Artist Statement

My work explores nostalgia, memory, and cultural identity through sculptural ceramics. As a second-generation Latina born in Dallas, Texas, to Mexican and Honduran parents, I draw from personal experiences and family history, using objects and forms reminiscent of play, adornment, and heritage. I explore how playful or familiar forms, repeated in shape, texture, and gesture, hold emotional weight and reflect the layers of memory and identity we carry.

Repetition is an important part of my work. Slip casting allows me to create repeated forms while still keeping subtle differences that make each one feel unique. By making multiples of the same form and adjusting small details in surface, scale, or shape, I explore how memory, identity, and self-expression shift over time, while also highlighting that identity can be both constant and fluid. This process lets me examine the many sides of myself, different emotions, energies, and aspects of my cultural identity and makes visible how my heritage continues to shape who I am. Repetition also reflects cycles of care and ritual, how we return to the same objects, gestures, or habits again and again.

I work mainly in ceramics, using hand building, wheel throwing, and slip casting to make figurative and object-based forms. I experiment with surface, glaze, and scale, often pushing clay beyond its traditional functional uses and including installation or mixed media to explore how the work lives in space. Through my pieces, I invite viewers to reflect on their own memories and experiences while thinking about the layers that shape who we are, where we come from, and how we want to express ourselves.

Artist Bio

Samara Rodriguez is a ceramic artist born in Dallas, Texas and currently based in Miami, Florida. She received her BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics and a minor in Art History from the University of North Texas.

She exhibited work in the Senior Ceramics Exhibition showcasing Emerging Artists at the University of North Texas (2024). She has also worked in ceramic production at Bee Cups Studio in Dallas and assisted artist Juan Barroso with booth installation and exhibition presentation at the Dallas Pottery Invitational.

She currently works as a ceramic assistant and instructor at Anhinga Clay Studios, where she supports studio operations and teaches beginner hand building classes.