Sylvia Schroer Ceramics

03/05/2026

Am making peonies & poppies. I bought some peonies 10 days ago. They started bright pink but went white as they opened up. I have some poppies in my garden. I started with some simple sketches to familiarise myself with the shapes and form. This morning I came down to see the sketchbook covered with fallen petals. There is something really poignant about these flowers & fallen petals. I quite like the raw clay too but will glaze them. Hope they survive as they are very delicate. Have a lovely Sunday. The plants needed the rain today...

01/05/2026

These little cats were sold yesterday. They are characters from a cat painting I bought in Vietnam. I made them several years ago & as I was taking them home from college the bottom fell out of the box and they broke -one with a broken tail and the other a broken ear. Time to learn the art of I thought.

They were sold to visitors to a previous open studio event who had liked my work and returned. It was a lovely feeling to have my work remembered & appreciated

As a new artist to York Open Studios in 2024 it was important for me to continue to show my work and to build my reputation as an artist - so it was an awful shock & setback to be deselected last year. The artists with whom I was sharing a venue were informed I had withdrawn. It was explained this was not the case -but I was then told the terms & conditions were broken & I would be informed if I could take part in 2026. Why had this transgression of the terms & conditions not been mentioned at a meeting I was called to with the Chair at City Screen. I was not clear what I had done wrong.

As a YOS student artist I asked for support from - with the YOS Chair/committee. I needed someone to advocate for me. I was directed to the student welfare team -but they had nothing to offer me as a new artist - I was directed to a charity supporting carers that I already knew about.

I wrote to the YOS Chair/ committee & was informed I was not eligible to apply this year - because the terms & conditions were broken. I was still offered no proper explanation & no dialogue was/ is achievable. I wrote to ask if I could take part in future open studios -but there was no response.

I hope YOS can be more supportive of new artists in future. We are just starting in the art world & have student loans to pay off - so it's a nightmare to be blacklisted from the City's largest art event. At the other end of the art spectrum is the artist - who opened up this year after not being selected. At least he was told why - according to York Press. This feedback is usually not provided.

Please make YOS more inclusive & supportive in future.

24/04/2026

Look out for a wolf at my door tomorrow for my independent Open Studio &
artisan coat sale in Norfolk Street YO23 1JY
You can also go in through the back gate -via Richardson Street
There will be balloons, there will be bunting -I am sure you will find me. You will have a warm welcome when you do. I have really enjoyed putting on this little exhibition -It makes me appreciate how far I have come since falling in love with clay in 2022....
Do visit too..the Waste not Want Not show is at The Wolf at the Door, Mount Parade where I was able to show last year. Thanks so much Jill for coming to my rescue last year! I hope all of us - have a great weekend.

18/04/2026

Looking forward to the very first Bishy Road Bazaar tomorrow!

17/04/2026

Black clay bowl with white porcelain decoration
On sale at Bazaar on 19th April

10/04/2026

11/12/2025

These are two sculpted hands. The first was made on a course. Absolutely wonderful. I knew I didn't have the facilities to create a mold and removing it from the armature would have been.a tricky job too - so I carved a new hand, glazed it and single fired, praying it would hold together. It did! The colour was meant to be pearl white but I didn't put enough glaze on. I was a bit wary about adding more glaze to be honest ..anyway..I love my expressive hands -and feel I have learned so much to take forward.