Керамист из Ст-Джорджа создает реалистичные скульптуры из попкорна и мороженого

At first glance, the overflowing popcorn and ice cream sandwich beside St. George ceramic artist Anita Gardner may look good enough to eat. The popcorn appears freshly buttered, each kernel textured and shaped with painstaking detail. But everything on display, from the striped popcorn container to the cascading kernels, is made entirely of clay. "So I just took little pinches of clay, then I rolled it up into a ball and then I pushed it into a sponge and it made one of those little things," Gardner told St. George News as she stood beside her display at Arrowhead Gallery. "Then I took slip and put them all together in the shape of a popcorn." The ceramic display is more than it first appears. Hidden inside is a lamp, transforming the sculpture into a functional piece of art. The piece began as a class assignment that challenged students to create something realistic enough to fool the eye while also incorporating multiples by making many versions of the same object, Gardner said. The sculpture embodies Gardner's playful approach to ceramics and her lifelong passion for art, which began during her childhood in St. George. She grew up in an artistic family as one of nine siblings, all of whom became artists in one way or another, she said. "My mom always encouraged all of us," Gardner said. "She always said the only thing she could draw was a fly. And as siblings, I think we all kind of fed off of each other." As a child, Gardner said she was fascinated by the earth beneath her feet. After rainstorms, she would collect mud from what is now Main Street, then just a dirt road, and bring it home to dry in the sun. She continued pursuing art while attending then-Dixie Junior College, taking a variety of classes before discovering the medium that would shape her future, she said. "When I took ceramics, I was like, 'Ah, this is what I want to do,'" she said. She recalled watching a retired woman visit the college's art department and throw clay on a pottery wheel, telling herself that one day, after retirement, she would do the same. But before that dream became a reality, Gardner said she spent decades pursuing another passion: education. She earned a degree in childhood education and went on to work for the Learning Center for Families, now known as Root for Kids, a job she described as her dream career. She also operated a preschool out of her home until retiring in 2012. Even during those years, clay remained part of her life. Her brother had given her a pottery wheel, and Gardner introduced pottery and modeling clay to the children in her preschool. She would purchase clay from the college and have others fire the pieces she and her students created. The children even entered their artwork in fairs and won ribbons. After retiring, Gardner said she came across a kiln at a yard sale for $600 and decided to buy it. It became the first major addition to her home studio, followed shortly by the purchase of her own pottery wheel. She gave much of what she created away as gifts to family and friends. Then, in 2019, she said her daughter encouraged her to begin selling her work online. She opened an Etsy shop and quickly learned a lesson about shipping costs. "I made the mistake of saying free shipping," she said, laughing. “I ended up sending things to people all over the world.” Gardner said her professional art career took another unexpected turn when a member of the Washington City Arts Council noticed one of Gardner's handmade pots displayed in her sister's home and encouraged her to enter work in the Red Cliff Gallery. "Guess what?" she said. "I did. And guess what? I won Best of Show." It was the first major award of her artistic career. Since then, Gardner has earned numerous honors throughout Southern Utah, including awards from the Red Cliff Gallery and the Washington City Arts Council during Cotton Days, as well as several honorable mentions. When Arrowhead Gallery began searching for a new ceramic artist, Gardner submitted an application and was juried into the gallery in November 2021. Today, her work ranges from functional pottery and hand-carved vessels to imaginative sculptures that challenge viewers to look twice. "Original art, there's just nothing that compares to it," Gardner said. "This is my fun." Shop Gardner's work in person at Arrowhead Gallery, where she is the July featured artist, at 68 E. Tabernacle St. in St. George, or at Gallery 873, located in the Kayenta Art Village at 873 Coyote Gulch Court in Ivins. Keep up with her on Facebook and Instagram.