Extended Portfolio
Sarah Stroud
September 23, 2025
Honours Research at Nelson Mandela University
Sarah Stroud
August 12, 2025
Honours Research at Nelson Mandela University
Sarah’s current research paper is titled “Identity as Assemblage: Visualizing Identity through Ceramic Sculpture”.
Her paper aims to investigate how ceramic artists utilize their artistic practice to visualize their journey of identity formation. Assemblage Theory, as developed by Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari and elaborated by Manuel DeLanda, will be used to inform the concept of identity and how it can be understood as a combination and interaction of micro and macro components. I, the practitioner-researcher, will utilize my own sculptural ceramic art practice to explore this as well as the ceramic art practices of Belinda Blignaut and Barbro Åberg. This paper will lead to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted and ongoing journey of identity formation as assemblages.
To find out more about the Bachelors degree of Visual Arts at Nelson Mandela University, click the link below:
Sarah was interviewed by the Nelson Mandela University marketing team as part of their Youth Month campaign. She described her recent work as a fourth year ceramics student as well as the content of her research paper.
Ceramics Eastern Cape Regionals Exhibition
Sarah Stroud
May 30, 2025
Ceramics Eastern Cape Regionals Exhibition
On December 5th 2024, Sarah entered into the Ceramics SA EC Regional Exhibition that was held at the GFI Art Gallery. She submitted 2 sculptures from her NMU final year portfolio: From Femur to Tibia and Paranasal Understanding. This exhibition was a highlight of Sarah’s career as she was awarded Best Student Work for her sculpture “Paranasal Understanding”.
Sarah was overwhelmed when receiving this award and felt that it was “such a surprise, but also such affirmation”. Her unique ceramic sculpture impressed the judges as well as the public as it was purchased too. This was Sarah’s first sale on one of her ceramic artworks. Overall this exhibition commemorates one of Sarah’s most successful days in her career as a ceramicist.
Vitrified
Sarah Stroud
May 20, 2025
VITRIFIED
An exhibition by award winning ceramists Lookout Sibanda, Sinethemba Xola and Sarah Stroud. Situated at the GFI Art Gallery in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. VITRIFIED speaks to the transformative nature of ceramic art – a process where raw material is shaped, fired, and refined into enduring beauty. Each artist’s work has undergone both literal and figurative trials by fire.
For our award-winning artists, Lookout Sibanda, Sinethemba Xola and Sarah Stroud, their work has not only been tested in the kiln but also through the rigors of competition, emerging with technical excellence and artistic distinction during the Annual Eastern Cape Regional Ceramic Exhibition in 2024. Their triumph has led them to this group exhibition in celebration of their skill and resilience.
SASOL New Signatures 2024
Sarah Stroud
January 23, 2025
SASOL New Signatures 2024
Sarah entered the Sasol New Signatures Competition in June of 2024 and was selected as a finalist for her work, Skeletal Understanding. She traveled to the Pretoria Art Museum where the exhibition and awards ceremony that was held on the 4th September.
Founded by the Association of Arts Pretoria in the 1960s and first sponsored by Sasol in 1991, the Sasol New Signatures Visual Arts Competition has been instrumental in launching the careers of many South African visual artists. This prestigious competition offers an exciting opportunity for emerging visual artists to showcase their talents, as well as gain significant recognition and exposure within the art world.
Artist Statement
Skeletal Understanding
“As I entered my 20s, I experienced a greater awareness of how my family interacted with one another and how society worked around me. My eyes were opened to how these factors were impacting me and my identity. I was no longer on an ignorant stroll or meander but became more inquisitive with every interaction. Skeletal Understanding is inspired by ceramicist Jo Roets and is the material outworking of this journey of discovery and development. The organic and biological forms of the work draw the viewer in, stirring up an inquisitive feeling. The forms in Skeletal Understanding are strange but somewhat familiar as it is reminiscent of bones. Bones are central structures to our physical makeup as humans and represent the core of us as people. The diverse skeletal textures on the vessel illustrate my understanding of the transition of life into adulthood. The malleable nature of clay as a medium mimics the fluidity of this process. Similarly, the inside of the vessel has been left “raw” to emphasize the ongoing chaos of growing.”
Click below to view the digital catalogue displaying all of the selected artworks as well as Sarah’s sculpture, Skeletal Understanding. (pictured on page 78)