VILLAGE GALLERY OF LOCAL ARTISTS WELCOMES ALEX ROVANG

Sedona’s popular local artists’ gallery is excited to welcome new member and clay artist, Alex Rovang as featured artist for the month of August. Alex is a former director of education and outreach for Sedona Recycles, but his early years were spent in Iowa, Maryland, Chicago – where he studied ceramics- and the Colorado mountains before he made the move to Sedona.

Although Alex has had his hands in fine art, architectural and graphic design- even music over the years, there is no doubt that his bare feet are now planted on Terra Firma, thanks to what he calls a “Sedona moment.” The discovery of a fold-away wedging table built into the garage wall of his Sedona house provided the inspiration to collect the equipment for his own ceramics studio. After three years of renting space for his kiln and perfecting his craft, the artist now is clearly at home with his clay. “Working with earth materials is viscerally satisfying and feels like a connection to my ancestry. My studio is outdoors with a dirt floor, and I am barefooted almost always when I work.”

Alex uses a potter’s wheel to form his more delicate pieces; his Flower of Life cups and plates are perfect for cacao ceremonies, tea, taking supplements or a morning cup of coffee to start the day with positive vibes, but he especially loves working with old earthen materials to form slabs using molds and large sheets of clay squeezed out while turning the large wheel. “I feel an ancient connection and my DNA vibrates with all the wheel turners of the world, past present and future.” All of Alex’s ceramic cups and plates are created with non-toxic glazes and are dishwasher, microwave and oven safe.

The covid lockdown has unexpectedly ushered in a new addition to Alex’s display in the gallery. He began to create wooden birdhouses out of reclaimed pallet wood, and with his partner, artist Stephanie Phelps, sought to fill in the disruption of the world by taking daily walks along the Verde River. They began to collect a variety of lost and found items which Stephanie uses to decorate the birdhouses– from antique jewelry, random metal trash, cottonwood bark and moss and eucalyptus leaves, the unique birdhouses took form.

Alex Rovang can also be found on Instagram and Etsy.

The Village Gallery is open daily from 10am-6pm. Art Applications and more information can be found @sedonalocalartists.com Phone: (928) 284-1416

Village Gallery of Local Artists 6200 Hwy 179, Sedona, Az 86351