Sculpting souls: Southern Utah ceramic artist breathes life into pottery with human faces

ST. GEORGE —From sad, aged faces to bushy eyebrows and quirky winks, this ceramic artist is showcasing human expression on cups, mugs and jugs in a way you’ve never seen before.

A variety of faces are seen on Brandon Wainwright’s ceramic mugs, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Brandon Wainwright, St. George News

“People are what’s most meaningful to me — the faces, the humor and having a good, clean, no-strings-attached reason to smile or laugh,” artist Brandon Wainwright said. “When I take a step back to see if it’s done and spontaneously giggle, I know I win.”

Wainwright said he’s loved art for as long as he can remember. In middle school, his dream was to become an art teacher.

He first found a talent for drawing and painting, but it wasn’t until college that he took his first sculpture class. That’s when he challenged himself to sculpt hands – something that’s known to be difficult to draw or paint.

“And it was easy,” he said about sculpting ceramic hands. “My brain has always thought three-dimensionally. Things just took off from there.”

Brandon Wainwright takes a photo with an event attendee at Clay Con West in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Brandon Wainwright, St. George News

He obtained his first bachelor’s degree in theater at Dixie State College. After graduation, he took his first teaching job in Price, Utah, where he taught theater and art.

At Dixie State University, Wainwright obtained his second bachelor’s degree in sculpture and ceramics with a 3D emphasis. He took a job teaching art at Cedar High School 10 years ago, and he’s been there ever since.

“If I haven’t done a musical show in a long time, I’m fine,” he said. “But if I haven’t made something in the last couple of weeks, I’m just not happy. Art is definitely where I landed and belong.”

Interested in a wide variety of art, including theater, sculpting and ceramics, he looked for a way to combine all three. That’s when he decided to put a detailed human face on his pottery for the first time. And he hasn’t stopped since.

Brandon Wainwright’s signature face vessels prepares to go to a new home, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Brandon Wainwright, St. George News

“I love people,” he said. “I think people are interesting and fun. And in theater, you’re telling stories about people, you do caricatures of people, almost. You exaggerate things. When you do stage makeup, you look at people in their wrinkles and what story their faces tell you about their life so you can design characters.”

Bringing theater into pottery has been his favorite part. With an infinite variety of interesting people, he’ll never run out of material for his ceramic face vessels.

“What’s interesting is that all parts of pottery are named after people parts,” Wainwright said. “The bottom is a foot, if it swells in the middle it’s a belly, and if it’s narrow at the top, it’s a neck.”

While he will always be an artist, being a teacher is Wainwright’s main passion. The most rewarding part is seeing students light up as they learn new skills. His future goals are to complete his master’s degree in fine arts and teach more workshops locally at places like The Tilted Kiln.

To see Wainwright’s work and contact him directly, find him on Instagram @Wainwright.clay.

Photo Gallery

Brandon Wainwright’s signature face vessels are on display, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Brandon Wainwright, St. George News

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