Sara Zhao is a ceramic artist currently based in Detroit, Michigan, specializing in wheel-thrown porcelain. Completely self-taught, she builds upon a practiced and technical foundation to create precise, contemporary forms that serve as canvases for her meticulous surface work. Before pursuing ceramics, Zhao was a full-time competitive ice dancer from childhood through early adulthood; the discipline, control, and pursuit of refinement she developed on the ice continue to shape her artistic endeavors.

Zhao’s work is rooted in the visual language of antique Chinese porcelain—thin, translucent bodies, fragile motifs, and intricate brushwork. She reinterprets these traditions through contemporary, often modern forms, creating contrast between historical aesthetics and modern silhouettes. By merging new interests and elements of her cultural heritage, she develops pieces that are striking and intentional in design. This blend allows her to connect past and present within the context of her personal experience.

Through this dialogue, Zhao aims to bridge heritage with modern design language. She currently holds a position as Class Coordinator and Instructor at Still Life Studio Ferndale.

My work explores the relationship between contemporary ceramic design and pop culture nostalgia. I am drawn to creating clean, mid-century-informed shapes: sharp, delicate forms highlighting the limits of wheel-thrown porcelain. Much of my work revolves around pushing the material to its limits, usually trimming each piece until I achieve translucence, allowing the work to feel light and airy while remaining functional.

Driving this process is my background in competitive ice dance. Training in that environment instilled in me a commitment to mastery along with consistency, which naturally carried over into ceramics. Porcelain, with all its challenges and demands, has always felt like the perfect medium with which I can express my commitment to quality. Its unforgiving nature mirrors the challenges I faced early on in life, and its elegance rewards the pursuit of perfection.

I continue to focus on achieving pristine finishes that provide me with canvases for my hand-painted illustrations—imagery informed by memories of childhood and the characters I so loved. I hope viewers notice both the technical precision and function of the forms—and can relate to the cultural references imbued in my work, which strives to combine discipline, function, value, softness, memory, and joyful expression of self.