Douglas Sphar

Douglas Sphar is a native of Pittsburgh. After graduating from Fox Chapel High School he went to Penn State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in art history. The lure of the west drew Douglas to spend the next twenty years in Tahoe City, California. It was there he began working with clay at Sierra Nevada College under the tutelage of his sister Carol Sphar, head of the art department and an nationally known potter in her own right. An active member of the Sierra Artists network, Douglas worked from his home studio, successfully exhibited taught in the continuing education program at Sierra Nevada College. Returning to Pittsburgh, the artist now works from his home studio in O'Hara Township.

Inspiration for his ceramic creations comes from Douglas' love of nature and exposure to Asian Art and culture in Northern California. Insects are representative of the beauty, variety and complexity of the natural world. The dragon holds fascination for the artist as a creature of the imagination and a symbol of fertility, bounty, and royalty. The presence of the dragon in Thai, Japanese, and Chinese pottery, bronzes, and architectural ornamentation has inspired Douglas to create his modern western version of this mythical creature in clay.