People, Places, & Things : Cravings | Tamara Danoyan | Pink Pit Fired Starfish

Tamara Daboyan

Blue Pit Fired Starfish

1.5"x6"x6", Ceramic

Artist Statement

I am drawn to starfish for the tactile qualities, robust look, apparent stillness, and broader spiritual symbolism. Sculpting them in clay becomes a meditation on resilience, healing, and renewal.

While I grew up far from the sea, I have felt a strong affinity with the starfish for as long as I can remember. That connection deepened when I moved to Northern California. Walking its countless beaches, I am always delighted to encounter starfish at low tide. Their quiet presence and radiant symmetry feel both earthly and cosmic—existing patiently in the liminal space where land meets water, waiting for the tide to turn.

As I form them from clay, I am reminded that creativity and recovery are deeply intertwined, that there is strength in stillness, and even with life’s fractures there is the possibility of healing and wholeness. Seastars series a quiet meditation on endurance, intuition, and spiritual renewal—an invitation to pause, breathe, and embrace change with grace.

This artwork embodies the resonance I feel with starfish. I am drawn to them for the tactile qualities, robust look, apparent stillness, and broader spiritual symbolism. Sculpting them in clay becomes a meditation on resilience, healing, and renewal.