Amy Hamley

Overview
Amy Hamley
Amy Hamley’s work explores the unlikely compatibility of ceramic sculpture and hand woven fiber. Finding inspiration in the centuries old traditions of both mediums, Amy explores the parallels of the two practices in a process-focused approach that is both traditional and innovative. Her work draws inspiration from the patterns and textures found in the vast and varied landscapes of her home state, California in order to carry the tranquility of nature into human spaces, posing questions about permanence and ephemerality. In their natural states, ceramic materials and fiber are opposites. Hard, unmined ceramic materials will remain forever, while plant fibers are pliable, fleeting and mortal. In Amy’s finished work, however, the two mediums have reversed roles: the spun fiber has become strong, providing a framework for the now-delicate, fired porcelain. Amy’s pieces reflect a deep dedication to the deliberate, unhurried ritual of her crafts. They embody a sense of calm which belies the physicality of sculpting clay and the rhythmic tension and release of dressing the loom which led to their existence. Amy creates her work in her Sonoma, California studio. Her pieces have been featured at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, and has been acquired by the Rothschild Family private collection.
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Works
  • Amy Hamley, Porcelain Weaving Checker, 2025
    Porcelain Weaving Checker, 2025
  • Amy Hamley, Porcelain Weaving Grid, 2025
    Porcelain Weaving Grid, 2025
  • Amy Hamley, Porcelain Weaving Navy, 2025
    Porcelain Weaving Navy, 2025
  • Amy Hamley, Porcelain Weaving Tile, 2025
    Porcelain Weaving Tile, 2025
  • Amy Hamley, Porcelain Weaving
    Porcelain Weaving
  • Amy Hamley, Tidal IV Porcelain Weaving
    Tidal IV Porcelain Weaving
Bibliography
Amy Hamley

Education

2001 Bachelor of Fine Art, Ceramics & Art Therapy

 

Residencies

2026 Penland Winter Residency, Penland School of Craft Penland, NC

 

Selected Collections

2024 Rothschild Family Private Collection

 

Two + Three Person Exhibitions

2025 Claywork; Crafted in Real Time, La Haye Art Center Sonoma, CA

2025 Amy Hamley & Kala Stein, La Haye Art Center Sonoma, CA

2025 Summer Selections: Amy Hamley, Marrow Gallery San Francisco, CA

2025 Hiroshi Sato, & Charlotte Evans, Marrow Gallery San Francisco, CA

2024 Outside In: Natural Abstractions in Ceramics, La Haye Art Center Sonoma, CA

2024 Fiber & Print, Amy Hamley, La Haye Art Center Sonoma, CA

2024 Kala Stein & Kristian Nobleman, La Haye Art Center Sonoma, CA

 

Art Fairs

2025 San Francisco Art Fair, Marrow Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2016 NY Now Design Trade Show, New York, NY

2014 NY Now Design Trade Show, New York, NY

2014 One of  a Kind Chicago, Chicago, IL

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 True North, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, CA

2024 Women’s Work AR, Mitchell Museum of Western Art, Trinidad, CO

2023 de Young Open, de Young Museum San Francisco, CA

2022 True North, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, CA

 

Teaching & Professional Experience

2020 - 2025 Studio Artist, Sonoma, CA

2023 - 2025 Teaching Artist, Sonoma Ceramics Sonoma, CA

2006 - 2020 Studio Artist/Owner, Amy Hamley Ceramics Pittsburgh, PA/Berkeley, CA

2003 - 2008 Teaching Artist, Braddock Carnegie Ceramics Pittsburgh, PA

2001 - 2003 Teaching Artist, Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh, PA

 

Press

2017 Artwork Feature, Dwell Magazine

2017 Artwork Feature, Architectural Digest Magazine

2017 Artwork Feature, Harper’s Bazaar

2016 Artwork Feature, Real Simple Magazine

2016 Artwork Feature, Elle Decor Magazine

2016 Artwork Feature, House Beautiful Magazine

2016 Artist Feature, Oakland Magazine

2015 Artist Feature, Brooklyn Magazine

2015 Artist Feature, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

2014 Artist Feature, The New York Times