The Art of Sarah-Jane Cook

Sarah-Jane Cook was born into large, multicultural, creative family full of artists, craftspeople, musicians and dancers. She grew up in the Adelaide Hills on a 13-acre property, surrounded by the bush with kangaroos hopping about.

Sarah-Jane studied Photography and Drawing at AIT Arts, which led to Honours in sculpture at The University of South Australia. In 2005, her final year, Sarah-Jane was selected to attend the inaugural Sanskriti Kendra art residency in New Delhi, India. This cemented her growing interest in conquering the domain of clay and three dimensions. Sarah-Jane's constant focus since that time has been ceramics. Her inspiration includes the natural environment and flora and fauna unique to South Australia along with a concern for humanity and social issues.

Sarah-Jane's early connection to country continues to act as a creative catalyst and the environment is an important consideration in her process. Spending time in the Australian bush and along the Southern coast of South Australia, Sarah-Jane draws inspiration from the natural environment and  the flora and fauna unique to South Australia, Always with a concern for humanity and social issues, recycling and reusing are important in her process, which includes handbuilding and slipcasting, along with occasional throwing on the wheel.

Over the last twenty-five years, Sarah-Jane has shared her skills in artmaking, and its amazing power to heal, with some of the most marginalized members of the community. It is her mission to create a space for all to be present for a moment, and enjoy the healing powers of working with clay.