sarah jane therese
About ME
SARAH THERESE
I am a visual artist living on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, celebrating the beauty of nature—particularly flowers—through ceramics, painting, and drawing.
Most days you will find me in my studio, throwing porcelain on the wheel and decorating my forms with clay, slips, and underglazes using a multitude of brushes and engraving tools. I enjoy the many stages of the process: creating the vessels, imagining the designs, and then applying them slowly and carefully by hand. My work is distinctive for its intricate detail and strong use of colour.
My imagery is often inspired by plant life, with flowers, leaves, and wild grasses featuring strongly, sometimes with the small birds and insects that inhabit these environments.
Alongside my ceramic practice, I also work with ink, watercolour, oil and acrylic paints, occasionally incorporating yarn and fabric—perhaps influenced by my former career in the fashion industry.
I was honoured to be a finalist in the Siliceous Ceramics Awards in 2021 and the North Queensland Ceramic Awards in 2022 and 2026. My professional development has included a three-week ceramic residency in South Korea in 2024, and in 2027 I will undertake a two-week residency at The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts on the island of Skopelos, Greece.
I have also worked and exhibited under my married name, Sarah Drysdale. While primarily focussing on my creative work, over the years I have been actively involved in arts administration and community leadership, supporting ceramic education, exhibitions, and artist development initiatives.
After years of practice, my work continues to evolve through an ongoing exploration of material, surface, colour, and process.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
North Queensland Ceramic Awards — Finalist, Townsville - 2026
Between Home & Horizon - Butter Factory, Cooroy, Sunshine Coast - 2026
Quixotica Art Space — Cooroy, Sunshine Coast - 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
North Queensland Ceramic Awards — Finalist, Townsville - 2022
Siliceous – Ceramic Arts Queensland — Finalist, Cooroy - 2021
Martin Hanson Memorial Art Awards — Gladstone, Queensland - 2019, 2020, 2021
Pop Up Art Exhibition — Cooroy, Sunshine Coast - 2020
Lindfield Art Show — Sydney - 2015
The King’s School Art Show — Sydney - 2013, 2014
Art for the Heart — Melbourne - 2013
EDUCATION:
TAFE Queensland, Nambour — Certificate III in Visual Arts - 2016
International School of Colour & Design, Sydney — Diploma of Surface Design - 2014
International School of Colour & Design, Sydney — Diploma of Graphic Design (part completed) - 2013
International School of Colour & Design, Sydney — Certificate IV in Colour & Design - 2012
The University of Melbourne — Bachelor of Arts - 1978
ART RESIDENCIES:
Studio of Kim Se Wan — Yangpyeong, South Korea - 2024
The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts — Skopelos, Greece - Residency awarded for 2027
ARTS ADMINISTRATION & COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
Quixotica Art Space — Marketing, Communications & Administration — 2018–2026
Australian Wood Firers United — Vice President - 2019 –2026
Noosa Open Studios — President - 2018
Noosa Arts & Crafts Association — Vice President - 2017
Noosa Open Studios — Marketing Manager - 2017
PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Prior to focusing full time on visual arts, I founded and operated my own fashion retail business, pink zebra, with five boutiques across Melbourne and Sydney, from 2005–2012. In that time, I also created my own fashion label, YUM Cashmere, and ran a successful online business, until 2016.
Before then, I held CEO, GM and marketing roles and a public company board directorship in a number of Australian/NZ fashion and retail companies, including senior management positions with Mambo, OPSM, Esprit, Holeproof and Sheridan.