Artist Statement:
Amber uses the inherent therapeutic qualities of clay as a starting point, she creates projects that ask her students to self reflect and look into their ancestral histories. She works with the site teachers to create lesson plans that will help the kids visualize the information they are already learning in school. She encourages her students to think outside of the lesson she has given and works one on one to help each student actualize their projects using multiple techniques. Amber feels that making art, especially with clay, is the best way to express emotions that would otherwise build up and add to anxiety that is so rampant in our society.
Bio
Amber Johnston grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and now lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her BFA in ceramics at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her MFA in Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology. She currently teaches photography at Fleisher Art Memorial and ceramics with The Claymobile. She also freelances her photography and design. Her artwork has been shown both nationally and internationally. She is currently an instructor for both the School and the Claymobile at The Clay Studio.
