Anna Valenti



Anna Valenti

About The Artist

Anna Valenti • Boulder, CO
Basketry • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

Anna Valenti is a ceramic artist whose work centers around weaving structures and gathering spaces that cultivate connection. Her research is in fiber clay bodies. She received her BA in Psychology and ceramics post-baccalaureate studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a MFA from the Maine College of Art. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in Fine Arts + Foundations and Ceramics Coordinator at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Denver, CO.



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Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

From hemp to linen to cellulose, I add fibers to clay bodies to improve tensile strength for building and structural support for handling. In a soft state, clay and fiber memory parallel one another. I hand roll and pinch coils of fiber clay leaving impressions with each touch of the hand. Every weaving starts with a single line. Over and under at intersecting angles, I layer multiple coils of fiber clay to create woven clay vessels.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

Clay is a material that seems to always go against the "plan." It slumps, cracks, and leans. I love those moments in ceramics of frozen collapse. That in this material we are endlessly beginning again and growing with each form created from the last. I love the softness of clay and its ability to capture impressions. It has a humanness to it.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

I am passionate about material research. I combine alternative fibers with clay to test a form's structural integrity. I am currently creating large scale sculptures out of hemplime.