My name is Amy Davis Roth. I (along with my husband Johnny) make hand formed and hand painted art you can wear out of ceramic called Surly-Ramics. I am a huge fan of science and nature. I am constantly seeking new information to incorporate into my work. I try to find ways to educate and inspire others, spread information and share beauty through my various art projects.

History:

My grandmother painted amazing landscapes of upstate New York and my aunt paints beautiful life-like fairy paintings. All of my cousins are artists and even my great grandfather is legendary in my family for his painting ability. My mother has published books on paper making, the art of making puppets and marionettes and how to books on stuffed animals. Those books were published in the 70's when I was just a little squirt and you can see photos of me clutching the toys to my chest. I'm pretty sure the stuffed toys my mother made were my best friends growing up. One of my earliest memories is playing under the table at a craft fair.

I was raised to create. Whenever I said I was bored my mother or grandmother would tell me to go make something. I made all of my own clothes in high school and I painted prolifically with acrylic paint on canvas, wood, paper, used furniture, walls, and anything else I could get my hands on. One time I even painted all the phones in the house in floral designs. Not sure if everyone else in the house appreciated it, but it sure was fun! I was taught that artists are special and to be creative is the best thing you can be. Artistic expression is simply my way of life. I went to school for graphic design and worked in the field for about 8 years and I also worked for a short time as a professional photographer.

I first began working in clay by helping my mother (Charlene Roth) when I was just a kid after school. At the time my mother had a small business that made porcelain awards for horse shows and about that same time my mother began seriously sculpting in clay. So I would be painting the designs on the plates or applying decals to the porcelain mugs in her studio and I would watch her form her creations. She made huge earthenware construct pieces that would totally blow your mind. Like a smurf with a skull face with the skyline of Los Angeles growing out of its head and hundreds of little creatures with de-constructed arms and legs and the whole thing would end up being a completely functional cookie jar. She makes salt and pepper sets that can completely change the way you look at dinner time. This was my mother and I was really, very influenced by her work even though I probably didn't know it early on. I had always painted. I had never formed anything or sculpted anything myself but I had been raised with such extreme creativity. Her highly detailed ceramic work and use of color has without a doubt influenced my work.

A few years after I worked for my mothers porcelain business and after a few years working as a graphic designer, I opened an art gallery in North Hollywood. It was called The Art Coalition. I was so darn proud of myself. I really thought I was making a difference in the art community. I displayed the work of up and coming outsider and low brow artists in Los Angeles and provided wall space for unknown artists. I sold some of my mothers ceramics pieces and then together we started making jewelry. We were trying to come up with things we could sell to keep the struggling gallery afloat. I had a little too much idealism and not quite enough foot traffic. Looking back, the jewelry was the best idea we ever had! If I would have focused on the jewelry then like I do now, it may have saved the gallery! Unfortunately, after a two year run, bad location combined with my lack of business sense at the time, the gallery went belly up. Leaving me bankrupt, without a car or a place to live (Of course my mother let me come home for a spell). But, I had stopped making art. I was heartbroken and flat broke. Art was my life and that gallery meant everything to me. I got really depressed. A year went by. I got a job as a waitress. Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry knows it is a much harder job than it seems. There are people out there who come into a restaurant not because they are hungry or thirsty but just because they want to boss someone around. They want someone to complain to or be mean to. Now, don’t get me wrong there are plenty of wonderful people in the world who just want a burger and understand being polite and proper tipping procedures but there is a big handful of people who cant cook for themselves and feel the need to push around a waitress or two and not tip. I think Hollywood might even have a few extra "jerks" because everyone in that town wants to think they are so very important. At any rate I had been waiting on tables in a Hollywood diner for about a year and a half and I started to get more and more pissed off at people and I had really become SURLY! Waiting on tables can really suck the soul out of you especially if you’re a creative type and you do it for too long and it starts to show. I think it’s also the mindless repetition. It was somewhere during time that I started creating again. I began painting again. I think at one point during that time I painted 8 paintings in 3 weeks while still waiting tables at night. You hold in the creative energy for too long and it can just explode out of you! I remembered how much I enjoyed making the ceramic jewelry in my mother's studio. So I started making necklaces again and wearing them into work. I loved making them and when I wore them it reminded me that I was still an artist despite my job title and that the creative spirit was still alive in me.

Then a funny thing started happening. People fell in love with the jewelry. All the girls at work wanted to wear them and the guys too! Then suddenly people wanted to buy them. I had people buy them right off my neck! I literally couldn’t make them fast enough! It was amazing. Surly-Ramics was born! Within a few months I had started a new business, one where the location didn’t even matter and I no longer needed to wait tables.

I make art and jewelry full time now. In fact I spend on average 12 hours a day creating or doing some type of work for Surly-Ramics and I love every second of it! I’m happy again. I’m making art that people enjoy, that I enjoy. I have a business I love and experience to carry me through. I feel very lucky. I got another chance.

The designs are more refined now then in the early days. I have a strong attention to detail and the glazing techniques and color combinations are integral to my design work. I find inspiration everywhere I look and I am constantly coming up with new designs. I have taught my husband, Johnny Skaare the techniques my mother taught to me and he works with me in the studio now. Together we hope to expand our line and the business in the years to come.

....and remember, next time you are waited on by a surly waiter do me a favor and tip extra big! SURLY-RAMICS MISSION STATEMENT:
To provide our customers with affordable jewelry created with innovation, quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.
To produce beautiful little works of art that are accessible to the everyday person.
To create and to offer new styles on a regular basis.
To pursue beauty, creativity and truth.
To make art you can wear.