of surface textures and color. Most importantly, she employs the traditional process of single-firing whereby the glaze is applied onto unfired clay and the work is fired once in the kiln at above 2200°F, thereby resulting in a strong and durable clay-glaze interface. Single-firing is common in the ceramics industry if not yet in studio art ceramics, and saves time, energy, and equipment, as compared to bisque firing work before it is glazed and fired again. Saila has lectured about the importance of the single-firing process at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference, and consults on the single-firing process upon request.
Saila Milja-Smyly is an independent studio ceramicist located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, the owner of Earthenly LLC fine stoneware ceramics brand, an exhibiting artist in a number of Low-country galleries, and a founding member of a regional ceramics guild. Her designs range from jewelry and functional tableware to home and garden accessories and to larger architectural and sculptural works. She also likes to identify functional products that are not commonly made of clay, and enjoys resolving the challenges in translating the function into the ceramic medium. The form of her work accommodates its function, but recognizes and moves beyond customary forms while avoiding formal decorative elements. In addition to stoneware clay, designs may incorporate contrasting materials such as soft leathers and weathered driftwoods.
Inspiration for Saila’s work arises from the interplay of the visual traditions of her Finnish home of origin and the contrasting elements of the rich natural expression of coastal South Carolina, observing textures and patterns in nature and visualizing how ceramics might look if grown in nature like plants or shaped by it like rock formations. For conceptual work, the artistic process is less intentional and the concept often manifests itself after sufficient time of subconscious processing of the question or problem presented together with the technical opportunities and theoretical view points offered by the ceramic process. Her formal training in comparative cultural and religious studies on the one hand, and in public administration and at law on the other hand, are reflected in a rigorous approach to product research and development, as well as in designs that defer to source materials while transcending time and place.
Equal in importance to Saila’s artistic expression is the sustainability of her ceramic arts practice, including a conscientious approach to the use of material resources. To mitigate the burden of materials transportation, she uses stoneware clay from the nearest producer in the Carolinas, and has developed a range of proprietary stoneware glazes that she mixes from raw materials, offering an unlimited palette of surface textures and color. Most importantly, she employs the traditional process of single-firing whereby the glaze is applied onto unfired clay and the work is fired once in the kiln at above 2200°F, thereby resulting in a strong and durable clay-glaze interface. Single-firing is common in the ceramics industry if not yet in studio art ceramics, and saves time, energy, and equipment, as compared to bisque firing work before it is glazed and fired again. Saila has lectured about the importance of the single-firing process at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference, and consults on the single-firing process upon request.