"Love Letters from an Inverted Cartography" by Terri Saulin is on display in Shipley's Speer Gallery from January 3 - 31, 2023.

In the "Shaker" spirit, I imagine a tiny wasp-worker making imaginary homes for important collections of most special memories.” 

- Terri Saulin    

 

Saulin’s process begins with cartography. The drawings and sculptures created are a visual "counterpoint" The layered information, produces an imagined, time-lapse view of a world. Inspired by the landscape of her urban garden, drawings become maps that document plant life, fleeting shadows, secreted places where mantis eggs were found, caterpillars ate, and dragonflies landed. They map the cold feeling felt in between the discs of her spine as she laid on her back on a freezing night watching a Perseid Meteor shower.  

 

Intricate ceramic constructions are three-dimensional memory maps. They are invisible cities, liminal urban planning, and love letters to treasured and influential authors, artists, musicians, friends, and family members. A mise en place of ingredients float between surface decoration and building blocks. They are carrots, onions and celery and they are meditations on the thousands of loops her mother made while crocheting piles of blankets, wondering what thoughts may have passed under the weight of each accumulated stitch.   

 

Terri Saulin received her MFA from the University of the Arts and her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design. She is a member and press coordinator for Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia and a Member/Supporter of The Clay Studio, Philadelphia. She currently teaches a variety of Ceramics and Studio Art courses at The Agnes Irwin School, in Rosemont, PA. Terri is the owner of No. 5 Butchie Alley. No. 5 Butchie Alley is an outgrowth of Terri’s studio. The gallery space is secretly tucked away on a small easement in South Philly that opens into a garden of inspiration. No. 5 Butchie Alley offers a new exhibition approximately every two months. The exhibiting artist gathers with the community and shares a workshop during the run of the show.

Learn more about Terri and see more of her work.

Artist Opening Reception
Friday, January 13
4:30 - 6:30 p.m.